On June 17, the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted to suspend ongoing construction or renovation at the courthouse campus for 30 days and form a subcommittee to research options to address building and space needs. The scope of renovations planned for the site would not address the long-term needs of the county.

The subcommittee consists of Commissioners Wayne Fournier, Carolina Mejia, and Emily Clouse. Commissioner Fournier was selected as chair. The subcommittee will make recommendations to the full board after the 30-day research period. To date, no decisions have been made regarding site selection or constructing a new courthouse.

The subcommittee is holding weekly meetings to explore options for space and facility needs which may differ from the current project plan of renovating the Thurston County Courthouse Campus.

Meetings are held at the Atrium, 3000 Pacific Ave SW, Olympia:

Friday, June 28, 2024

Minutes

• Research and present information on potential methods of funding projects to provide more space and address physical issues at the current buildings. 
• Research and present information on what it would take to keep the current courthouse campus buildings useable for the next several years as the county plans out a more long-term solution.

Friday, July 5, 2024

Minutes

• Facility needs - Despite several upgrades to the current courthouse facility over the years, there are significant mechanical and operational needs that must be addressed for the courthouse to continue operating. Significant architectural needs include roof replacement and outdated and poor performing HVAC systems, along with outdated technology.
• Options for consideration - The subcommittee heard potential hybrid options to consider for the courthouse project, including new construction, lease to own, or establishing a public private partnership.
• Related costs – The subcommittee was informed of potential costs associated with a new construction project. The cost projects only include the design and construction, assuming the construction occurs during 2028.  

Thursday, July 11, 2024 

• District and Superior Court provided an update on their current space needs and addressed the amount of courtrooms needed to manage the increasing caseloads.  The courthouse has reached its capacity, and as the county has grown, those courts, offices and departments have outgrown the current space available. The courthouse was built in the 1970s, when Thurston County’s population was about half its current size. The campus is more than 15 years past its life expectancy. 
• While the Chandler Court Courtroom has alleviated some case load needs, it is not enough to manage the needs of the courts. District Court expressed five courtrooms would enhance the court system’s ability to manage caseloads. 

Friday, July 26, 2024 – 3:00pm - CANCELLED

All meetings are open to the public and will be recorded by Zoom.  

For more information, including to request recordings of subcommittee meetings, please contact Amy Davis, Clerk of the Board, at amy.davis@co.thurston.wa.us.

Background:

Thurston County is growing, and with that growth comes a need for more capacity to continue to provide exceptional public service to the community. To support this, the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted 2-1 to move forward with a lease of The Atrium at 3000 Pacific Avenue in Olympia to house the county’s general government operations. The seven-year lease with the property owner will begin April 1, 2022. Once general government operations move to The Atrium, the county will make improvements to the buildings located at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW in Olympia. 

The seven-year lease will cost $1.5 to $1.8 million, or $17.50 per square foot, and commits the county to seven years with an opportunity to extend the lease term by additional years. The current market value in Olympia for similar office buildings is between $24 and $27 per square foot. This savings will help the county save more than $4 million in taxpayer dollars per a seven-year term. The proposed moves are:

The Atrium (3000 Pacific Avenue, Olympia) General Government Building 

2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Olympia (proposed)

History

The leasing of the Atrium is 'Plan B'. In 2018, Thurston County and The City of Olympia began collaborating on a project to build a new Thurston County Courthouse and Regional Administrative Building. Through a feasibility study, the BoCC narrowed down three of 12 sites for evaluation. These sites were the current Hilltop Campus, a undeveloped property on Harrison Street, and the City of Olympia's Leigh Crieghton Justice Center on Plum Street. The BoCC selected the Plum Street location in a 2-1 vote.

The proposal was intended to go forward to Thurston County citizens for approval as a ballot measure on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. If approved, the property tax on a $300,000 house would have been about $12 more per month; the cost to build the new facilities was estimated at $250 million. 

This cost would have been funded by an increase to the county’s 2021 regular property tax levy, to a total authorized rate of $1.56 per $1,000 valuation. The 2021 levy would have been used as the base for subsequent levy limitations for a total of 25 years. The increase exempted qualified seniors/disabled/veterans from the levy.

However, the BoCC voted unanimously to rescind the ballot measure on March 18, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, the BoCC directed the county manager to begin exploring other options to support space needs. In March 2021, the county manager presented the board with the proposal to increase office space with a leasing strategy and moving general government out of the Courthouse Complex.