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Citizens had a chance Wednesday night to view the final drawings for a new Mountlake Terrace City Hall and police station addition, and also got a first look at three concepts for a new public gathering space planned for the northeast corner of the new Civic Campus.
The Civic Campus project is being funded by a $12.5 million bond measure voters passed in November 2017. The estimated size of the new building is 18,000 square feet, which will include city offices, council chambers and lobby space. Additionally, the Mountlake Terrace police station will be expanded by 3,000 square feet.
In addition, the project will include a public gathering space — the Town Center park/plaza — which is being funded separately by developer impact fees.
The design process for the new City Hall started with an open house in April, when ARC Architects asked for generic ideas of what the structure should look like and features it should contain. This was followed by a second open house in July, when Rex Bond and Jeff Wandasiewicz, both of ARC Architects, presented two building options with different features. Attendees were asked their opinions for which features of each building worked, and which did not.
During his presentation Nov. 14, Bond said that a major change based on opinions expressed at the July open house was changing the one-a-half story office wing at city hall to two stories. The new design also incorporates timbers, columns, beams, large overhangs and cedar siding, which reflects “the very strong idea of the Northwest,” he said.
The result is a building “that is really unique to Mountlake Terrace,” Bond said. “We’ve never done a building that looks like this before.”
Wandasiewicz said Nov. 14 that one of the goals of the design was “to make a big gesture to the street,” one that is attractive to people both as they enter and as they are driving by. Another goal was to ensure the building was “warm and inviting for people to come into, and very clear and understandable where to go.”
The design also uses a lot of glass, which was another key piece of feedback from attendees at the July open house — “try to get as much glazing and transparency into this building as possible,” Wandasiewicz said. “Not to make it a walled-off building where you don’t know what’s going on in public government behind closed doors.”
The council chambers space, which will also serve as a communal gathering space when not used for city meetings, features the tallest pieces of glass. “It’s kind of the jewel that would glow at night,” Wandasiewicz said.
The police station addition has been designed with the same Northwest features, so that it blends with the new city hall building. For security reasons, it has fewer windows and those windows are located higher on the building.
City officials noted during tbe Nov. 14 meeting that the city also is continuing to work to identify funding for a remodel of the existing police station. In an effort to be cost conscious and ensure that the bond measure receive citizen support, that remodel was not included in the $12.5 million voter-approved bond to fund the new city hall and police station addition.
Wandasiewicz said that the city hall lobby design features an open, clean look with glass and Northwest accents, including exposed beams and wood. The plan is to include a children’s area to accommodate families visiting the building.
Ensuring the safety of staff was also a priority, and “is a trend we’re seeing in the lot of municipalities we are working with right now,” Wandasiewicz said. As a result, the public will have access to the main counters but not to the city office wing. An interior glass conference room off the lobby will be available for citizens to meet with staff members.
Reactions from those attending were positive, although some concerns were expressed about ensuring that there was another way — in addition to the main entry — for people to exit in case of an emergency. One possible alternative could be to add an emergency exit-only door, Bond said.
Construction on the new Civic Campus is scheduled to begin next summer.
Following the review of the revised City Hall designs, the city’s Recreation and Parks Advisory Commission hosted a presentation by MacLeod Reckord, who showed three concepts related to the the Town Center park/plaza space — which will be funded by developer impact fees.
Three concepts reflecting a range of geometric configurations were introduced, but both speakers from landscape architecture firm MacLeod Reckord stressed that desired elements of each concept could be pulled together in a new design.
Variations between the designs — called the Angle, Terrace and Plinth — include the level of integration of the sidewalk space, furniture types and placement, water features, paving and lighting elements and plantings.
Each of the concepts features a large open space, which could accommodate a variety of activities, from a farmers market to performances to craft fairs, said Arielle Farina-Williams of MacLeod Reckord. A main element included in all three concepts in a water feature, which is something the community has asked for in past meetings. This could take the form of programmable spray jets — which several attendees agreed would be a fun feature for children — or a more static pool.
The City of Mountlake Terrace has posted the draft Town Center Plaza concepts on its website, and is asking for public feedback.
You can review the designs further and add your opinions at this link.
— Story and photos by Teresa Wippel
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