The following is a release from the city of Bothell:
The city of Bothell invites the public to celebrate the completion of its new City Hallfrom 10 a.m. to noon on Nov. 7 at 18415 101st Ave NE in Bothell. A live band will kick things off at 10 a.m., followed by brief speeches, a plaque dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The public will be encouraged to visit all floors of the building for an open house from about 10:45 a.m. until noon. Complimentary refreshments and activities for children, including supervised building with Lego blocks, will be available. The public also can purchase crepes from the Crisp Creperie food truck, which will be on 101st Avenue Northeast. A section of 101st Avenue from 183rd Street to 185th Street will be closed for the event from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Bothell City Hall is an important component of the city of Bothell’s ambitious downtown revitalization, which includes McMenamins Anderson School, new multi-family apartment communities, restaurants and retail, and future plans for two hotels and a specialty grocery store. Serving as a community gathering place, the new City Hall anchors the municipal campus that also includes the Police Department and Municipal Court building. It is designed to create visual and pedestrian connections between key activity centers in downtown through civic and retail plazas and water features. The City Hall plaza and water feature will be completed next year.
“My passion is helping communities redevelop their downtown into the places where people want to live, work, recreate, shop, and socialize,” said Bob Stowe, Bothell City Manager. “The grand opening is a chance to celebrate the City Hall, as well as the opportunities it provides to bring our community together.”
The new City Hall includes a 53,000 square foot, four-story office building with Council Chambers and community meeting spaces, a large plaza and a 254-car parking garage. The garage is designed for shared parking with the future hotels, and will be used for public parking during evenings and on weekends. The new structure is designed to LEED Gold specifications and features a solar array, a living wall and additional LEED designed components. Phase 2 of the project will demolish the old city hall and replace it with a landscaped public green space, which is expected to be completed in February of 2016.
The development team consists of National Development Council, The Miller Hull Partnership, GLY Construction and city Investors Development, an affiliate of Vulcan Real Estate. The team expects the project to come in over $1 million under budget with the conclusion of Phase 1.
“It is Bothell’s fiscal policies and smart investments that have made this building possible,” said John Finke, Senior Program Manager at National Development Council. “Our development team has performed remarkably, resulting in the project being completed on time and with significant cost savings that will be returned to the city.”
Working with the National Development Council, the city of Bothell entered into a public-private partnership that utilized the American Model approach to finance the project. The model allows for a lease / leaseback financing structure using 63-20 Bonds, a form of tax exempt private activity bonds. Upon substantial completion of the project, the facilitating non-profit, National Development Council, will lease back the City Hall project to the City of Bothell. Ownership of the City Hall will transfer to the City at no additional cost when the lease (debt) payments are retired.
