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Burien: Monthly Update Archives
June 2009
The Burien Town Center grand opening on June 13, which included the new Burien Library and City Hall, had record attendance with more than 1,500 community members, elected officials and dignitaries. Mayor Joan McGilton moderated the event, which was also attended by officials from the City, County and U.S. Congressional delegation. Congressman Jim McDermott talked about KCLS’ tremendous popularity and position as the second busiest library in the United States. Trustees Lucy Krakowiak and Judge Richard Eadie represented the KCLS Board at the event. The celebration continued throughout the day with musical performances, inflatable toys for children, free kettle corn and other special activities within the Library.
May 2009
The current Burien Library closed on May 16 in preparation for the move to the new library. Holds may be picked up at the current Library, but staff is moving the collection into the new building. The Library will open to the community on Saturday, June 13, 10am, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an afternoon of programs and entertainment.
April 2009
The project is on schedule and the shelving installation was recently completed. The library is scheduled to open with a community celebration on Saturday, June 13, 10am.
March 2009
Construction continues and the project is on schedule. Interior shelving is starting to be installed. Substantial completion is scheduled for April 2009 and the Library is scheduled to open June 13, 2009 at 10am.
February 2009
Work continues on the new library and city hall. The interior space is currently being painted and carpet is being installed. The new library will open to the community on June 13, 2009 at 10am.
January 2009
Construction continues on the new Burien Library and City Hall. The project is on schedule and substantial completion is scheduled for April/May 2009.
December 2008
Construction of the new Burien Library and City Hall continues and the project
is on schedule. Substantial completion is anticipated in April/May 2009.
November 2008
The construction project continues to be on schedule and substantial
completion is anticipated in April/May 2009. A date for the official opening
will be determined once it gets closer to completion.
October 2008
Construction work on the new library and city hall continues and the project
is on schedule. Substantial completion is scheduled for April 2009.
September 2008
Construction work continues and the project is on schedule. A temporary
roof was recently installed and construction of the curtain wall will soon be
under way. Substantial completion is scheduled for April 2009.
August 2008
Construction continues on the new library. The project is on schedule
and substantial completion is scheduled for April 2009.
July 2008
Construction of the new library and city hall building continues. The project
is on schedule and substantial completion is scheduled for April 2009.
June 2008
Construction work is progressing on the new library and the floor slab was poured.
The foundation work is anticipated to be completed in June and work on the
steel frame will begin in late summer.
May 2008
Construction is under way on the new City Hall and Library building. Footings have been poured and preparations are being made for the floor slab to be poured.
April 2008
Construction of the new city hall and library is officially under way.
The current schedule includes clearing and grading the site, setting up
the onsite services necessary for supporting the construction work and
finalizing the work plans. It is anticipated that the first floor slab
will be poured in May.
March 2008
Construction work can officially begin on the site of the new library and city
hall after KCLS, the city of Burien and the General Contractor, BNBuilders,
finished finalizing the construction contracts. The start of construction is
a milestone for the project, culminating more than two years’ worth of
planning and design work for both KCLS and the City of Burien. Other construction
projects in the city, located near the site of the new library and city hall,
also are being planned by other entities. New streets, sidewalks and landscaping
will tie all of the projects together.
February 2008
Bids from major subcontractors for mechanical, electrical, structural and site
work were received. KCLS and the City of Burien are working together and expect
to have the total construction pricing and contracts in place for the new city
hall and library early in March. The City of Burien has issued the clearing
and grading permit and the building permit process continues to progress. The
three-floor building will be a total of 49,000 square feet, with the library
occupying the first two floors and City Hall on the third floor.
January 2008
Project architects and contractors anticipate that a building permit will be
issued from the city sometime in February. BNBuilders has been reviewing the
plans to ensure compliance with the project budget before any construction
work begins.
December 2007
Project architects and engineers continue to work on construction documents and specifications for the new library. KCLS and city of Burien staff are developing the final interior plans and are selecting appropriate furnishings for the joint development. Final plans for public artwork also are under consideration.
November 2007
Project architects and engineers continue to develop construction documents and specifications. KCLS and City of Burien staff are developing the final interior plans, which entails selecting appropriate furnishings. Final plans for public artwork are also under consideration.
October 2007
The City of Burien’s Community Development Department issued a Development Permit for the Project. Project architects and engineers continue to develop construction documents and specifications and the plans will soon be submitted to the City for the building permit application. During a design review session for the new library, several teens offered input. They were most interested in the types of furniture and computers that would be available at the new library. The teen area in the new library will be in a prominent location on the second floor.
September 2007
Project architects and engineers are preparing construction documents and the plans will be submitted to the city for a building permit application. The city’s Planning Department is finalizing the Development Application and Design Review comments. It is anticipated that the first stages of construction will begin this year.
After some discussion about the large meeting room and City Council Chambers in the new Burien Library and City Hall, the City of Burien has reviewed and agreed to proceed on the general design of the facility. The site of the new library and City Hall has also been cleared of its former building. The project architects and engineers are authorized to begin the preparation of construction documents and specifications. These plans will be submitted to the City of Burien for the building permit application. It is still anticipated that the first stages of construction will begin this fall.
July 2007
KCLS and City staff is meeting with the architects and contractor team to finalize
the probable costs for the project. Cost estimates have indicated that the
project is close to the budgets set by each jurisdiction. The State of Washington
Capital Funds approved by the 2007 Legislature will ensure that the parking
capacity will be adequate for visitors to the new library and City Hall. Final
agreements with the general contractor are expected this fall. The architects
and engineers will begin the construction documents and final specifications
for the project. The plans will be submitted to the City for a building permit,
with permit packages in at least two stages: an initial package for the preliminary
site work and foundations for the new building and parking facility and a second
package for the construction of the building and the final
June 2007
The architects and engineers are preparing permit application drawings
for the design review process with the City of Burien. The City’s Community
Planning department will coordinate this process. The current schedule indicates
that the design and site plan package will be provided to the City by mid-June.
The next steps include finalizing the agreements with the contractor and working
through any design changes that might develop during the City Planning reviews.
Once all of the agreements are completed the architects and engineers will
begin the construction documents. These plans will be submitted to the City
in order to receive a building permit.
May 2007
The architects and engineers are preparing permit application drawings for
the design review process with the City of Burien. The City’s Community
Planning Department will coordinate this process. The current schedule indicates
that the design and site plan package will be provided to the City by mid-June.
Since the project has received notice of the Washington Capital Funding grant
for expanded parking, the project engineers have designed a two-deck parking
facility that will provide at least 120 parking stalls.
The State Legislature funded the parking structure for the joint Burien Library/City Hall. This will allow us to stretch our budget to achieve a 32,000-square-foot library and a 17,000-square-foot City Hall. Both the Library and City Hall had to scale back expectations when the cost estimate for the design presented last year was considerably over budget. This new funding will ensure the project has adequate funding. Staff met with the Burien Library Guild to explain the history the project and to discuss the need to relocate the famous fountain enclosed at the current library to a more public and visible space at the new library. The Guild is generally enthusiastic about the new library and our desire to start construction this year.
April 2007
The architects and engineers are preparing permit application drawings to begin the design review process with the City of Burien. The City’s Community Planning Department will coordinate the process.
The Project Oversight Team has renegotiated the architect’s fee and scope for the redesign development phase. Ross Pouley, URS Corporation will be the project lead for the library.
December 2006
The project has been stalled while the scope and costs of the redesigned building are completed. The schedule will be revised to show an expedited design development phase in January and February 2007.
November 2006
The project is in the final stages of redesign to align the expected costs with the funds available for the project. The design that was last presented to the KCLS Board and the City of Burien was about $6 million over budget. The architects and project staff will recommend major alterations to the parking facility and the building. The revised building plans will be approximately 46,400-square-feet in size with parking on one level instead of a structured parking deck. KCLS and the City are working to confirm that the program reductions for the facility can be accommodated in more cost effective ways. While this has been a difficult process, both teams have worked together to mitigate increased construction costs in a manner that maintains the project’s overall integrity.
October 2006
The contractor and architects have worked to provide recommendations for consideration to bring the project costs in line with the budgets set for the new Library/City Hall. Recommendations about the reductions must be reviewed and approved by the Project Oversight Committee (POC), which includes representatives from the City of Burien and KCLS. The POC is a special committee created when KCLS and the City agreed to the joint development. The schedule for the project has been delayed during the value engineering and program revisions. KCLS is working to complete the preparation of the old Puget Sound Educational Services District (PSESD) building for hazardous materials abatement before the end of the year. BNBuilders will complete the demolition of the building early in 2007.
September 2006
Construction costs from the architects’ and general contractor’s estimators are the subject of continuing negotiations. Both cost estimates are significantly more than the available funds of the KCLS and City. The work of value engineering the project and considering what reductions should be adopted will be the focus for this project’s work over the next two weeks. Recommendations about reductions must be reviewed and approved by the Project Oversight Committee (POC), which includes representatives from the City of Burien and KCLS and was created when KCLS and the City agreed to develop the joint library/city hall.
August 2006
Design work has progressed to the design development phase. The consultants will attend the KCLS Board meeting this month to share the current status of the project plans. Cost estimates are also expected from both the contractors and the architect’s cost estimator to gauge how much work will be required to achieve a reconciled contract amount.
July 2006
An advertised public hearing was held at the Burien Library on July 19 to allow the public to comment on the proposed sale for the Burien Library to the City of Burien. No public was present and no written comments were received. KCLS and the City administration agreed to a cost sharing formula of one third for the City and two-thirds for KCLS. The shared costs include the cost of construction, taxes, consultant fees and other commingled costs.
Burien Elevations and Site Plan
June 2006
Work is progressing with the design development phase in full swing. Close examination of the exterior and interior plans are occurring. It is hoped that the KCLS Board will see the updated design in July. Costs for the general contractor should be finalized in August following reconciliation of the cost estimates for design development. KCLS and the City of Burien agreed to a cost sharing formula of one-third for the City and two-thirds for KCLS. The shared costs include construction, taxes, consultant fees and other commingled costs.
May 2006
The consultant team continues to refine the design and space plan for this facility. Both the City of Burien and KCLS staff have held meetings to finalize the space plans and provide reactions to the building plans. KCLS and the City administration have agreed to a shared cost formula of one third for city hall and two-thirds for the library. The shared costs include the cost of construction, taxes, consultant fees and other co-mingled costs. Work for the sole benefit or option of one party are not shared. For example, the City intends to televise City Council and other public meetings, so they will acquire and operate the equipment. As the project has developed, it became clear that the holistic building approach benefits both parties.
April 2006
• Major adjustments to the building mass for the multi-purpose room and lobby have been proposed.
• The Burien City Hall will be built on the third floor of the new library however, the City of Burien is considering the expansion of the current space plan. If the space is expanded, the atrium on the south side of the building will be reduced from three to two stories in height.
March 2006
Last month, the Schematic Design for the new library/city hall development was accepted by KCLS. The project costs are within the budget allocated in October 2005.
February 2006
KCLS is waiting for the cost estimate to be prepared and reviewed for the newly redesigned library/city hall project. The architects will show the schematic design drawings for the project at the Board Meeting. Additional consultant costs were approved due to the scope of the changes to the design and the Project Oversight Committee review and comments of the first set of drawings. BNBuilders has attended coordinating and planning meetings for the project. During the design development phase, the contractor’s team will review the architects’ work and assist in creating a cost-efficient, buildable project. At the end of design development, the architect’s cost estimate and the contractor’s cost estimate must be reconciled prior to issuing the notice to proceed for contract document preparation. At that time, the General Contractor/Construction Management (GC/CM) agreement will be finalized and put into place with a Guaranteed Maximum Price. The project is currently operating under a Pre-Construction Agreement.
January 2006
Appraisals have been ordered to assist in valuing the existing Burien Library and property. KCLS has mutually agreed to a process with the City that will guide the final purchase and sale agreement.
Design work has been slowly progressing as the many shared spaces and common use areas are being negotiated and settled. The project management agreement with Keller CMS was not renewed since KCLS is the Lead Agency for the project.
The General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) selection process was finalized. BNBuilders was selected to provide pre-construction and GC/CM services for the project. Initially they’ll be working with the project team to develop a schedule for completing the project. During the design development phase, the contractor’s team will be reviewing the architects work and assisting in creating a cost efficient and buildable project. At the end of design development, both the architect’s and the contractor’s cost estimates must be reconciled before issuing the notice to proceed for contract document preparation. At that time the GC/CM agreement will be finalized and put into place with a Guaranteed Maximum Price.
November 2005
The project has moved into the schematic design phase. City of Burien and KCLS staff has engaged with consultants in several workshops to create a wonderful place. Along with the design and building planning work, the Burien Art committee sifted through an impressive range of 110 art submittals. The committee has agreed on a roster of 9 artists that may be contacted to assist in creating the new facility.
At their November 29 meeting, the KCLS Board of Trustees approved a resolution declaring the current Burien Library as surplus to the current and anticipated needs of the District and authorizing the sale of the property in accordance with the District’s Purchasing Policies. As part of Burien Town Square development, the City wishes to purchase the existing Burien Library in order to construct a senior center.
October 2005
The real estate transaction to acquire the Puget Sound Educational Services District (PSESD) property is progressing through due diligence. Representatives from KCLS and the City of Burien signed the Notice to Proceed on the acquisition of the property. Closing should occur as planned in early November 2005.
Design work has edged along to the point that a combined Library/City Hall program is beginning to take shape. More intensive meetings will follow the tentative approval of the square-footage allocations, shared spaces and the general space plan for the building.
September 2005
The real estate transaction to acquire the Puget Sound Educational Services District (PSESD) property is progressing through due diligence. We expect to close the transaction in November 2005, following the relocation of the PSESD offices. The acquisition of the current library improvements and land has not been completed. The Lead Agency Agreement is currently being circulated at KCLS for review and comments. The Burien City Council has reviewed and authorized the City Manager to proceed on this agreement. Design work was begun in earnest this month. Meetings have been held to set the space plans and ultimately the building envelop. Negotiations continue with regards to the project budget, allocation of space and assignment of “ownership,” as well as with the architects about their contract for services.
August 2005
The Geotechnical Reports for the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) building have been positive. The site and building have minimal and relatively minor amounts of hazardous materials; however, the site has a great deal of unsuitable fill material that will have to be removed. The Lead Agency Agreement has not been completed. The City of Burien is developing their list of requirements and issues to be reviewed with KCLS.
The project has accomplished a couple of key tasks. The conceptual design has been approved by the Project Oversight Committee. The architects have received their Notice to Proceed on the development of schematic design. KCLS will be forwarding modified contract forms to the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The maximum allowable construction cost has not been finalized, but KCLS will use an interim value until the next cost estimate is prepared.
July 2005
Site acquisition for the Puget Sound Educational Services District (PSESD) site has moved into its due diligence phases. AMEC has been contracted to provide geotechnical reports for the property and will drill for core samples (from July 18-22) to ensure a “clean” site to begin developing the structural engineering.
KCLS and the City of Burien continue to develop the background agreements to move forward with the project smoothly and quickly. A Lead Agency Agreement, to clarify relationships and procedures for working together, is in review stages. Ruffcorn, Mott, Hinthorne, Stine is working with staff from both agencies to develop conceptual space plans. Work is also in progress to determine optimum stacking and massing for the project. Preliminary cost estimates are being developed based on two proposed conceptual site plans.
June 2005
The City and the Library District have reached agreement with the Puget Sound Educational Services District (PSESD) for acquisition of the land for the new city hall/library project. The transaction should close November, 2005. Due diligence work is proceeding with Keller CMS providing project management and AMEC providing consulting expertise. Both parties are discussing the concept of electing a Lead Agency for the project. This would provide a focal point for communications and coordination between the owners and the consultants. As of now, KCLS may serve as the lead agency. An agreement between KCLS and the City will be drafted to ensure there is a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities between the two agencies.
May 2005
Work continues to complete the preliminary planning for the combined city hall and library. Site acquisition for the Puget Sound Education Services District (PSESD) land and building has been discussed and counteroffers delivered. KCLS and the City of Burien are going to work with Keller-CMS (an Urban Partners subsidiary). The City of Burien also contracted with Keller-CMS to manage the public street and utilities work for Town Square.
April 2005
Property acquisition discussions continue with the Puget Sound Education Services District (PSESD) staff. The City and KCLS have extended invitations to discuss the proposal sent to PSESD early in April. Extensive negotiations and discussions are also underway to determine the budgets and schedules for the joint development project. Urban Partners is reviewing the service agreements and budget targets each jurisdiction established for the work. Preliminary schedules are being prepared setting site preparation work to begin mid-2006.
March 2005
The Burien City Council reviewed and approved the Interlocal Agreement on March 7, 2005. The joint venture for the combined city hall and library has been approved by both parties. Property acquisition discussions are underway with the Puget Sound Educational Services District (PSESD) staff. The purchase price has not been finalized. Four different appraisers have evaluated the property and all four reached different conclusions about the valuation of the existing property and improvements.
February 2005
The City of Burien and KCLS have been working to finalize an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) for the joint venture of developing and operating a new facility. The Board will be asked to review the proposed agreement at the February meeting. The City of Burien intends to review the same document with the City Council.
On January 31, KCLS and City representatives interviewed four architectural and engineering consultants. There were 16 submittals of qualifications delivered to KCLS as a result of a public announcement of the project. Ruffcorn Mott Hinthorne Stine was selected to provide the professional consulting services necessary to plan and design the new facility.
Property acquisition discussions are underway with the Puget Sound Education Services District staff. The purchase price has not been finalized. Four different MAI appraisers have evaluated the property. All have made different conclusions about the value of the existing property and improvements. The Interlocal Agreement between the City and KCLS will include information about the method of sharing costs. It will also include provisions for the City to purchase the existing library for which each party has had an appraisal performed. KCLS’ Purchasing Policies requires a third appraisal, which has been ordered and will be completed in March.
January 2005
The City of Burien and KCLS have begun drafting an Interlocal Agreement for the joint development and operation of a facility housing a library and city hall. KCLS is managing the selection process for architectural and engineering consultants to plan and design the new facility. A Request for Qualifications was issued for first publication in December. There were 16 submittals by the December 29, 2004 deadline. During a meeting with Burien Staff, the following four finalist were selected to be interviewed on January 31, 2005: SRG Partnership, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Ruffcorn Mott Hinthorne Stine and Miller-Hull Partnership. Property acquisition discussions are also underway with the Puget Sound Education Services District (ESD).
