Thurston County finally approves lease for Atrium building. Here’s how it will be used
Thurston County will move ahead with a plan to lease a large office building and reorganize its offices after a condition for its full approval was satisfied on Tuesday.
In a 2-1 vote, the Board of County Commissioners conditionally approved a lease for The Atrium, a 90,000-square-foot building at 3000 Pacific Ave. on Oct. 5. The board introduced the condition following a public comment from a resident who alleged the county could not move offices outside Olympia’s original limits.
The county must locate its offices within Olympia, the seat of county government. City maps indicate Olympia annexed the area where the Atrium stands today in 1964. The building is located about 0.8 miles east of the city’s 1880 border, according to the map.
During a Tuesday morning executive session, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth Petrich confirmed the Atrium is located within the limits of the city of Olympia as required by statue.
Following the executive session, the board voted 2-1 to accept the opinion and direct County Manager Ramiro Chavez to sign the seven-year lease. Commissioners Tye Menser and Carolina Mejia voted in favor of the lease.
Commissioner Gary Edwards, who has consistently opposed the lease, voted against it, saying the opinion left him dissatisfied.
“I disagree with that legal opinion, although I’m not a lawyer,” Edwards said. “I just think that there are too many avenues of appeal and chances the county will be left holding the bag on a seven-year lease.”
With this lease, the county can move general government offices to the Atrium and create a law and justice center at the current courthouse complex on Lakeridge Drive Southwest. The move will help the county meet its pressing space needs.
In a Tuesday news release, Chavez said the Atrium would not be a permanent solution to the county’s needs.
“This provides the county with an option to expand the much-needed space for the law and justice system and allows time for us to develop a more permanent solution for the Courthouse Complex,” Chavez said.
Chavez crafted a plan to lease the Atrium and reorganize county offices in early 2021, about a year after the board retracted plans to build a new, $250 million courthouse center in downtown Olympia.
The seven-year escalation annual lease would cost from $1.5-1.8 million plus triple net costs. In all, the county would pay MJR Development approximately $11.75 million in rental costs over the lease period.
At just $17.50 per square foot, the county will lease the Atrium below market value, per a county news release, saving it about $4 million over the seven-year term. The release indicates similar office buildings in Olympia can range between $24-27 per square foot.
In addition to those costs, the county has been working with the building owner to plan for tenant improvements that could cost the county up to $10 million.
A draft of the lease indicates it will start April 1, 2022, and end on March 31, 2029. However, it also includes two opportunities for the board to extend the lease term by five years, potentially all the way to 2039.
Once the move is complete, the release says the county plans to make improvements to the aging buildings at the current campus.
The Atrium building will include the following general government offices and departments, per the release.
- Board of County Commissioners, including Commissioner’s Chambers/Board Room
- Assessor’s Office
- Auditor’s Office
- Treasurer’s Office
- Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED)
- Public Works Development Review
- Public Health and Social Services Environmental Health Permit Review
- Central Services Admin and Accounting
- Board of Equalization
- Information Technology
- Geodata
- Human Resources
Meanwhile, the courthouse complex will be reconfigured into a law and justice center. The following offices and departments will be located there, according to the release.
Building 1:
- Clerk’s Office
- Pre-Trial Services
- Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (Criminal and Civil Divisions)
Building 2:
- Superior Court
Building 3:
- District Court
Building 4:
- Public Defense
- Drug Court
- Resource Hub
Buildings 5 and 6:
- Sheriff’s Office
This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 5:15 AM.
