Work to begin soon on Marysville civic center

MARYSVILLE — Changes are coming soon to parts of Marysville’s downtown center.

Construction could begin as early as next month on the Marysville civic campus that would house city services, along with a new jail, police station and municipal court.

On Monday, the Marysville City Council voted to hire Lydig Construction, Inc. to complete the project. Work is expected to begin in January, city spokesperson Connie Mennie said.

“We’ve had crews out basically clearing the site so it’s construction ready,” she said.

The new campus is going to be between Fifth and Eighth streets, along Delta Avenue, west of Comeford Park. The plan is to build a 80,369-square-foot space for courts, the police department and a four-story City Hall, that would be connected to a 20,848-square-foot jail.

Construction is expected to take about two years and cost roughly $50 million.

Everett-based architects Botesch, Nash & Hall designed the new building.

Money for the public safety center comes from a voter-approved criminal justice tax that went into effect at the beginning of the year. It increased city sales tax by 0.1%, or 10 cents for every $100 purchase.

Between January and October, the new tax collected more than $770,200, Mennie said.

Last year the city also authorized a $32 million bond to help pay for the project. Once employees move into the new space, the city plans to sell some of its older buildings to help with the cost.

For years, the city has been purchasing land for the upcoming project. In August 2018, voters approved the sales tax increase for public safety services and put the plan in motion.

The city’s police department has outgrown its current location on Grove Street, that was built in the 1980s. Back then there were 24 employees, and now there are about four times that many. The city population also has grown by more than 60,000 people since then.

Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @stephrdavey.