Update: Thurston commission delays vote on major office space expansion Tuesday
Update: The Board of County Commissioners delayed the vote on whether to lease the Atrium building, citing unresolved questions about the budget impact, during an agenda setting meeting Tuesday morning. The board moved the item to Sept. 28, with the possibility of a further delay. The original story follows.
A vote on whether Thurston County should lease nearly 90,000 square feet of office space at 3000 Pacific Ave. SE will come before the board of county commissioners Tuesday, Sept. 21.
In a 2-1 decision last week, the board supported setting the lease option for the two-story Atrium building on their regular meeting agenda. If approved, the county would pay MJR Development a total of $11.75 million over seven years.
Beyond the rent costs, the county would have to pay for tenant improvements that could run about $7 million. Additionally, the county has the option to extend the lease by three years.
The plan to lease the Atrium has been in the works over the past several months as the county considered how to meet its space needs. The condition of the current Lakeridge Drive campus has deteriorated over the years into an inconvenience for county staff.
A solution seemed to be on the horizon last year, but then the pandemic hit. In March 2020, the commissioners retracted a ballot initiative that could have raised property taxes to build a new county courthouse and office complex, citing COVID-19 concerns.
Since then, county staff have worked to find a temporary solution to the county’s space needs. Earlier this year, County Manager Ramiro Chavez presented the board with the option of leasing the Atrium and reorganizing government offices.
Under the new plan, Chavez has said general government offices would move to the Atrium while the main campus would be reconfigured into a law and justice center. This would give the county time to renovate the campus’ aging buildings.
On Tuesday, Chavez told the board his staff picked the Atrium because there was no other building of comparable size available within Olympia, the seat of county government.
The proposed lease rate starts at $17.50 per square foot with 50-cent annual increases. This is significantly below the market rate of $24 plus triple net costs, he said.
Commissioners Tye Menser and Carolina Mejia said they supported leasing the Atrium despite objections from Commissioner Gary Edwards.
Edwards said he did not support approving the lease because he believes work-from-home trends may be negating the need for more space. He also questioned the cost of the project.
“A lot of issues come into play, I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do with taxpayer’s money right now,” Edwards said. “The public doesn’t trust us to do the right thing with any money.”
Rather than lease this space, Edwards said he would support a public-private partnership to build a “first-class” courthouse. Under this model, the county could theoretically build the first few floors and allow a private developer to take on the rest.
Mejia agreed the county is facing a general lack of trust, but she attributed it to inaction over the years. She said she’s open to exploring a public-private partnership, but the only viable option she’s seen so far is the Atrium.
“At this time, we cannot just continue the path where we’re going and not do anything because the needs are there,” Mejia said. “They are not going away and they’re just going to intensify the more time we let pass by.”
Although telework appears to be expanding, she said county staff have told her that many government services still need to be done in person.
“The majority of them have to be present because of the duties of jobs that they do, where they’re serving the public directly,” Mejia said. “So, it doesn’t really change the need for space in that time.”
Menser called leasing the Atrium a “moderate intermediate approach” compared to putting a new courthouse proposal back on the ballot.
“This was always Plan B,” Menser said. “Plan A was to try to create a new consolidated facility that for many reasons we’re not moving forward with. The next best thing was to reinvest in our courthouse campus.”
He added all impacted offices and departments have indicated their support for the reorganization plan.
“That’s a pretty tall order and heavy lift,” Menser said. “I think it just illustrates the acuteness of the need.”
The board will vote on whether approve the lease for the Atrium during the Tuesday, Sept. 21 meeting at 2 p.m. Residents can comment near the start of the meeting.
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 2:18 PM.
