Monroe School District to leave 103-year-old headquarters

School Board directors recommended a lease for administrative offices that’ll cost $57,000 a month.

MONROE — Monroe School District administrators are on the move.

School board directors voted 4-0 last week to recommend shifting district headquarters to a 31,000-square-foot office building on 179th Avenue SE, leaving its current 103-year-old schoolhouse behind.

As of Thursday, the lease had yet to be signed, according to a district spokesperson.

The 20-year agreement, first considered in September, will cost the district about $57,000 a month for the first three years.

During the first seven years of the deal, the board can opt to buy the land for $11 million. From years seven to 10, the price is $10.5 million.

The district’s current headquarters, an old schoolhouse, is in need of costly repairs, officials have said.

The Howard S. Wright Company, which also built the Space Needle and monorail, constructed the schoolhouse in 1916.

The building was known as the Central Grade School. It housed 12 classrooms with eight grades of students. Back then, boys and girls in the seventh and eighth grades were separated.

District administrators moved into the building some 40 years ago. Now, they’ll likely sell it.

Tammi Kinney from the Monroe Historical Society told The Daily Herald in October she hopes the new owner would develop the building into apartments, an events center, farmers market or retail complex like the Interlake Public School in Wallingford.

Frank Wagner Elementary is the only other school building on the town’s historic registry.

At the new offices, there’s more space than administrators need. District leaders could move some school programs into the excess space or sublease portions.

Per the agreement with Lake Stevens-based Natural 9 Holdings, looking for other tenants would require a public bidding process among potential applicants. But Everett Community College is the only organization that could move in without prior approval from Natural 9 Holdings.

The district declined to comment on the building until the lease is signed.

Joey Thompson: 425-339-3449; jthompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @byjoeythompson.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Marysville firefighters respond to a 12-year-old boy who fell down a well Tuesday May 30, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Photo provided by Marysville Fire District)
Marysville firefighters save boy who fell 20 feet into well

The 12-year-old child held himself up by grabbing on to a plastic pipe while firefighters worked to save him.

Highway 9 is set to be closed in both directions for a week as construction crews build a roundabout at the intersection with Vernon Road. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
Weeklong closure coming to Highway 9 section in Lake Stevens

Travelers should expect delays or find another way from Friday to Thursday between Highway 204 and Lundeen Parkway.

Students arriving off the bus get in line to score some waffles during a free pancake and waffle breakfast at Lowell Elementary School on Friday, May 26, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
800 free pancakes at Everett’s Lowell Elementary feed the masses

The annual breakfast was started to connect the community and the school, as well as to get people to interact.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring speaks at the groundbreaking event for the I-5/SR 529 Interchange project on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
$123M project starting on Highway 529 interchange, I-5 HOV lane

A reader wondered why the highway had a lane closure despite not seeing work done. Crews were waiting on the weather.

Justin Bell was convicted earlier this month of first-degree assault for a December 2017 shooting outside a Value Village in Everett. (Caleb Hutton / Herald file)
Court: Snohomish County jurors’ opaque masks didn’t taint verdict

During the pandemic, Justin Bell, 32, went on trial for a shooting. Bell claims his right to an impartial jury was violated.

Gary Fontes uprights a tree that fell over in front of The Fontes Manor — a miniature handmade bed and breakfast — on Friday, May 12, 2023, at his home near Silver Lake in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett’s mini-Frank Lloyd Wright builds neighborhood of extra tiny homes

A tiny lighthouse, a spooky mansion and more: Gary Fontes’ miniature world of architectural wonders is one-twelfth the size of real life.

Will Steffener
Inslee appoints Steffener as Superior Court judge

Attorney Will Steffener will replace Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis, who is retiring in June.

Panelists from different areas of mental health care speak at the Herald Forum about mental health care on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
At panel, mental health experts brainstorm answers to staff shortages

Workforce shortages, insurance coverage and crisis response were in focus at the Snohomish forum hosted by The Daily Herald.

Marysville
Police: Marysville man fist-bumped cop, exposing tattoos of wanted robber

The suspect told police he robbed three stores to pay off a drug debt. He’d just been released from federal prison for another armed robbery.

Most Read