LYNNWOOD – They won’t start building a planned $31 million convention center in Lynnwood until early in 2004, but officials celebrated anyway on Oct. 21 in what they called a “commencement of construction” ceremony.
It was the day the Snohomish County Public Facilities District gave the city a check for $2.3 million, the first installment of hotel-motel tax receipts that will be used to pay for the new facility.
Travis Snider, chairman of the county facilities district, hailed the center as a catalyst for development. He recalled how several years ago — in talking about the need to attract more tourist dollars to the area — he was told there was nothing to do in Snohomish County.
“Now we’ll have things to do,” he said, referring to the Lynnwood center, the new arena in Everett and its professional hockey team, a planned arts facility in Edmonds and a planned aviation museum at Paine Field. All four facilities have or will receive money from the county’s hotel-motel tax.
The Lynnwood convention center is expected to bring more than 40,000 people a year to the city and generate $9 million to $13 million in additional tourist revenue. It’s planned for about 12 acres on 196th Street SW near I-5.
The new building is a key component of Lynnwood’s city center project, a plan to transform the commercial area between Alderwood Mall and 44th Avenue W. into a downtown for the city, which has none now.
Snohomish County Council member Gary Nelson talked Tuesday of being in the Legislature in 1981 when lawmakers allowed residents to create cultural arts and stadium districts that could increase property taxes to pay for new facilities. He reminded those on hand that Lynnwood tried twice before to build an arts and convention facility. While the facilities won broad support, residents refused to increase property taxes to pay for them.
The hotel-motel tax, Nelson said, was a “milestone in being able to support this facility.”
Lynnwood Mayor Mike McKinnon said the center is likely the first of what will be more public venues in the area, although nothing specific is planned.
“We have a 12-acre site that will certainly take more building than we have planned for it,” he said. “Whether it will be an arts and convention center, I don’t know. It won’t be a hockey rink.”
The city has already begun working on the site and expects to have the existing buildings demolished and the site ready for construction in the spring, with completion set for early 2005. The city is already seeking bids for the project and plans to select a contractor in December.
Benbow is a writer for the Herald in Everett.
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