Mountlake Terrace could get new City Hall
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 19, 2017
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Plans are shaping up for a new City Hall in Mountlake Terrace.
If everything goes as expected, and voters get on board, the construction of a civic center could start in 2019. The location is on property already owned by the city at 232nd Street SW and 58th Avenue W, near the police station and the library.
For years, the city has rented office space west of I-5. The annual rent isn’t sustainable for the budget.
A committee of nine appointed volunteers has been meeting with an architect on the City Hall project since January. The next in a series of public meetings is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the library. Officials and the volunteers have been gathering input through meetings, neighborhood coffee events and online comment forms, City Clerk Virginia Olsen said.
This week’s meeting will include preliminary budget numbers and layout concepts. The committee has been looking at options between $12.7 million and $16.5 million.
The least expensive option calls for 19,762 square feet. Another option would add about 3,100 square feet of space for police, including a customer service counter. A third option calls for remodeling the current police station as part of the City Hall plan.
It hasn’t been decided where City Hall might sit on the lot. That might depend on parking needs and if there’s an outdoor gathering area. The volunteers are aiming to get a proposal to the City Council in early June. If the council approves it, there could be a ballot measure in November.
The civic center is part of a decade-long effort to revitalize downtown, between 230th Street SW to 236th Street SW, to “make it look and feel relevant again,” Olsen said.
Decades ago, Mountlake Terrace had a downtown scene with restaurants and family-friendly activities, she said.
South Snohomish County is projected to see a boom in population in the years ahead, and Mountlake Terrace’s four square miles are largely built out, Olsen said.
A light rail station is expected to open here in 2023. As transit becomes a bigger focus, neighbors are likely to see taller buildings, wider sidewalks and more bike lanes, Olsen said.
Private construction could include housing developments but also mixed-use buildings, which include retail space below apartments.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.
Meeting
A public meeting on Mountlake Terrace’s proposed new City Hall is planned for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the town library. Another meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. May 10 at Cedar Way Elementary. An open house is scheduled at 6 p.m. June 5 at Interim City Hall. Comments on the project also are accepted online at www.cityofmlt.com/1899.
