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Bellevue City Hall

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Coordinates: 47°36′51.7″N 122°11′32.9″W / 47.614361°N 122.192472°W / 47.614361; -122.192472
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Bellevue City Hall
Map
Former names450 Bell Terrace
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeGovernment office building
Address450 110th Avenue NE
Bellevue, Washington
Coordinates47°36′51.7″N 122°11′32.9″W / 47.614361°N 122.192472°W / 47.614361; -122.192472
Completed1983
Renovated2006
Renovation cost$121 million
OwnerCity of Bellevue
Technical details
Floor count7
Design and construction
Architect(s)Wright Forsen
Renovating team
Renovating firmSRG Partnership
Main contractorLease Crutcher Lewis

The Bellevue City Hall is a government office building and city hall in Bellevue, Washington. The current city hall, located in Downtown Bellevue, opened in 2006 after the $121 million renovation of a former Qwest data center. The data center, originally built for Pacific Northwest Bell in 1983, was acquired by the city government in 2002 for use by the Bellevue Police Department and later approved as the new city hall. It incorporates use of wood interiors and a terra cotta exterior that has been recognized with several design awards since its opening.

The city hall replaced an older office complex outside of downtown that was originally built in 1964. The site was renovated and expanded in 1978, but was slated for replacement a decade later. It was demolished in 2007 and replaced with a Lexus car dealership. The current city hall is located adjacent to the Bellevue Transit Center and will be home to a light rail station that opens in 2023.

Aerial view of the Bellevue City Hall
South end of the city hall in 2007

Former city halls

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Following the incorporation of Bellevue as a city on March 31, 1953, the government chose to lease the second floor of the Veterans of Foreign Wars office as its first seat of government.[1] The building, located at Main Street and 100th Avenue, was originally opened in 1893 as the city's first schoolhouse and later served as the city's first library.[2][3]

An advisory committee was formed by the city council in 1956 to propose sites for a new city hall and civic center campus.[4] The city council placed a $250,000 bond issue on the November 1956 ballot to fund the construction of a new city hall,[5] but voters defeated the proposition.[6] City offices instead moved to a former hardware store near the Bellevue Square shopping center in 1960.[7][8]

Preliminary plans for a consolidated municipal office building were approved by the city council in February 1963, with the $320,000 cost being funded with regular tax income, rather than a bond measure as previously attempted. The new civic center would be located on the south side of Main Street between Interstate 405 and 116th Avenue.[9] The three-story building, which would serve as Bellevue's city hall, was dedicated on March 7, 1964, by Governor Albert D. Rosellini.[2][10] A public library was opened adjacent to the municipal building in 1967,[11] as part of the development of the 8-acre (3.2 ha) civic center campus.[12]

By 1969, the city hall was described as "badly crowded" because of Bellevue's rapid population growth, and the campus was seen as a possible home for the Bellevue School District and King County offices.[13] City manager L. Joe Miller proposed a combined civic complex with a city hall, school district offices, and county facilities the following year, but the grand plan was not pursued by the city government.[14] In 1978, a $4 million, five-story office building was constructed on the civic center campus to serve as an addition to the city hall; the new building consolidated offices from three other locations within the city.[2][15] The new building, called the "ugliest ever built east of Lake Washington", was built for future conversion into a conventional office building once the city's offices moved to Wilburton Hill.[16] The existing city hall was vacated and renovated to add a modern facade, air conditioning, and an additional floor.[16]

In the late 1980s, the city of Bellevue began studying a possible civic center with a new city hall, courthouses, a jail, a museum and a basketball arena for the Seattle SuperSonics.[17] The civic center plan was scaled back to a single convention center in downtown Bellevue, Meydenbauer Center, and a new downtown library, both of which opened in 1993;[18] the plan for a city hall was seen as controversial and unnecessary at the time.[19] In 1990, the city hall area was proposed as the site of a county jail and courthouse to serve the Eastside.[20] The proposed site, located north of city hall, was seen as undesirable because of its existing wetlands and was rejected in favor of a site near Overlake Hospital Medical Center.[21]

After Bellevue's decision to relocate city offices to Downtown Bellevue, the 10.7-acre (4.3 ha) site was sold in 2003 for $24.7 million to a Lexus car dealership.[22] The new dealership opened in 2007, using 7 acres (2.8 ha) of the property.[23]

Current city hall

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450 Bell Terrace,[24] a nine-story, 476,270-square-foot (44,247 m2) building, was completed in 1983 for Pacific Northwest Bell. The building housed a computer farm, telecommunications infrastructure, offices, and a parking garage.[25][26] Pacific Northwest Bell was later acquired by US West Communications, which in turn became part of Qwest in 2000.[27]

In early 2002, Qwest approached the City of Bellevue with an offer to purchase the building from them, as office vacancies had been high in recent years.[28] The city had already been considering a new headquarters for their police department and studied whether to build a new city hall in Downtown Bellevue.[29] On November 25, 2002, the City of Bellevue agreed to purchase the Qwest building for $29 million, primarily to house the police and fire departments after $33 million in renovations.[30] The city council approved a preliminary plan to move other city offices into the Qwest building in March 2003, citing lower maintenance costs and plentiful capacity in the new building.[31] The plan was finalized in July, estimating the total cost of renovation at $102.4 million (including $29 million used to purchase the building in 2002), and returning the city hall to downtown for the first time in 25 years.[32] To finance the project, the city issued $103 million in 40-year municipal bonds, which were partially refunded in 2012.[33]

The existing Qwest building, described as a "foreboding" structure and an "architectural eyesore",[31][34] would need to undergo a year-long renovation to become a "hub of civic life".[35] SRG Partnership was selected as the project's lead architect, and presented a new design for the building to the city council in February 2004. The concrete exterior would be clad in gray metal and red-brown terra cotta, and the dirt parking lot to the northwest of the block would become a public plaza and grass lawn. The center concourse would receive large windows and wood finishes, ending at a new city council chamber.[35]

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new city hall was held on July 29, 2004, and construction began under the direction of contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis, who built the original city hall,[36] the following month.[37][38] During construction, inaccuracies and omissions in the design and problems with demolishing parts of the building led to delays and an over-run of $19.6 million, bringing the final budget to $121 million.[36][39] The new city hall opened on February 21, 2006, and received praise for its use of wood panels and the concourse's terrazzo flooring.[40] The city hall's lower two floors, including the concourse, service desks, and the city council chamber, are open to the public; the remaining five floors house offices for city services.[40] The city hall was granted an American Institute of Architects Honor Award by the Seattle chapter, as well as an Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star award for energy efficiency.[41][42][43] The landscaped plaza was also recognized by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects with a National Merit Award in 2008.[44]

In 2013, Sound Transit finalized its route for the East Link light rail project, serving Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond. It included the selection of the City Hall Plaza for the site of a station to serve Bellevue Transit Center.[45][46] The light rail line, later named the 2 Line, opened in April 2024 and emerges from a tunnel under the transit center and continues east onto an elevated guideway that crosses 112th Avenue Northeast.[47] The station's entrance is at the northwest end of City Hall Plaza, which was rebuilt from 2017 to 2023 to prepare for the opening of the 2 Line. The plaza includes a bronze sculpture by Dan Corson and statues from Bellevue's sister city of Hualien, Taiwan.[48] A vacant part of the city hall complex is slated to be used for transit-oriented development.[49][50]

In 2016, the Bellevue city council considered protecting the city hall's view of Mount Rainier, which would have been blocked under a proposed high-rise zoning plan for the East Main light rail station. The proposal, requested by city staffers, was intended to protect the view from public areas of the building, according to city spokespeople.[51] The city council decided against a formal protection of the view, favoring increased development near transit.[52]

References

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  1. ^ McOmber, J. Martin (March 26, 2003). "Fledgling city with a sense of destiny". The Seattle Times. p. 4. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Eastside Heritage Center (2014). Bellevue: Post World War II Years. Images of America. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-1-4671-3159-9. OCLC 869775030. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "East Side Groups Collect Local Historical Material for Room in New Bellevue Library". The Seattle Times. March 20, 1960. p. 14.
  4. ^ "Bellevue Asks For Suggestions On City Hall". The Seattle Times. August 17, 1956. p. 39.
  5. ^ "Millions in Bond Issues to Be Voted On in County Nov. 6". The Seattle Times. October 28, 1956. p. 18.
  6. ^ "Rezoning On Meydenbauer Site Delayed". The Seattle Times. May 25, 1960. p. 2.
  7. ^ "Bellevue Continues Expansion". The Seattle Times. October 30, 1960. p. C9.
  8. ^ Reddin, John J. (May 22, 1961). "Reunion Will Be Salute To Old Bellevue". The Seattle Times. p. A.
  9. ^ Staples, Alice (February 21, 1963). "Bellevue Council O.K's Plans For New Municipal Center". The Seattle Times. p. 4.
  10. ^ "Bellevue Emplyoes Scurry to Get Ready for Municipal Building Dedication". The Seattle Times. March 5, 1964. p. 4.
  11. ^ Stein, Alan J. (December 14, 2016). "Bellevue Library, King County Library System". HistoryLink. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  12. ^ Duncan, Don (June 2, 1965). "Would-Be Oakland Awaits Vote". The Seattle Times. p. 5.
  13. ^ "Bellevue, County, Schools May Share One Building". The Seattle Times. October 26, 1969. p. 20.
  14. ^ Sperry, Sam R. (April 5, 1970). "Bellevue Ponders a City Hall". The Seattle Times. p. C5.
  15. ^ "Bellevue Council gives preliminary OK to city hall addition". The Seattle Times. May 11, 1976. p. D19.
  16. ^ a b Wilson, Marshall (December 7, 1977). "The ugliest building in Bellevue?". The Seattle Times. p. H14.
  17. ^ Tizon, Alex (January 29, 1988). "Bellevue considers building civic center in stages". The Seattle Times. p. B3.
  18. ^ Montgomery, Nancy (August 30, 1993). "The hue and the cry over Bellevue Convention Center". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  19. ^ Tizon, Alex (February 9, 1988). "Bellevue council backs civic center". The Seattle Times. p. C3.
  20. ^ Montgomery, Nancy (March 30, 1990). "Bellevue ponders a county jail". The Seattle Times. p. C3.
  21. ^ Schaefer, David (November 17, 1995). "Overlake picked as site of new jail". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  22. ^ "Bellevue agrees to sale of City Hall building". Puget Sound Business Journal. May 30, 2003. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  23. ^ Bach, Ashley (July 20, 2007). "Bellevue Lexus dealership: a grand piano, chandelier, fireplace...and cars, too". The Seattle Times. p. B3. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  24. ^ "New building's name: 450 Bell Terrace". The Seattle Times. December 23, 1981. p. E5.
  25. ^ "eReal Property Report: Parcel 322505-9199". King County Department of Assessments. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  26. ^ Corsaletti, Louis T. (July 14, 1982). "No one told Bellevue about a recession". The Seattle Times. p. F4.
  27. ^ Baker, Mark (February 10, 2005). "Place a call to the past at phone museum". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. p. G19. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  28. ^ Cornwall, Warren (September 4, 2002). "City Hall move to downtown is considered". The Seattle Times. p. B1.
  29. ^ Lindblom, Mike (April 3, 2002). "Bellevue weighing new city hall". The Seattle Times. p. B5.
  30. ^ Cornwall, Warren (November 26, 2002). "Bellevue council OKs Qwest building purchase, setting stage for debate on city's plan". The Seattle Times. p. B3. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  31. ^ a b Cornwall, Warren (March 18, 2003). "Council decides to relocate City Hall". The Seattle Times. p. B3.
  32. ^ Cornwall, Warren (July 29, 2003). "Bellevue council finalizes City Hall plans". The Seattle Times. p. B6. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  33. ^ "Bellevue aims to save $9 million by refunding City Hall bonds". Bellevue Reporter. February 21, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  34. ^ Lang Jones, Jeanne (March 28, 2004). "Bellevue's future City Hall due for a major makeover". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  35. ^ a b Cornwall, Warren (February 25, 2004). "Bellevue tries to put zip into bland building". The Seattle Times. p. B3. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  36. ^ a b Singer, Natalie (February 12, 2005). "Bellevue, City Hall contractor disagree about who should pay for cost overrun". The Seattle Times. p. B2. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  37. ^ "Public invited to groundbreaking for Bellevue's new City Hall" (Press release). City of Bellevue. July 26, 2004. Archived from the original on December 15, 2004. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  38. ^ "Top Projects in Washington State, 2004: #7. New Bellevue City Hall". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. January 27, 2005. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  39. ^ Bach, Ashley (March 28, 2006). "Cost of Bellevue City Hall overrun hits $19.6 million". The Seattle Times. p. B2. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  40. ^ a b Bach, Ashley (February 23, 2006). "City Hall opens to raves". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  41. ^ "Honor Awards". AIA Seattle. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  42. ^ Mudede, Charles (January 3, 2008). "Bellevue Beats Seattle: A Tale of Two City Halls". The Stranger. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  43. ^ "Bellevue City Hall cited for energy efficiency". Bellevue Reporter. November 10, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  44. ^ "Bellevue City Hall". Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  45. ^ Stiles, Marc (April 25, 2013). "Sound Transit, Bellevue come to terms on $2.8B light-rail project". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  46. ^ Lindblom, Mike (April 23, 2013). "In historic step, Bellevue approves light-rail route". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  47. ^ Lindblom, Mike (April 26, 2024). "What to expect when you try the Eastside's eight light rail stations". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  48. ^ "Bellevue marks City Hall Plaza reopening on 70th anniversary" (Press release). City of Bellevue. March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  49. ^ Macz, Brandon (December 12, 2013). "Council gets update on Bellevue light rail plans". Bellevue Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  50. ^ Macz, Brandon (December 6, 2013). "Bellevue working to acquire City Hall-adjacent property". Bellevue Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  51. ^ Stiles, Marc (June 7, 2016). "Bellevue, developer tangle over City Hall's views of Mount Rainier". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  52. ^ Stiles, Marc (June 21, 2016). "Bellevue council declines to preserve City Hall's views of Mount Rainier, allows towers". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
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