City Of Everett Will Not Purchase Snohomish Health District Building

The City of Everett has decided not to purchase the building that currently houses the Snohomish Health District at 3020 Rucker in downtown Everett’s central business district.

The city had put a $100,000.00 deposit down while it studied the possibility of converting the building to house staff from the Public Works Department.

At Wednesday’s Everett City Council meeting the city administration reported to council that they have decided not to proceed with the purchase. Here’s a more detailed explanation via email to MyEverettNews.com from Meghan Pembroke with the city.

Our analysis of the Health District Building determined that this option would be more expensive, and take longer to implement, than other short-term options.

The City’s earnest money deposit will be returned in full. As part of our due diligence period, DLR did a feasibility study, which included cost estimates for updating the building to life-safety standards.

The City team has evaluated close to 20 short-term options, initially looking at quantitative criteria, such as cost estimates and timeframe for construction. The team is now evaluating the options against qualitative criteria, such as customer experience and the ability to effectively deliver services. Roen Associates is assisting the City team in this effort. The evaluation will continue over the next few weeks, with the expectation of bringing a recommendation to Council in April.

The city’s decision not to buy the Snohomish Health District building may have an effect on another real estate deal in downtown Everett as the Health District has been considering purchasing the Volunteers of America buildings at Lombard and California streets with proceeds from the sale to the city. Since that is not going to happen the Snohomish Health District has called a special meeting for Wednesday March 28th to determine their next steps.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin told the council on Wednesday her administration’s priority is on a short-term fix to get Public Works employees into a safe work-space at a low cost.