Kent City Council approves $11.2 million purchase of new office space

The city of Kent will buy an office building in north Kent for $11.25 million to house many of its city services and move City Hall and police headquarters across the parking lot to the city-owned Centennial Center.

The City Council unanimously approved at a special meeting Tuesday evening, Oct. 8 the purchase of the 81,000-square-foot building from Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU) at the CenterPoint Corporate Park, 20610 68th Ave. S. Most employees who work in the Centennial Center, 400 W. Gowe St., will move to the new offices in 2026.

Council Chambers and the police headquarters will move to the Centennial Center, once it’s renovated, in 2017.

“This is truly an unicorn,” Council President Satwinder Kaur said. “I’m very pleased with the purchase of the building. I’ve been here (in City Hall) over 10 years. This building is not very safe place for employees or anyone to be in. …This is a really good choice. Staff did a great job in finding this location.”

City Attorney Tammy White told the council the city’s purchase price of $11.25 million is a reduction of nearly $3 million from the listing price. City staff performed numerous inspections and got the lower price from BECU because of repairs and replacements the city will need to do.

The city is buying the building and property as is, which includes furniture and other equipment that remain in the office. BECU used the office as a call center prior to the pandemic, but didn’t reopen it as most of those employees went to remote work.

“We will purchase the property as it because of thorough inspections,” White said. “We know what we’re getting into. There could be other things observed, but we inspected the roof, mechanical, and it all was considered in the purchase price.”

BECU agreed to reimburse the city $100,000 if there is furniture or other equipment the city decides it doesn’t want.

The sale will close in 30 days and the city will start renovations it wants.

Built in 1983 and renovated in 2003, the building will offer over 81,000 square feet of office space on a 5.54-acre site, with nearly 350 parking spaces.

“Council I cannot thank you enough for this vote,” Mayor Dana Ralph said. “Many city employees are saying thank you. This is setting the city up to provide services, with KEHOC (Kent East Hill Operations Center to be built) and the transition, we are setting up services for residents needs for the next 50 years.”

It is anticipated that the cost to purchase and renovate the building at CenterPoint, and to renovate the Centennial Center into a new City Hall to house Council Chambers and police headquarters, will cost between $53.1 million and $60.8 million, according to city documents.

Council heard a presentation from staff last week about the reasons for moving City Hall, police headquarters and buying a new office. Repairs and renovations to City Hall and police headquarters would be too expensive and not give the city more office space.

The city will fund the purchase of the municipal building and the conversion of the Centennial Center through existing capital funds and the issuance of bonds. The bond issue will be repaid over 30 years from existing funding resources within the city’s capital resource fund, which is a funding source different than that used for ongoing funding of police and other staff.

City Finance Director Paula Painter told the council that this would be one-time money and cannot be used for ongoing day-to-day operations, such as paying for more police officers.

Property tax revenue helps pay for capital projects, such as streets, parks and facilities. The city cannot raise property taxes more than 1% each year due to state restrictions.

This move will consolidate Kent Police Department operations, which are currently spread across three buildings, and would allow for sufficient space to house officers, detectives, and specialty units, as well as provide space for investigative interview rooms, evidence storage and training.