About three years ago, Mike and Brian McMenamin tapped into the city of Bothell with a proposal to operate one of their famed brewpubs/hotels at the downtown Anderson School Building on Bothell Way Northeast (State Route 527).

In July 2010, the Oregon-based brothers greeted city officials and the public and discussed their plans for the 70-room hotel and entertainment complex, which is slated to feature a restaurant, pub, movie theater, live-music space, spa, garden, pool and meeting room.

Last Friday, the McMenamins sealed the deal on a purchase-and-sale agreement (PSA) for more than $7 million in cash and non-monetary compensation for the 5.41-acre site, which features the old Northshore Pool that Bothell residents can use for free for 15 years.

“McMenamins is a deeply respected Northwest family business with a proven track record of restoring historic buildings and transforming them into regional attractions for food, lodging, cinema and live performances. The people of the city of Bothell are about to witness the remaking of the historic Anderson building into an active gathering place that will be a treasure for our community for decades to come,” said Mayor Mark Lamb.  “This deal took many years of hard work and persistence to come to fruition and I want to thank our staff and my fellow councilmembers for their perseverance and long-range vision that led to this result.”

According to a recent city of Bothell report, construction for the entire project will occur by July 1, 2013, with opening for the entire project no later than August 2014, five months later than anticipated in the original development agreement.

Due to a need for environmental cleanup work, the Bothell-McMenamins PSA closing date and environment contingency period was extended on several occasions. Bothell and McMenamins initiated the PSA on June 15, 2010.

The city’s development agreement preserves the historic, red-brick art-deco façade of the Anderson building, which originally opened its doors in 1931 and which was remodeled in 1992.

“At the Anderson School, the possibilities are very exciting and a perfect situation for us to have a blast. There are four buildings surrounding the square, where we’ll have fire pits, gardens and wedding and event space. It’ll be a little hang out place, which will be something special,” said Mike McMenamin. “We’ll involve artists who will make sculptures, paintings, glass and even pipe artwork, which I’m sure will be spectacular.”

On the Anderson transformation process, McMenamin added: “The next two years are going to be a whole lot of fun.”

This is the first parcel to close from the city’s 25-acre surplus properties. New development in the downtown pipeline includes $207 million in private-sector residential and commercial mixed use proposed by a number of private developers, including Main Street Properties, Pacific Northwest Construction and Weidner Apartment Homes.

A 1.65-acre parcel, immediately to the south of Anderson, Block L, is currently available for sale by the city.