The Burien Community Center Annex ("the Annex") was located in the former Burien Community Center. The building sat next to a multi-amenity park that includes a popular skate park, basketball court, picnic tables, and open grassy spaces.
Following six months of public process, including extensive debate and consideration by the Burien City Council, on May 18, 2020 the City Council voted to demolish the Annex. The demolition process occured in the summer of 2020, following the July 31, 2020 date when leases ended for all remaining tenants. The City’s Annex Tenant Support Team worked directly with Annex tenants on relocation efforts. The decision was based on significant concerns about the buildings’ safety for the tenants, public, and staff. Many of the systems in the building were at the end of their operational life.
The City Council also authorized $350,000 be transferred from other capital projects and the capital reserve to the support the demolition of the Annex. To accomodate this transfer, a project aimed at addressing a non-critical landslide area in Seahurst Park and a master plan process for Hilltop Park were delayed.
Why was the Annex closed?
The City hired MENG Analysis in November 2019 to conduct an examination of the Annex in order to provide an assessment of the condition of the Annex’s roof, chimney, boiler, HVAC, air quality, electrical, foundation, and other fixtures. The City undertook this evaluation in order to inform the its decision to either salvage or demolish the Annex.
The consultant delivered a Facility Condition Assessment of the condition of the Annex to City on December 16, 2019. The consultant reported several key environmental health and safety concerns such as materials potentially containing asbestos that were deteriorating, lead pipes that could cause elevated lead levels in drinking water, structural issues with the chimney, and lack of fire sprinklers throughout most of the facility. Furthermore, the consultant identified several systems that were at the end of their useful life including the building’s plumbing, boiler, electrical, and ventilation systems. The physical structure of the building was also failing, including the roof, siding, and windows. Common industry practice is to create a scale for interpreting the Facility Condition Index as a way to prioritize facility needs and or to determine if a facility is worth updating. The Annex was rated as being in critical condition on the Facility Condition Index, meaning the deficiencies cost more than building replacement.
Estimated costs included:
- Deficiencies which required remediation by 2024 totaled $6 million.
- Approximately 12 percent of that total ($738,000) is directly related to life and safety.
- After the deficiencies are addressed, the cost of maintaining the facility as-is (assuming no large code upgrades or remodels) from 2025 to 2038 would be an additional $4.8 million.
- The estimated cost for replacing the North Building with a new facility would have been $6.8 million.
- The estimated cost for replacing the South Building with a new facility would have been $4.6 million.
Burien Community Center Annex Facility Condition Reports
Annex tenant support
The City of Burien assembled an internal team dedicated to assisting the tenants of the Annex with relocation. The Annex Tenant Support Team is evaluated other city facilities, sought alternate sites in Burien, and worked with external partners to support relocation efforts. The City also waived rent for the month of January 2020 for all the organizations, and on July 6, 2020, the City Council approved refunding rent paid for April through June 2020.
Updated July 22, 2020