Public Will Weigh in on Old Woodinville Schoolhouse

The future of the  is still in question, but the public will help form the answer. The Woodinville City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night (Councilman Jeff Glickman was not at the meeting) to open the discussion of what to do with one of the historic building to the public.

The council listened to a presentation from representatives of SHKS Architects, the Seattle firm commissioned to study the economic feasibility of renovating the schoolhouse. The $65,000 study, stated costs to rehab the building could run as high as $3.5 million, and upwards of $5 million if a two-story parking structure is built.

The biggest stumbling block to any reuse of the old building, at 3203 NE 175th St. in downtown Woodinville, is the lack of parking. The schoolhouse shares a parking lot with the . There are only enough parking spaces to accommodate usage at the community center, according to City Manager Richard Leahy.  

The current amount of parking meets city code only if the schoolhouse remains empty. If the schoolhouse is reopened, more parking spaces will be needed to meet code.  leasing the community center and programs are expected to begin in March, so ample parking is in already in question, according to Deputy Mayor Bernie Talmas.

In addition to parking problem, there are land-deed constraints from the late 1800s that forbid the use of alcohol on the land. That restriction means no bar, restaurant or wine-tasting business can use part of the building. Descendants of the family that donated the land will not relinquish the restrictions. A land survey will be necessary to determine exactly which part of the building cannot have alcohol consumption, Leahy said.

Mayor Chuck Price and Councilmembers Susan Boundy-Sanders and Scott Hageman said the city does not have the money to spend on renovation of the old building. All council members agreed that the building should be preserved, but perhaps not by the city.

“I don’t think the city should be in the developer business,” said Price. “The marketplace will decide.”

The next step is for SHKS to gather input in from the community. An online survey and open house regarding the future of the old schoolhouse was conducted in October 2010. The difference, now that the study has been completed, is that the city has an estimation of renovation costs to offer potential developers.

The schoolhouse sits on the site of the first schoolhouse in Woodinville. It has been through many expansions, including a 1936 renovation by the Works Progress Administration. Another wing was added in 1948, leaving the city with the building that stands today. Over time the building has served as a public school and was the first city hall from 1993 to 2001. Structural damage from the 2001 Nisqually earthquake forced the city to close the building.