YMCA to buy Colby property for construction of new facility

EVERETT — The YMCA of Snohomish County has agreed to buy the Everett school district’s former administration building at 4730 Colby Avenue.

The youth organization is offering to pay $3.325 million for the 8.1-acre parcel, which includes the 51-year-old main building and two portable buildings.

All the buildings would likely be torn down and replaced with a new YMCA, which will replace the organization’s nearly 100-year-old facility in downtown Everett.

YMCA CEO Scott Washburn said that if the deal closed, construction of a new facility would likely be three or four years away.

The YMCA estimates a new building will cost at least $25 million to build.

The nonprofit is in the middle of a capital campaign, with about $3 million raised so far from a small number of donors. It plans to raise about $10.5 million and fund the remainder of the building with loans and some existing assets.

The full purchase price for the Colby building will be due when the deal closes, which could take several months.

But the YMCA’s cash position is strong, with $9.3 million on the books at the end of 2014.

“We can write that check,” Washburn said.

The district decided to sell the Colby building and also its historic Longfellow building last year. In January, the district issued a request for letters of interest.

The district estimated the Colby building and its lot are worth between $2.2 million and $3.9 million.

There were six offers for Colby, ranging from $1.1 million to $3 million.

The Longfellow building only drew one offer, which was not considered to be viable.

Aside from the YMCA, which made the top offer, other offers came from developers seeking to subdivide the lot and build single-family residential housing, in one case for seniors only.

Everett Public Schools Superintendent Gary Cohn said the price was the primary factor in selecting the YMCA, although they did want to sell to something that would benefit the community.

“We were hoping that whatever came to us in this process would be something that would be of value and make neighbors happy,” he said.

The YMCA’s initial $3 million offer included a clause to consider a price up to 5 percent above the highest qualified competing final offer.

“It was that big of a priority for us,” Washburn said.

The district made counteroffers to the YMCA and Natural 9 Holdings LLC, a Lake Stevens-based developer that made the second-highest bid of $2.95 million. Natural 9 agreed to $3.3 million and the YMCA agreed to the final purchase price of $3.32 million.

The Everett School Board will be asked at its May 26 meeting to approve the negotiation of the purchase and sale agreement.

It will likely take several months to close the deal.

The YMCA’s aging downtown facility has 3,600 members, the smallest number of any YMCA in Snohomish County. Moving to the Colby building could increase the membership by about 15 percent, just by being closer to the geographic center of the city, Washburn said.

Because the old YMCA has no elevator, about 30 percent to 40 percent of the 100,000-square-foot facility is only used for storage.

The new YMCA would include an aquatic center, a youth and teen center for after-school and weekend programs, a gymnasium, a drop-in center for infants and children up to age 10, community rooms and fitness studios.

It might have smaller square footage, but it would be more accessible and the large lot will allow potential future expansion.

Plus, it’ll be new.

“It’s going to be more energy-efficient, we won’t have the same repair issues, it’ll be a smarter investment of our resource dollars,” Washburn said.

Throughout the process of negotiating and selling the building, School Board member Ted Wenta has recused himself from all discussions and decisions because he works as the vice president of operations for the YMCA.

Cohn, who also sits on the board of trustees for YMCA, took an extended leave of absence from that board while the sale process developed.

“I haven’t attended a board meeting for a year or so,” Cohn said.

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.