Council committee advances sale-and-lease package for Federal Way public health clinic to HealthPoint

The King County Budget and Fiscal Management Committee voted unanimously to advance proposed ordinance 2025-0039 without recommendation, moving a lease-and-sale package for the Federal Way Public Health Clinic to the full County Council.

Sam Porter, council staff, told the committee the county declared the property surplus on June 16, 2022, and that the current clinic—built in 1993—needs substantial renovation. He said the transmitted legislation would sell the site to HealthPoint on several conditions: an $800,000 cash purchase price paid over 10 years with interest; a minimum of $8,000,000 to be spent by HealthPoint on planning and capital improvements; a 10-year $0 lease with two five-year options to renew at market rate; and a restrictive covenant requiring a federally qualified health center to operate on the property for 15 years.

The committee was told that those substantive terms have not changed from earlier versions but that legal counsel and the parties are finalizing a consolidated Amended and Restated Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement and related exhibits that will replace the executive-transmitted attachment A. "The substantive agreements between the parties have not changed," Porter said, describing edits as streamlining and clarifying language to reduce ambiguity over the 10-year term.

Councilmember Barone moved to pass the ordinance out of committee without recommendation; the clerk recorded a 7-0 vote. The committee record indicates the parties asked for time to finish the final transactional documents, and staff said the ordinance could be amended at full council on May 22 with the new attachment A.

Key deadlines were discussed: the county exercised a 90-day extension to the initial purchase-and-sale agreement that pushed a contractual deadline to Aug. 4, 2025, and the committee was advised that the legislation must be adopted by the full council no later than July 22, 2025, to avoid a special meeting. Staff noted the parties are close to finalizing remaining issues and recommended advancing the ordinance so the full council can consider the finalized documents in the ordinary course.

The committee record shows the county intends to continue providing public health services at the location during and after the transaction and that the revised transactional documents will include all agreements necessary to effectuate the sale and subsequent lease and covenant enforceability. No amendment text was before the committee at the time of the vote.

The item will proceed to the full County Council for further action and final approval, where the transmitted amendment is expected to be attached or substituted to reflect the collaborative revisions between the Department of Public Health, HealthPoint, and counsel.