Burien’s “old library” building’s renovation is nearly complete, and when it’s opened April 13th, it’ll serve as a temporary new home for the Community Center, as well as offices for Burien Parks & Recreation Department.

Total cost of the renovation was just under $1.5 million.

Our friends at Burien Parks released this video on Tuesday (Mar. 16th) showing the progress:

by Ralph Nichols

Burien building inspectors have granted temporary occupancy approval to Highline Medical Center’s new three-story Emergency Department and Patient Care Unit – leaving only one more permitting step before the $60 million addition can start receiving patients.

City Manager Mike Martin noted in his report for tonight’s (Monday, Feb. 22) council meeting:

“Temporary occupancy allows hospital personnel to enter the new facility for the purpose of setting up equipment, bringing in furniture and providing staff training while the contractors continue to complete final items needed to obtain a certificate of occupancy.

“All additional work needed to obtain final occupancy is expected to be completed by March 17,” Martin added. He said review and inspections have “involved hundreds of hours of staff time.”

The 79,607 square foot addition, which includes a parking garage for primary use by the Emergency Department, is scheduled to open to patients on April 13. The grand opening of the Emergency Department will be April 9-10 and will include a public open house.

Emergency staff will begin training in the new facility once the final occupancy permit is granted by the city.

With 27,000 square feet of floor space, the new Emergency Department triples the size of the existing 50-year-old emergency facility. The new department includes three triage rooms, 32 private examination rooms, two trauma bays, and its own diagnostic imaging area.

Burien’s Gregory Heights Elementary Schools is one of 11 schools honored for completing the first level of King County’s Green Schools Program.

It is one of four Highline School District schools recognized; the others include Beverly Park Elementary School in unincorporated King County, Madrona Elementary School in SeaTac, and North Hill Elementary School in Des Moines.

Each school received a “We are a King County Green School” banner, a certificate of recognition, a success story on the program Web site and mention in a press release issued by King County.

Participating schools receive assistance on how to conserve resources such as paper, electricity and water, and they are often rewarded with reduced utility and garbage disposal costs.

“Each of these 11 schools has involved its whole school community – students, teachers and administrators – in reducing garbage and increasing recycling,” said Dale Alekel, King County Green Schools Program manager.

Highline Schools honored include:

• Gregory Heights Elementary School (Burien)
  
• Beverly Park Elementary School (unincorporated King County)
• Madrona Elementary School (SeaTac)
• North Hill Elementary School (Des Moines)

These schools completed level one of the program by initiating or improving recycling practices and engaging in waste-reduction strategies, such as decreasing paper use. Success stories for each school are at this website.

According to the King County website, some of Gregory Heights’ achievements include:

Waste Reduction and Recycling:

• The school increased its recycling rate from 23 percent to 38 percent.
• Efforts included educating students about recycling, reducing lunchtime garbage volume and launching breakfast milk carton recycling.
• The Gregory Heights Student Leadership Team gave classroom presentations on recycling, launched classroom waste audits, made posters and purchased a worm bin to begin composting food scraps
• Recycling containers provided by the Green Schools Program were added to the lunchroom for milk cartons, juice boxes, plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
• School staff placed recycling stickers on classroom and lunchroom recycling containers. Provided by the Green Schools Program, the stickers list what can and can’t be recycled.
• The school promoted and initiated a “waste free lunch” day in which students and staff were encouraged to reduce their lunchtime garbage. Students and staff noticed that garbage bins were much less full on the “waste free lunch” day.
• Students participated in a “zero waste” cubby clean out at the end of the year. Unwanted materials that would have been disposed in past years were reused or recycled.
• The school instituted “reuse it” boxes for paper. Eighty percent of the school’s teachers use these boxes in their classrooms.

2008 King County Earth Hero at School award:

The school received this award for the collaborative effort among students, parents, the PTSA, teachers, office, support staff and principal that resulted in a comprehensive recycling program with widespread participation. Students decorated bulletin boards with recycling information, the PTSA purchased recycling containers, student leaders and lunch assistants guided students on proper recycling, and a recycling ethic now pervades the entire school.

Participation in the King County Green Schools Program has grown each year. To date, 10 of King County’s 18 school districts have received assistance or are now participating, and in doing so they have increased recycling, reduced energy and resource consumption, and engaged students in benefiting the environment.

The program has helped more than 300 schools cut waste and save resources since its inception in 2003. By providing hands-on assistance, including school visits, tailored recommendations, help with outreach to students and staff, and recycling containers and stickers, the Green Schools Program provides schools and school districts with the support they need to set up and maintain effective conservation practices.

In addition to providing schools with the hands-on help they need, the program offers a website, www.kingcounty.gov/GreenSchools, with useful tools and resources.

Schools interested in receiving assistance to improve conservation practices can contact Dale Alekel at dale.alekel@kingcounty.gov.

And don’t forget – Gregory Heights’ “Better Together” Auction is coming up Saturday, Feb. 27th – read more about it here.

Burien’s “old library” building is in the midst of a major renovation, and when it’s completed it’ll serve as a temporary new home for the Community Center, as well as offices for Burien Parks & Recreation Department.

Our friends at Burien Parks released this video Monday (Jan. 25th) showing the progress:

by Ralph Nichols

Fire District No. 2 commissioners voted at their Dec. 2 meeting to purchase the Bonney-Watson funeral chapel property at 900 SW 146th St. for a new fire station for the Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department.

All three commissioners were “advocates for the new site,” Fire Chief Mike Marrs told The B-Town Blog.

Marrs said earlier that once a property for the new fire station was acquired, “design and permitting will start in earnest around the first of the year.”

This timetable should permit construction to begin in December 2010 or January 2011, with the fire department moving into its new station about 12 months later.

Cameron Smock, president of CEO of B-W Memorial Corp., which owns this and other Bonney-Watson chapels in King County, said “the fire department approached us unsolicited” to inquire about purchasing this site.

“Bonney-Watson has been serving Burien for a long time, the fire department needed a location for its new station, and this seemed like the right thing to do for the community,” Smock noted.

Another reason they decided to sell is that, with their chapel and cemetery in SeaTac and a chapel in Federal Way, “we will continue to serve Burien.”

Fire District No. 2 and Bonney-Watson are expected to issue a joint press release about the purchase Friday morning (Dec. 4).

Voters in Fire District No. 2 approved a $25 million bond issue in November 2008 for construction of new downtown and Normandy Park fire stations. This includes property acquisition and equipping the stations.

Burien needs a new fire station to replace the outdated existing facility at the corner of SW 151st Street and 8th Ave South.

A top priority for the fire department has been a downtown location where response times will be no more than seven minutes anywhere in the district. In addition, a location near major arterials that provide direct access to State Route 509 was desired.

The location of the Bonney-Watson property meets both requirements, and also provides “plenty of on-site parking for us, even when station public meeting rooms are in use,” Marrs said.

Some Burien City Council members were concerned about a possible net loss of public parking when the fire district earlier considered another property in the downtown area.

The Normandy Park fire station at 135 S. Normandy Road will be built at that location. The existing station will remain in operation during construction.

Here’s a link to a PDF of the press release.

Burien’s Puget Sound Skills Center announced Monday (Oct. 26th) that it is offering a pilot program for high school students for building and construction trades.

Along with Wenatchee’s Skills Center, the school will offer the pilot programs for core skills for pre-apprenticeship in the building and construction trades.

It’s one of only two pilot programs on the West Coast.

Here’s more from a press release:

“Graduates are going to have fine marketable skills, very marketable that our industry needs for tomorrow’s technology,” said Eric Peterson, Sheet Metal Workers JATC. “They are going to be able to live well and provide for their families.”

Sean McGarvey, Secretary Treasurer of the national Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO said, “The Building Trades Multi-Craft Core Curriculum is an innovative training program that provides a gateway from high school or community college to joint labor-management registered apprenticeships throughout the United States.”

The Core Curriculum is also designed to provide an on ramp to careers in the construction trades for adults exploring a career transition. The Building Trades “Core” was developed as a national industry credential by the National Apprenticeship and Training Directors in the construction industry to establish, for the first time, a standardized pre apprenticeship for entry into any of the crafts in the Building Trades.

The Puget Sound Skills Center in King County’s Highline School District and the Wenatchee Skills Center in Eastern Washington are among the first in the nation to pilot the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum. The Training Centers are creating new opportunities for many in the communities they serve to earn a family sustaining wage while earning the credentials for a career in the construction industry.

‘We in the Building Trades are pledged to building these partnerships with the Puget Sound and Wenatchee Skills Centers,” McGarvey said. “They share our commitment to preparing young people and adults for careers in the construction industry. And like us, they have shown they are determined to help students and workers reach informed career choices by providing knowledge about the training path required.”

“Washington State’s skills centers offer students the proper instructional attention, space and industry interaction to achieve pre apprenticeship basic skills,” said Dave Johnson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO.

“Apprenticeship in the trades provides affordable, earn while you learn, collegiate pathways that can lead to engineering, project management and design service professions for the next generations of creative thinkers and problem solvers,” Johnson said. “These students will help shape and fuel the technological changes that green our industries like construction and manufacturing.”

The national Building and Construction Trades Department selected these two pilots based on Washington’s unique apprenticeship utilization laws for public works construction, strides made to build a seamless P-20 Career and Technical Education system, and for their recognition and political leadership to return pre apprenticeship in the 21st century model of education reform.

by Ralph Nichols

The location for a new Burien/Normandy Park fire station in the city’s downtown business district could be selected before the end of November.

And, Fire Chief Mike Marrs told The B-Town Blog, if a land-acquisition agreement is reached by then, the new fire station could be built and occupied by late 2011.

“We’re progressing pretty well,” Marrs said. “We’d like to have been further along, but the reality is that it takes time to put together a real estate deal.”

Burien needs a new fire station to replace the outdated existing facility at the corner of SW 151st Street and 8th Ave South. But Marrs and Fire District 2 commissioners don’t want the new facility located just anywhere.

A top priority is locating the new station downtown where response times will be no more than seven minutes anywhere in the district. In addition, they want to locate the new facility near main arterials that will also provide direct access to State Route 509.

“We’d like to stay within five to seven blocks of where we are now,” he said. “That works pretty well for us.”

Last November, voters in the fire district approved a bond issue to replace both the Burien fire station and the Normandy Park fire station at 135 S. Normandy Road. Plans call for rebuilding the fire station in Normandy Park at its current location.

Marrs said earlier that both new fire stations are needed because the existing facilities were built about 50 years ago. Now the aging buildings – not built for such things as equipment for contamination calls that weren’t part of the service then – “have all sorts of deficiencies including seismic.”

In addition, the existing Burien station can’t house the department’s ladder truck downtown, where it’s needed.

The fire department is “actively pursuing several sites,” Marrs added. “We’re leaving all options open as we look at different parcels. We’re trying to get a location that makes the best economical and operational sense. We’re trying to find a good deal that’s in a good location for us.”

Earlier this year, the department expressed interest in the city’s municipal parking lot between SW 150th St. and SW 151st St. on the east half of the block east of 8th Ave. SW.

But Burien City Council members Sue Blazak and Lucy Krakowiak expressed concern during an August council meeting about losing parking spaces downtown. Blazak indicated that new parking would have to be found before she could support letting the fire department build at that location.

Since then the fire department has looked at a number of private properties downtown.

“All sites looked at have varying degrees of buildings and vacant land on them, with a number of parcels put together” to provide the land needed for a new station,” Marrs said.

“There’s not a lot of large parcels left in downtown Burien, so it’s a package of smaller parcels. It’s a real mix and match.”

Once a land deal is reached, the design and permitting process will begin, a process that will take about a year, followed by construction of the new station, which will take about another 12 months.

by Ralph Nichols

Just over six months from now, a new Burien Community Center will open to the public in the old library building at SW 146th Street and 4th Ave. SW.

Remodeling of the 20,000-square-foot library building is expected to begin in late October or early November, following the permitting process, with completion anticipated by the end of January, says Michael Lafreniere, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

McKinstry Co. of Seattle has been awarded the contract for general construction, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and electrical improvements. The building was vacated in June when the Burien library moved into the new library/city hall building at SW 152nd and 4th Ave. SW.

The new community center will include programs for seniors; the remodel will include a small kitchen for catered meals for seniors.

Lafreniere expects his department will begin the move from the existing community center at SW 144th and 4th Ave. SW in February, and that staff will have everything “ready and running come April” for the start of Parks and Recreation’s spring program schedule.

The total cost of transforming the library building into a community center is just under $1.5 million.

Final approval for spending that amount on this project came on a 4-2 vote by the Burien City Council last month as lawmakers authorized transfer of $425,000 from the city’s general fund and Parks and Recreation budget and another $75,000 from the Capital Projects Reserve Fund.

Councilman Gordon Shaw strongly dissented, calling it “foolish” spending, and Councilwoman Rose Clark cast a “reluctant” no vote because of financial realities.

The remodeled library is expected to house the community/senior center only for three to five years, when plans call for a new community/senior center to be built at the current site – if the economy improves and if voters approve a bond issue to finance construction.

Shaw argued that instead of spending over a million dollars on a temporary facility, that money should be put in the bank, which when make a new community/senior center building more affordable when that day comes.

Kristy Dunn, the department’s recreation supervisor, says the remodeled library will house seven rooms for a variety of arts, learning and recreation programs, a larger “gathering space” for the community, an area for teenagers, possibly a dedicate space for exercise equipment, the catering kitchen, and staff offices.

“The new facility will cater better to the idea of a gathering space for all the community,” Dunn observes. The space will be “welcoming and integrated into an all-ages community center.”

Less than two years ago, preliminary plans called for construction of a new $35 million Burien Community Recreation Center that would include senior programs, with work beginning last July and a grand opening projected for January 2011.

But those plans were put on hold when the federal and state economies tumbled in 2008 and local sales tax revenue also declined.

City Manager Mike Martin says that following the move of the Parks and Recreation programs to the remodeled facility next spring, a number of non-profit programs will continue to operate out of the current community center building.

These include the Burien Little Theatre, Para Los Ninos, and Pre-School Cooperative, and White Center Head Start until its facility is rebuilt.

So what do YOU think about this? Please Comment or take our poll below…

Highline Public Schools will be holding a special grand opening celebration for the recently-rebuilt Marvista Elementary School on Thursday, Sept. 24th, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

There will be a short program beginning at 5:45pm, with tours and dinner following; all are invited.

Marvista welcomed its 550 students to their new building on the first day of school on Wednesday, Sept. 9th. The main components of the building – classrooms, lunchroom, and common areas – were completed on time and on budget. Finishing touches, such as landscaping and playfields, will be completed in the next few weeks.

“Our students and staff are so excited about the new building,” said Principal Rebekah Kim. “It provides space for great learning opportunities and for our community to gather – with the school as the centerpiece.”

Marvista, located in Normandy Park, is the twelfth new school to be completed in Highline since 2004. The construction projects have been financed by bonds approved by voters in 2002 and 2006. Prior to 2002, no school construction bond had been approved since 1986. During that 16-year period, the district was unable to replace aging buildings.

“We had a long list of old and outdated schools that needed to be replaced,” said Superintendent John Welch. “We are grateful that the community saw that need and approved the funding to allow us to build schools that are safer and provide the current technology our students need to compete in today’s world.”

Marvista is located at 19800 Marine View Drive SW in Normandy Park.

The B-Town Blog extends a welcoming hand to its latest Advertiser – Ventana Construction, LLC!

Ventana Construction is a full-service custom home and remodeling contractor based nearby in West Seattle. It’s a family-owned business with a full staff of skilled craftsmen. They specialize in whole-house remodels and additions, with a focus on seamlessly blending the new areas with the existing home. Ventana also does total face-lifts on kitchens, baths and basements, as well as build spectacular outdoor gathering places.

EXPERIENCE
With more than 25 years experience in remodeling and custom home building, Ventana Construction welcomes all kinds of projects. They’ve worked on every kind of home in the region — ‘50s ramblers, ‘40s Tudors, ‘20s Craftsman, ‘60s subdivisions and their own office, built just after the turn of the last century. They’ve done steep slopes and narrow lots, pin piles and lakefront. Ventana understands the materials, the millwork, the function and how to make it all come together.

As a Built Green member of the Master Builders Association, Ventana’s staff is very familiar with green building techniques and materials. They have the knowledge to suggest what makes sense and what may be a needless expenditure. They effectively and proactively work to keep your project in line with your budget.

CREATIVITY & COLLABORATION
Ventana Construction works closely with its clients and architects to build functional spaces with inspired design and stellar finishes. They gather your project team for weekly meetings to go over finish materials, answer questions and look ahead to future decisions.

Creative solutions and use of materials make their projects stand out, from custom-built Craftsman-style railings to modern steel and green materials, Ventana creates seamless transitions from existing to new spaces.

ACCOUNTABILITY
The two most frequently asked questions during a project? “How much”? and “How long?” Ventana Construction provides answers with frequent schedule updates and a weekly report detailing progress and costs by line item.

Clients log in directly from their website to see all of this information. Ventana hosts all project documents, progress photos, master schedules, and post material ordering deadlines online. This allows clients, architects and subcontractors to have a central source of information for project management. Clients can continue to use this login after project completion, sharing photos, looking up paint colors and requesting warranty work. Ventana is one of a select few contractors in the region utilizing this superior project management system.

COMMUNICATION
Ventana Construction provides an exceptional level of communication to its clients. They know their clients have busy lives, so they communicate primarily by e-mail, which allows them to be responsive without being intrusive.

Ventana makes the best possible use of available technology, issuing their site supervisors laptops and digital cameras. The architect needs to send a detail of where the soffit meets the edge of the roof? No problem—Ventana’s supervisors will be able to see it and build from it in just minutes.

Ventana Construction provides complimentary initial consultation and estimates, and also offer fee-based pre-construction budgeting services. Contact Ventana via their website or office—they look forward to hearing what you have in mind!

Ventana Construction
5458 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98136
206-932-3009
Email: office@ventanabuilds.com
Website: www.ventanabuilds.com

[Would you like to have a "Blogvertorial" story and Ad like this for your Business on a popular, fast-growing website seen by 31,000+ interested Local Readers every month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

Please welcome our latest Advertiser: Three-Tree Custom Carpentry Services! Proprietor Matthew Feeney tells us that he’s “local, specialized, and service-oriented.”

“As a twelve-year Burien resident, I’ve come to appreciate how friendly and close-knit B-Town is, and how that’s pretty special and rare,” Matt said. “That’s why I’ve made Burien and its surrounding communities the focus of my business. I aim to continue to make my living doing hands-on carpentry, working locally whenever possible, and to help people realize their ‘dream projects’ at a reasonable price — and to make friends and build relationships in my community along the way.”

Matt described “dream projects” as the ones that you cannot simply go out and buy at a store: A new window seat with storage, a cabinet custom designed to fit a unique space or match something you already have, entertainment centers with multi-media storage. “You know something you’ve always wanted in ‘that space,’ but didn’t know who to turn to for help”, he added.

“My specialty is small jobs that require a bit of design savvy, an assortment of skills, and a focus on detail for which a homeowner or contractor would want to hire a specialist. I offer excellent carpentry at a reasonable price and am working to build a reputation for integrity, reliability, friendliness and professionalism.”

Matt’s services include residential and light commercial finish carpentry ranging from cabinetry, custom built-ins, doors and trim, and smaller scale remodels for homeowners and contractors.

Matt told his story of the birth of Three Tree Custom Carpentry to BTB:

“One afternoon about twelve years ago, as I sat in my cubicle with my eyes glazing over in the glow of my computer, I finally gave in to a long-festering realization: I was not cut out for office work and would never be happy doing it. My real life was out there, somewhere, and the time to find it was now or never.

“I decided then to set aside my tie and a 15-year professional career as an urban planner and within a few months had entered a world of sawdust, saws and sandpaper. It was a tough go coming into the woodworking trade on the bottom wrung, where you have a broom in your hand as much as a saw or a chisel.

“Over the next decade, though, those tools came to fit quite comfortably in my hand, and the years of cabinetry, carpentry, and camaraderie eventually led to a decision two years ago to hang my own shingle.

Many homeowners have enjoyed quality custom cabinetry and finish work with the hanging of the Three-Tree ’shingle’ two years ago. If you would like to join those happy homeowners, contact Matt at 206-931-8728 to discuss your special project.

[Would you like to have a "Blogvertorial" story and Ad like this for your Business on a popular, fast-growing website seen by 31,000+ interested Local Readers every month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

by Gina Bourdage

The term “dive bar” conjures up negative images of dark, smoky, smelly taverns, shady staff and questionable menus full of deep fried mystery food.

Burien’s Barrel Tavern is in no way any of these things.

In a time where trendy bars are becoming dives or using gimmicks to lure you in, while dive bars are becoming trendy bars by serving 40s or watered down versions of drinks they call “specialty beverages,” there are fewer and fewer places serving up a good old dash of reliability.

After numerous visits, purely for research of course, I found there was far more at The Barrel than meets the eye:

1. The moment you walk in you are treated like a regular.
2. There are no unidentifiable smells that overwhelm you when you walk in. Rich local history.
3. Plenty of parking. Come on it used to be a Drive In! Built in 1963 as the “Triple XXX Drive In,” owner Linda Enright has worked hard to keep the integrity of the original landmark building.
4. Bikers welcome…but you can come too.
5. Live bands that you actually want to see. And did I mention NO COVER!
6. Seattle’s longest-running open Jam Session every Tuesday.
7. Karaoke every Saturday and sometimes Fridays. Hundreds of great karaoke singers…and 3 bad ones.
8. The most dedicated owner you may ever meet. She cares about her customers and her community.
9. No drama policy. Do not test this one – trust me, the staff will win.
10. Free poker tourney every Wednesday.
11. A menu that could put most dinners to shame. Fresh, well made pub grub that will have you returning for more than just a beverage. Insiders tip: go for the fresh, not deep fried tacos, the Barrel burger (fresh never frozen) or the Barrel chicken sandwich.
12. Saturday & Sunday breakfast menu that could cure any hangover.
13. If you need more than just liquid entertainment there are darts, a pool table, pull tabs, video games, and flat screens always playing the game.
14. A jukebox that is filled with only the greatest classic rock, country and 80’s faves.

Leave your club clothes at home and forget the overdone hair, this is one spot it won’t work.

Be prepared to sit back, hang out with old friends and even make some new ones.

If you’re looking for a dependable neighborhood bar with a ton of character, in more ways than one, you need not look any further than The Barrel.

The Barrel is located at:

11051 1st Ave S

Seattle, WA 98168

Get Directions

(206) 244-7390

View Larger Map

The slideshow above shows 3-D models of Burien’s proposed Community Recreation Center, and courtesy Burien Parks comes this update:

Several months ago the Burien City Council accepted the proposed Master Plan for the future Community Recreation Center. The Council also accepted a citizens committee recommendation that the timing for a bond measure was not favorable and to wait for a few years to do the project.

The committee also recommended that until such time as a bond measure can be placed on the ballot, existing recreation programs and the citizens using them would be better served by moving the current Burien Community Center operations to the Burien Library. As most everyone knows, the King County Library will relocate its Burien branch to its new building at Burien Town Square in early 2009. After the move, the former library building (which was purchased by the City in 2006) would be available for interim use as a new home for the Department’s recreation and senior programs and offices.

On November 17th, the Burien City Council agreed to:

• Pursue funding and construction of the new Burien Community Recreation Center at a more favorable time;
• Direct staff to secure the services of space planning and associated architectural consultants for the necessary remodel of the Burien library building in 2009;
• Relocate recreation programs from the Burien Community Center, along with the Parks Department’s administrative offices, to the former Burien library building in 2010; and
• The Parks Dept. should continue to manage and lease out the community center building on an interim basis to existing tenants and other groups.

The dream and plan for a new Community Recreation Center in Burien remains alive. It is the City’s intent to pursue the project at a more favorable time, most likely in 3-5 years. Until then, we will continue to work toward the goal of a new community recreation center for the citizens of Burien.

More information is available at the Burien Parks website.

Burien’s historic Bison Creek Pizza has been remodeled, and will re-open this Saturday as Bison Creek Pizza & Pub!

The grand re-opening starts at Noon and goes until 2am.

One reason we’re all over this is that we love the history of the place. The building that houses Bison Creek once served as the “Burien Theater” and showed movies from 1957 and continued until the 1970s when the now-gone Lewis and Clark Theaters were built. According to some sources, the theater was popular for its Saturday triple features of low-budget monster movies, Jerry Lewis double features and the classic Beach Party series.

After the projector lights faded for the last time, it became home to a very unique restaurant called “Big Bob’s Pipe Dream” which had a large 1918 Wurlitzer organ that was moved from Seattle’s Coliseum Theatre (now Banana Republic). The Coliseum was owned by the Bullitt family, who owned KING-TV (disclosure: the Publisher/Editor of the B-Town Blog got his first media “gig” at KING-TV’s “Almost Live!” in 1985, and was proud to say he worked there when an elderly Dorothy Bullitt still ran the place). The story goes that one day the Bullitt sisters decided to sell the pipe organ, and “Bob,” who was a TV technician for KING-TV, was interested. The sisters offered it to him, but he thought he couldn’t afford it. Their reply was, “Would a dollar be too much?”

So this KING-TV tech guy buys a big ol’ pipe organ for a buck from the Bullitt sisters and moves it to Burien! The pipe organ allegedly ended up being sold to a man in Oregon, who used parts to build another one.

And now, the former-movie-theater-turned-pipe-organ-joint-turned-pizza-joint is starting anew as a remodeled pizza-pub-joint.

Bison Creek will now have “pub hours” on both Friday and Saturday nights – starting this Sat. Oct. 11th from 10pm-2am (21 and older only), with live music!

The new owners are inviting everyone to come down for the grand re-opening this Saturday starting at Noon until 2am, so get down there, show your support and tell ‘em the B-Town Blog sent ya!

Bison Creek is located at 630 SW 153rd Street (map below).

View Larger Map

Last week we were invited to a special presentation that revealed the new plans for the Highline Heritage Museum, which will be built at 819 SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien at Ambaum Blvd., where Karuna Yoga is now.

Highline Historical Society Director Cyndi Upthegrove spoke about the new museum, along with Architect Tim Rohleder.

The museum will be housed in a brand new building with some rather innovative features, including:

• Interesting “box-on-box” styled building (see pics below)
• Innovative circulation system that utilizes natural cooling from underground
• A large room suitable for Smithsonian traveling exhibits (making it the only Smithsonian-suitable museum in the area)
• Unique ground floor windows with the faces of local pioneers (again, see photos below)

According to Cyndi, the museum will include some rather unusual (and ambitious) elements:

“The environmental system for the building will be geo-thermal. In this particular application we will be digging 25 pits to around 250 deep below the ground to a place where the temperature is a steady 57 degrees.  Tubes of liquid will circulate through these pits and a heat exchanger will heat and air condition the building using the temperature of the liquid in the tubes. For example, rather than bringing in 37 degree air and heating it to 68 degrees for the building in the winter, we will be using liquid that is already 57 degrees, not needing as much energy to bring the building to the required temp. For a slightly increased installation cost, we will install a system that will pay for itself in energy savings in 5-7 years, and perhaps sooner.

The upstairs gallery will not be developed with permanent exhibits.  Rather, it will be used for temporary and traveling exhibits.  The Society is working with the Smithsonian Institution to become a Smithsonian Affiliate Institution, making it possible to obtain artifacts and exhibits for long term exhibition. It is our intention to use Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Services (SITES) several times a year, as well as other nationally recognized traveling exhibit services to bring changing and interesting materials to the Highline community. The entire building has been designed with the security and environmental conditions in mind to house good traveling exhibits.”

Here are some photos provided by Rohleder Borges Architecture, the architects of the design:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Courtesy our good friends at the King County Library comes this recent photo of the exterior “shell” of the brand spankin’ new library under construction at Burien Town Square:

We’re at the Farmer’s Market, and in the alley behind us today are two moving vans, with sweaty people moving big things.

Upon further investigation, we discovered that BTB Advertiser John L. Scott of Burien is moving into their new offices on SW 152nd in Olde Burien.

According to Amy Hyson, JLS will spend the next few days moving in and unpacking, with plans to officially open Tues. Sept.  2nd.

Another fire struck Burien Monday morning at 111-115 SW 154th, about two blocks from the tragic June 29th apartment arson, and according to the Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department:

This fire was confined to the balcony and building exterior, with some smoke damage inside.

The cause of the fire was accidental, and was started after hot ashes from a BBQ were placed in a paper bag on the deck.

Occupants evacuated without injury.

We happened to be driving nearby Monday morning when we saw numerous fire trucks (including at least one from Sea-Tac), pulled over, looked for the camera and realized it was still packed from last week’s vacation.

We returned this morning and took the above photo.

Some observations we made whilst on the scene:

• The fire was out by the time we arrived (around 9:40am)
• One of the victims of the June 29th arson fire was there, checking it out
• A woman drove up, parked and ran to the scene in a panic to see what happened (perhaps she lived there or nearby?)

One-time sports bar “Rooty’s,” located at 209 SW 148th Street is being uprooted this week to make room for a new transit center:

According to the King County website:

A new expanded transit center now under construction in Burien will provide bus riders with better connections, improved security, and faster travel times for buses.

“This project is a model of how we can make it possible for residents to live and work in walkable, transit-rich communities,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. “Metro Transit partnered with the city of Burien on the design of this transit center to make sure it was consistent with the city’s vision for its downtown core, and to make Burien better prepared to weather impacts when construction begins on the Alaskan Way viaduct.”

Construction of the new Burien Transit Center begins this week. It is located at 4th Avenue Southwest and Southwest 150th Street, the site of the current transit center and Burien Park-and-Ride.

When completed in 2009, the new transit center will have a passenger platform that can accommodate eight buses, and up to eight on-site layover spaces for buses. The buses will load and unload at the off-street bays rather than at the curb on 4th Avenue Southwest as they do now, and passengers will be able to transfer between routes without crossing a busy street. The new transit center will also have a loading platform for paratransit passengers, who will be able to transfer between paratransit vans and Metro’s regular routes at this facility.

The bus layover spaces will reduce the time required for buses to travel to and from the transit center, lowering costs, and improving service. It is expected to speed up bus travel times by five minutes or more per trip.

Other amenities at the transit center include new passenger shelters, benches, security cameras, and improved lighting. It is being built in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration and Burien.

During construction, up to 125 parking spaces in the existing park-and-ride lot will be closed. The reduction in spaces will be phased, and most will not close until early August. Alternate parking is available at the 87 spaces in the city’s nearby municipal lot, or use one of six other local park-and-ride lots.

So…goodbye sports bar, hello buses.

No word yet on whether they’ll have special Catalytic Converter Rip-Off Parking Area or not.