Snohomish group seeks to raise $3.5 million to remake Carnegie Building

SNOHOMISH — The city wants the historic Carnegie Building to become a community center for outdoors, cultural and educational events.

Last week, the City Council approved a plan to achieve that ambition. Now, the challenge is to get the funds to make it real.

“The Carnegie Library is coming back to life,” said Councilwoman Melody Clemans, who also is president of the Snohomish Carnegie Foundation which is taking on the job of raising the money.

To make the new center come true, about $3.5 million is needed in construction and material costs.

To get it, the foundation plans to apply for private grants and organize fundraisers in the community, Clemans said.

When the historic building at 105 Cedar Ave. is rebuilt, it will be called the Snohomish Carnegie Educational Center, A Place for Families, Clemans said.

“There’s much work ahead of us,” she said.

The foundation has hired Seattle-based consultant Fred Lighter to write grant applications. He is researching grants for education, community development and historic restoration projects.

The city will not use tax or existing revenue sources to help with the rehabilitation project, even though it owns the property.

It will all be community based, said Ann Stanton, a city project manager.

The design, by Seattle-based BOLA Architecture & Planning, calls for demolishing a 5,000-square-foot addition that was built in 1968. That space will instead be used for a park, to be named the Green. There are plans for an outdoor activities plaza, an information kiosk and a memorial at the site.

The design would add a new entrance to the east side of the remaining portion of the Carnegie Building, which is about 4,300 square feet.

Construction is set to begin early next year by retrofitting the Carnegie for earthquakes. This $600,000 work will be funded by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Stanton said.

The Carnegie Building currently houses Arts of Snohomish and a small theater.

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.