Edmonds Christian college building finds buyer

By Bill Sheets

For The Herald

EDMONDS — Puget Sound Christian College and an area developer have agreed in principle on the purchase of the college’s former campus in Edmonds.

The buyer has asked that his identity not yet be revealed, said Dave Schumacher of Columbia Partners, a broker handling the sale for the college. The price will not be revealed until the sale is final, he added.

The sale will be contingent upon the city not exercising its right of first refusal to the property. Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson is planning to discuss the possibility with the city council, which would have final say, at a meeting tonight.

Members of a Public Facilities District who have been studying the possible creation of a convention-performing arts center in Edmonds have spoken with the potential buyer, said Terry Vehrs, chairman of the PFD. The district has zeroed in on the former college at 410 Fourth Ave. N. as its preferred site.

The college’s auditorium has been used for performances for several years by the Olympic Ballet Theatre, the Classic Cascade Symphony and the Cascade Symphony Orchestra.

Puget Sound Christian College occupied the site from 1977 until last summer when it moved to a 10-acre site in Mountlake Terrace at the former Lake Ballinger Elementary School. The Edmonds college site was originally built as a high school in 1909 with the auditorium and gym added later. It is listed on the state Register of Historic Places.

The PFD’s business plan calls for the district, with possible help from the city, to acquire the college gymnasium and auditorium, leaving the main classroom building for another buyer.

The prospective buyer was receptive to the PFD’s plans in the initial discussions, Vehrs said. The PFD estimates the cost of acquiring the gym, auditorium and associated land at $3 million and the total cost of the project at $10.6 million.

The PFD plans to ask the city for the authority to ask voters to raise the city sales-and-use tax — which is usually passed on to the state but can be retained locally for PFDs — by a tenth of a cent to raise $5.6 million. The election is tentatively planned for May 21.

College officials have not disclosed an asking price or any of the amounts bid for the property. Haakenson, who also declined to reveal the price agreed to by the developer, said it was higher than the city had expected.

The city has 60 days to match the offer. Haakenson said he doubted that the city council would deem the amount affordable.

But he said he, too, has met with the prospective buyer and that the buyer indicated a willingness to work with the city, the PFD and nearby residents on the arts-convention center project.

Bill Sheets is editor of the Edmonds Enterprise. He can be reached at 425-673-6525 or send e-mail to sheets@heraldnet.com

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