Story & Photos by Scott Schaefer

Burien’s CARES Animal Control Organization announced this week that it plans to move into a larger facility in 2012, in a building located at 909 SW 151st Street, just west of the Taqueria El Rinconsito Mexican Restaurant.

“The new site is 7500 square feet and will be able to accommodate our inbound animals and their needs more efficiently,” reads a press release. “Currently some of our animals are housed with sub-contractors and foster families. The new facility will have a storefront offering retail products and featuring an animal adoption center. It will also have inside kenneling and holding facilities and adoption rooms where potential pet owners can interact with an adoptable animal to see if they are a good match. We will also be sharing some of our space with a dog daycare on site as well as a dog self wash area. We start construction in December and hope to occupy by early 2012.”

We spoke with CARES Director Debra George, who gave us a tour of the building Wednesday morning (Nov. 16).

“Having this new space will not increase our current monthly costs,” George said. “We contract out all our boarding and kenneling, so moving everything into one central location will actually help us become more efficient since we’ll control everything.”

Plans are to build 30 kennels, with eight ready at the opening (slated for sometime in January), a dog wash area shared with ‘Paws and Relax,’ a reception area with some retail, a cattery and more.

George said that they’re currently looking for volunteers and in-kind donations to help build out the new building, which should cost “no less than $20,000 to remodel,” she added. If you’re a carpenter, contractor, plumber or have other skills or materials that you can donate, please email her at debrageorgemi@aol.com.

CARES will also be holding some fundraisers in the near future, so stay tuned to the blog for more info.

Here are some exclusive photos of the new facility, as photographed by Scott Schaefer:

CARES' new facility will be in this building at 909 SW 151st Street near Ambaum Blvd. SW.

The main reception area will be inside the blue-colored door on the right.

Pending some remodeling, this will be the main reception area.

Kennels and adoption rooms will be built in this area.

A dog wash area will be located in the area that most recently housed a liquidation store.

CARES Director Debra George shows off the plans for the remodel.

CARES has also added three new members to its Board of Directors:

• Ray Helms brings with him over 10 years of business experience as an entrepreneur working with cities and their programs for Federal Way, Burien and 4 Culture. He is on a planning commission for Burien as well as an employee of the City of Burien.
• Denise Ferguson brings to the board over 10 years experience as a business owner in Burien and expertise in human resources.
• Cindy Joaquin joins the board also with her extensive 30 years of experience in accounting and bookkeeping as well as her 12 years of service to the King County Southwest Chamber of Commerce.

Here’s more from a press release:

Debra George currently serves the board as the President and also as the volunteer Director of the CARES organization. All of the Board of Directors are animal advocates and are committed to the best support and care in the rescue and welfare of all animals within the City of Burien. Recently the organization lost two founding volunteers whose enormous help, work and commitment is greatly appreciated. We are a better organization for having had their support and we wish them all the best.

As a new non-profit, our daily focus continues to be the highest level of welfare for the animals in the City of Burien. The organizations daily operations are managed by the volunteer Director. CARES employs a thoroughly trained Animal Control Officer and an Office Manager/Animal Placement Specialist. The organization fully follows the Policies and Procedures provided by the City of Burien in the execution of it’s contractual commitments regarding animal control. Each day brings this new organization closer to its goals and we anticipate many success stories in the months and years to come with the training, help and hard work of our employees and volunteers.

Join us during the Winterfest celebration on December 3rd for dog photos with Santa in front of OptiMark at 916 SW 152nd Street. There will also be a small silent auction with some great gift items. All proceeds and donations will benefit Burien CARES.”

You can find additional information about CARES at www.buriencares.com or contact the CARES office at (206) 812-2737.

by Ralph Nichols

The privately owned condominium/retail complex in Burien’s Town Square could finally begin filling up next year.

Developer Urban Partners transferred title of its six-story building to BTS Marketing LLC on Oct. 29 – ending more than a year of uncertainty about the future of this mixed-use project.

Chicago-based Corus Bank, which held Urban Partners’ construction loan, was closed and its assets seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Sept. 11, 2009 – just three months after the complex opened.

BTS Marketing is an affiliate of Corus ST Residential – comprised of the FDIC and several private investors – which became holder of the construction loan.

Corus ST Residential assumed ownership of Corus Bank’s residential construction loan portfolio after the bank failed. Corus ST Residential has no connection to now-defunct Corus Bank.

Now that ownership of the building has been transferred – avoiding a trustee’s sale of the Town Square property, which was in foreclosure, or filing for bankruptcy by Urban Partners to avoid a sale – what happens next?

Spokesman Peter Marino told The B-Town Blog:

“ST Residential will spend the next several months determining what additional investments to make in the property and when to re-launch it into the marketplace.”

ST Residential has retained Urban Partners to manage the condo/retail complex. Urban Partners also still owns two vacant parcels that, when eventually developed, will complete the Town Square project in Burien’s city center.

The change of ownership “moves the ball down the field and in that sense is a very good thing,” Burien City Manager Mike Martin said. “We don’t control the economy, but this does begin to position the project for that moment when it does change.”

Dan Rosenfeld at the Town Square opening, June 2009.

Dan Rosenfeld, a founding member of Urban Partners, agreed it “is good in the sense that it frees up a single party to move forward with the sales of condos and the leasing of ground floor retail.”

Although no longer a member of Urban Partners, the city’s private developer of Town Square, he remains an investor in Urban Ventures, which owned the building and owns the two vacant parcels.

ROSENFELD FAULTS OBSTRUCTION BY FDIC
As long as a cloud of uncertainty about their construction loan and continuing ownership of the Town Square property “was over us, we were unable to move forward” with selling condos and leasing retail space, Rosenfeld said.

And he placed the blame for that uncertainty – and for the failure of negotiations between Urban Partners and Corus ST Residential – squarely on the FDIC.

“I am disgusted that the United States government would act as a predator in this community,” Rosenfeld told the B-Town Blog.

“The buyer [BTS Residential/Corus ST Residential] is 60 percent owned by the FDIC. When the lender [Corus Bank] – not the borrower [Urban Partners] – went into default, the FDIC refused to negotiate with us.”

The FDIC “refused to sell us the loan, which we offered to buy at a premium, and refused to negotiate new terms. Instead, the FDIC sold this loan as part of a package to a speculator from New York while keeping a 60 percent interest for the federal government.

“So, in effect, it’s the U.S. government that’s meddling with the real estate market in downtown Burien,” he added. “I think it’s disgusting and that’s not what our government should be doing. None of this would have happened if the FDIC hadn’t intervened….

“We understood the economics of the market. We understood what the prices should be. We understood what should be done to restart sales. But the FDIC … refused to allow us to go forward.”

Rosenfeld said the FDIC has “blown out one development after another [and] the profit goes to the feds. That’s a bad policy for the federal government to have … taking investments from private businesses.”

Given these circumstances, the property transfer “is good for the city of Burien because it will clear up title and allow the owner to complete the sales of condos and the leasing of the ground floor.”

Only six of the building’s 124 condo units were sold and none of its 19,700 square feet of retail space for shops and restaurants was leased before the failure of Corus Bank put marketing them on hold.

“I have no doubt that Burien Town Square will be an outstanding successful project, that every unit will be occupied and all the ground floor leased,” he continued. “That’s what we promised and that’s what the community will get.

“This is a first-class project and it just needs to fill up.”

Rosenfeld said their intent after negotiations failed was for the transfer of title from Urban Partners to BTS Marketing/Corus ST Residential to be “seamless. At this time it is best for the project.”

And he stressed the fact the title “did not go back to the original lender” – the failed bank – “is an important distinction. Urban Partners didn’t default. The lender [Corus Bank] defaulted. We had no bank to negotiate with.”

HISTORY OF THE LOAN
Urban Partners financed construction of the Town Square complex with a $38.5 million loan it secured from Corus Bank of Chicago in 2007.

The nation’s housing market began to collapse a year later, eight months before the complex opened in June 2009 along with the Burien Library/City Hall building and Town Square Park.

When the FDIC closed the bank, which was a major construction lender, it seized the assets of the financial institution. Urban Partners initiated negotiations with the FDIC to buy back its construction loan.

However, ST Residential [now Corus ST Residential] – an investment group formed by the FDIC, Starwood Capital Group and four other private investors – subsequently became the holder of Urban Partners’ Town Square project loan.

The FDIC rejected the offer by Urban Partners and sold a 40 percent share of Corus Bank’s construction-loan portfolio to the investors, while holding a 60 percent ownership interest for the federal government.

When negotiations between Urban Partners and ST Residential stalled, casting doubt on the developer’s ability to retain its ownership of the Town Square property, Urban Partners stopped repaying of the construction loan.

ST Residential responded by filing on July 26 a notice of foreclosure. If Urban Partners did not make a past-due payment of $3.5 million by Sept. 1, the building would be subject to an Oct. 29 trustee’s sale.

Urban Partners owed approximately $34.8 million on its construction loan when the property title was transferred to BTS Marketing/Corus ST Residential last week. Only the 118 unsold condos and retail space are affected.

“We are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished with the city and the extraordinary building we have given the community,” Paul Keller, principal and founding partner of Urban Partners LLC, said in a news release announcing the title transfer.

“We want to continue to be involved in its success” – now as manager of the mixed-use complex, Keller added.

The release noted “the move came after the venture was unable, after months of good faith negotiations, to restructure the … debt used to help finance the project. After careful consideration … [Urban Partners] decided not to use bankruptcy as a defensive strategy to keep control of Burien Town Square.”

Matt Burton, CFO of Urban Partners.

Matt Burton, principal and chief financial officer of Urban Partners, said “a battle over the property or a contentious bankruptcy proceeding” would have been detrimental.

Neither action would have been “in the best, long-term interest of the project, its residents, the city of Burien or Urban Partners’ long-standing investment in the community.”

Urban Partner was retained by Corus Construction Venture LLC, an arm of BTS Marketing/Corus ST Residential, to provide ongoing management services for the project because of its “historical knowledge” about the Town Square development.

Those factors include Urban Partners’ “knowledge about the building, buyer demographics, retail leasing and competitive properties in the area along with [its] significant relationships with community residents, businesses and city officials.”

ROSENFELD TALKS ABOUT TOWN SQUARE
Despite the bank failure that led to Urban Partners’ transfer of title to the new holder of its construction loan, Rosenfeld remarked, “We’re still very proud of what we did. It’s the finest town square development there is. It’s as good as any in the nation.

“Phase I is there. It will be filled up. I just don’t know how fast they will fill up. And I have no doubt the other blocks will be developed – just not right now. The real estate lending markets have not thawed yet.

“It’s not going to be quick,” he continued. “Nobody’s going to build another 120 condos on speculation. Everyone knows what’s going on in the overall economy. But we will live to see the rest developed and the vision will be completed.”

Rosenfeld began advising the Burien City Council about the development of a town square in the mid-1990s, shortly after incorporation, and is “proud to have played a small part in it.”

Look at what the city has already as the result of the Town Square project, he observed. Ten years ago the site held the educational services building, an empty Gottschalk’s store, and a lot of parking.

Now there is a “wonderful” new city hall and King County Library building, a downtown park that is the center of many community activities, and a condo/retail complex “with gorgeous quality units.”

Everything that has happened in the past year is “just a bump in the road,” Rosenfeld added. “Now we can move forward. We’ll do more.”

So what do YOU think – will condos start selling again at Burien Town Square? Please take our Poll or leave a Comment below:

We’d like to welcome our latest Advertiser to The B-town Blog: Engel Construction, LLC!

Engel Construction provides residential construction services to the Seattle area.

Engel is headed by Burien-area resident Master Carpenter Geoff Engel, who has over 24 years’ construction experience in residential new build, remodel, and repair.  Geoff takes pride in giving honest, quality work, and says that he’s “not happy until you are”!

Whatever your construction needs – new construction, addition, 2nd story, kitchen/bath remodel, tiling, decks, cement work, any phase construction rough to finish, he can handle projects of all sizes.

Here are some photos of previous projects they’ve completed:

If you’d like to see ideas for work you need done, please contact them at engel.geoff@gmail.com or at (206) 794-5674 – they’d be happy to provide pictures of similar projects you need, and provide you contact information for the people they’ve worked for.

For more information, check out their website here.

by Ralph Nichols

A demolition permit has been issued to the Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department (Fire District No. 2) to clear the property at 900 SW 146th St. for construction of a new headquarters fire station.

The Bonney-Watson chapel and mortuary and the surrounding land, located at this site for decades, were purchased by the fire district last December.

Fire Chief Mike Marrs told The B-Town Blog on Sept. 14 that a 90-day contract for the work was signed with Bulldog Demolition earlier this month.

Utility shut-off work is already underway and will be completed by the contractor before the buildings start coming down, Marrs said. He expects building demolition to begin by Oct. 1.

The fire district will probably advertise for construction bids for the new station sometime this fall, perhaps by late November.

Marrs added that construction should begin “after the first of the year, depending on weather, probably in February or March,” with the new fire station being completed by the end of 2011.

In the meantime, “design work is coming along very well,” he said. “The architects are done with the schematic drawings – the size and shape of rooms – and now are into the design phase.”

This phase includes more technical activities such as developing the exact layout and locating utility lines.

“We’re 75 percent through this process,” Marrs noted. “By the end of the month the architects will be ready to begin final detailed drawings.”

The new fire station will replace the Bonney-Watson chapel and mortuary at 900 SW 146th Street.

In November 2008, voters in Fire District No. 2 approved a $25 million bond issue for construction of new headquarters fire station in downtown Burien and replacement of the existing station in Normandy Park.

The bond issue included the costs of property acquisition and equipping the new stations.

Burien has long needed a new fire station to replace the outdated existing facility at the corner of SW 151st St. and 8th Ave. S.

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.

Fire District 2 recently acquired an adjacent residential property through an eminent domain process to make room for the new station there.

“The survey work is done and next week we will begin the schematic design work for it,” Marrs said.

“Because this is a smaller station, it should be a faster process. We’re still shooting for completion of it around the end of 2011 also.”

A top priority for the headquarters fire station was a downtown location where response times will be no more than seven minutes anywhere in the fire district.

In addition, a location near major arterials that provide direct access to State Route 509 was desired.

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

Here are renderings of the proposed new fire station design:

Burien’s new Community Center, which is located in the “old” library building at 14700 6th Ave SW, is hosting an Open House this Saturday, May 15th from 1pm – 3pm.

Remodeled at a cost of just under $1.5 million, this building will temporarily house Burien Parks’ offices, along with a community center, for three to five years, when plans call for a new community/senior center to be built at the “old” site (at SW 144th and 4th Ave. SW) – if the economy improves and if voters approve a bond issue to finance construction.

During Saturday’s Open House, there will be class demonstrations, raffles, hands-on activities, and complimentary snacks.

Also ready to be tested out is a a new play space for toddlers & preschoolers, as well as a “birthday party” area with an inflatable jumper toy. Other activities include creating your own batik flag, and seniors can play Bunco game or try out Wii bowling, and teens can check-out a new drop-in area.

As a bonus, if you register for a summer program while at this event, class fees will be discounted.

Burien's temporary new Community Center is located in the "old" library building. Try saying that quickly five times.

Here are the details of the Open House:

WHAT: Open House for Burien’s new Community Center.

WHEN: Saturday, May 15th from 1pm – 3pm.

WHERE: The “old” library building-turned-Community Center at 14700 6th Ave SW.

INFO: From a flier:

New Community Center Hosts Open House

An afternoon of festive activities and fun freebies is happening at the new Burien Community Center’s Open House on Saturday, May 15 from 1-3:00 pm.

Tour the newly-renovated facility, watch class demonstrations, enter raffles, enjoy hands-on activities, and snack on complementary food.  Bring toddlers & preschoolers to a new play space,  have the kids check-out a “birthday party” area with an inflatable jumper toy, or be creative  and create your own batik flag. Senior adults can enjoy a festive Bunco game or try out Wii bowling, and teens can check-out their new drop-in area.

Yoga, zumba, pilates, watercolor, senior fitness & chair yoga,  belly dancing, and ballet/tap class demonstrations will be happening in the Seahurst Room, which is the facility’s largest and also available for  community rentals of all kinds for lots of people. Booths set up in the Main Lobby will include information on soccer, dance, art history, computer instruction, massage, hypnosis, writers’ workshops and other current programs.

Fees will be discounted for those registering for summer programs while attending the event.  Burien businesses have donated gift baskets and other give-aways to be raffled off throughout the event.

The Community Center’s regular hours are Mondays-Thursdays from 8:30 am-8:00 pm and Fridays from 8:30 am-5:00 pm. The facility is located at 14700 SW 6th Ave SW at the site of the former Burien Library.

For additional information call 206 988-3700 or www.burienparks.net.

Here’s a video preview of the center, courtesy Burien Parks:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Burien’s Highline Heritage Museum building, which is planned to be built at 819 SW 152nd Street, has been nominated for an AIA “What Makes It Green” award for sustainable design.

According to one of the building’s designers, Tim Rohleder of Rohleder Borges Architecture:

“We have submitted the Highline Heritage Museum project as representative of our efforts in the world of sustainable design. The jury has already selected the “Top Eleven” projects from a pool of entries from all over the region including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, Hawaii, Japan and Guam. The “Top Ten” (or in this case eleven) are supposed to be announced the week of May 5th in coordination with juried interviews at Seattle City Hall.

Per the AIA: “2010 WMIG? program recognizes projects that demonstrate the highest accomplishment in environmentally sustainable architecture, combining inspired design, systems analysis, and performance evaluation.”

Readers can vote on the entries here – so click on over there and vote for your soon-to-be-built, innovative and sustainably-designed new museum!

Here’s more info on the museum from the Highline Historical Society’s website:

The Highline Heritage Museum (HHM) has been designed to represent the Community of Highline, the stories of their past, the legacy of their people and their responsibility to the environment. From the start of the programming process, the Board of Trustees has been engaged and committed to creating a symbol representative of their community. It is a broad stroke representing the people from five different communities. The project is proposed as a redevelopment of an existing decaying building on an urban site in the heart of the City of Burien with a promising future for pedestrian vitality. The property lies along a primary pedestrian path with bus routes as connections to all its major constituents. The site is within a few blocks of the new regional county library and the Burien City Hall. The neighborhood also includes restaurants, retail shops, a post office, a regional transit center and a recently completed multi-family, moderate density residential development. The Board of Trustees warmly embraced the opportunity to create a “green” museum. While LEED was initially not accepted as a reasonable tool to gage the success, it was later recognized as an important element. One of the goals is LEED Silver with design strategies that include multiple mechanical zones utilizing ground source heat pumps, managed day lighting, specialty glazing integrating art and energy performance, a super insulated building envelope, transparency to the neighborhood using full height glazing, articulated building forms, and strategic use of site and roof areas integrating exhibits, landscape and pedestrian gathering areas. While there is much excitement at the uniqueness of the “geothermal” systems and the associated 300 foot deep pits, the design is a total package that investigates green opportunities for a building type where there are currently few recognized built examples.

Two honors for design recently have been accorded the King County Library/Burien City Hall building, which opened last June.

The three-story centerpiece of downtown Burien has received an award for “outstanding” masonry design – and LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Gold is the Green Building Council’s second highest standard.

A commonly-used standard to assess environmental sustainability, the LEED achievement recognizes the city’s use of green building principles that benefit the public.

The central location of the facility at SW 152nd St. and 4th Ave. SW – easily accessible by foot, bike, bus or car – was a primary factor in the rating by the Green Building Council, as was the preferred parking created for low-emitting vehicles such as hybrids and for carpool drivers.

Detail of frosted glass in city council chambers.

In addition, during construction the builders diverted more than 89 percent of waste generated on-site from the landfill, and chose to purchase “green power” from renewable sources. Energy-efficient lighting and low-water plumbing fixtures were used throughout the facility.

LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance.

It promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The 58,000 square foot library/city hall building received the “Commercial: Government” category award in the 2010 Masonry Institute of Washington Excellence Awards in Masonry Design.

Its masonry, natural stone, glass and metal exterior “is designed to expose [its] programs and internal activities to passersby and to complement activities in the adjacent 1-acre park,” noted the award from the Masonry Institute.

Ruffcorn Mott Hinthorne Stine designed the building, which anchors Burien’s Town Square. The library occupies the first two floors, with city hall on the third floor. City council chambers are in a shared meeting room on the first floor.

Burien Parks & Recreation Department will be moving into its new facility, the one-time “old library” building located at 14700 6th Avenue SW, on Tuesday, April 13th.

In order to accommodate the move, the parks & rec folks will be closed this Friday, April 9, as well as Monday, April 12. Their regular hours (Mon-Thurs. 8:30am-8pm and Fri., 8:30am-5pm) will resume after they’re all settled in to their new digs.

Note also that they’ll be holding an Open House on Saturday, May 15th from 1pm–3pm.

Total reported cost of the building’s renovation was just under $1.5 million.

Here’s some press release text from the parks folks:

Burien's "old library" is the new Parks & Rec facility.

WE ARE MOVING!!

Starting next Tuesday, April 13, Burien’s recreation programs and offices will be located in a beautiful new facility at the former Burien Library located at 14700 6th Avenue SW.

We’ll be closed Friday, April 9 and Monday, April 12 for our move. After we reopen on April 13, our regular facility hours will continue: Monday-Thursday, 8:30am-8:00pm, and Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm.

Looking forward to seeing you next Tuesday!

And mark your calendar for our Open House on Saturday, May 15, 1:00pm to 3:00 pm.

To see photos of the new building, click here.

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:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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.