The Tulalip Indian Reservation is getting a number of upgrades, from a new, glass-faced administration building poised for a commanding view of the region’s islands to fresh cedar siding on a well-loved community hall.
The sound of jackhammers and the sight of cranes will be routine through the rest of the year on the reservation, especially during the warm summer months, when tribal construction crews plan to erect several buildings and finish others.
Tulalip Tribes General Manager Shelly Lacy told tribal members in her weekly general manager’s report that the frame of the $28 million administration building has been constructed. Tribal leaders held a groundbreaking for the building in March 2007. Then, visitors plowed their cars through a muddy gravel road that climbs east from Marine Drive and ascended to a plateau with a bird’s-eye perspective of the reservation and the islands stretching out beyond Possession Sound.
Tribal leaders said then that the 75,000-square-foot building would be finished by August. Lacy said in her weekly report that many of the tribes’ departments, which are currently spread throughout the reservation, plan to move into the new building in December.
The Indian Shaker Church on Meridian Avenue is being rebuilt, despite concerns about tearing down the old church, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The kitchen in the Kenny Moses Building on Totem Beach Road is being renovated, and crews are replacing the building’s old siding with cedar slabs. The building is used for a variety of community events.
Tulalip Data Services has a new home, behind the Quil Ceda Village administration offices near the Tulalip Casino. The foundation for the Hibulb Musem is being poured, and members of the museum staff are designing exhibits. Tribal leaders plan a meeting for tribal members soon to discuss the exhibits.
Tulalip Indian Reservation construction
Tulalip Hotel: 12-story, $130 million luxury hotel is nearly finished, and is scheduled for a soft opening in late June. A grand opening is scheduled for August. Phone reservation lines are already open.
Administration Building: Costing $28 million, the tribes’ new headquarters will house most of the tribes’ 65 departments, which are currently spread out over five miles on the reservation. The old administration building, a low-slung cedar structure built in the 1970s, will be used as a community and youth center. Expected completion date is December.
Tulalip Data Services Building: The department that provides the tribes’ technical infrastructure services, including Tulalip Broadband, and offers high-tech training for tribal members, has been cramped in small offices on 23rd Avenue. A new, $1.5 million building, located behind Quil Ceda Village, has been constructed, and data services employees are expected to move in soon.
Rainwater Road water line: One lane of the road will be closed while crews install a new water line over the next few weeks.
Indian Shaker Church: Crews are rebuilding the church to match the historic building, which has been used by Indian Shakers from around the Pacific Northwest since it was built in 1923. Tribal members voted last year to spend at least $200,000 on the project.
Hibulb Museum: The $10 million, 35,000-square-foot building is being built where Tulalip Data Services was housed on 23rd Avenue. Crews are currently pouring foundation. It’s not clear when that project will be finished.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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