Aging Building will be Replaced with Open Grassy Lawn While Community is Invited to Discuss Future Use of Public Space
The City of Burien will be demolishing the Burien Community Center Annex, located at 425 SW 144th Street between August and October. The City of Burien selected Construction Group International (CGI) LLC through a competitive bid process to implement the demolition of the buildings. The projected cost of the project is $345,400. Funds are being transferred from other park capital projects and the City’s capital reserve fund to pay for the project. This month, the City is finalizing the contract for this work.
The Burien City Council decided to close and demolish the building after learning from a Facilities Condition Assessment that the building has several life safety concerns and is in critical condition, meaning the ratio between the cost to maintain and repair the building to the current replacement value of the facility is high.
The project site will be secured with a chain link fence starting July 27, 2020 to protect the public from construction activities and to secure the site, the park will remain open until the construction starts. The project is set to begin in August and will be completed by October 2020.
During construction, the skate park and basketball court will be closed to protect the public from construction activities. The date of these closures will be announced soon, pending the finalization of the contractor’s schedule.
After demolition of the buildings on the north end of the property is complete, the site will be graded and seeded. The south end of the park will remain in its current state, and the north end of the park will be an open lawn. Parking will be available between the north and south areas of the park. The fence will remain in place after demolition until the grass matures, which will likely be spring of 2021. No changes to the Burien Community Garden will be made at this time. The City will be engaging the community in conversations about future public uses of the site.
The City’s Annex Tenant Support Team continues to work with Annex tenants on relocation efforts. Of the seven tenants who rented space in the building, four have found new locations to continue operations, and three have found storage space while they continue to look for a new location.
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