Council approves phase-two community outreach for Building 120 and asks staff to also study lease and sale options

Sammamish City Council voted on June 2 to resume the second phase of a feasibility study for Building 120 and to gather community input on future uses, while also directing staff to simultaneously study two alternate paths: leasing the building to an outside operator and pursuing a potential sale.

Director of Parks and Recreation Anelie Mayer reviewed a menu of options developed with consultants: a market-rate ground lease (unlikely to pencil for this site), a subsidized lease to a nonprofit or private operator to run community programming, annexing the site for internal city uses, selling the parcel, or a public‑private redevelopment that could include affordable housing and a community facility. Staff cautioned the council that many of these paths require additional consultant work and that the city lacks in‑house capacity to study them all at once.

Council Member Pam Stewart moved to proceed with the current scope of work—phase two community engagement that solicits resident priorities for the site. Supporters said the first priority is to ask residents what they want and whether they would accept a tax or fee tradeoff to fund it. Opponents urged the council to present realistic tradeoffs, including recurring operating subsidies and capital costs, so community responses are informed.

Council Member Boyer offered a subsequent motion directing staff to concurrently gather information on leasing the building to an outside operator and on potential sale values; that motion passed. As a result, staff will proceed with community outreach while preparing market analyses and appraisal-level work for the lease/sale options so the community sees a comparative picture rather than a single proposal.

Staff emphasized sequencing: community engagement will start with unconstrained questions (what residents want), then return with a narrower set of realistic packages and associated high-level costs. If the community expresses support for a city-run or subsidized community center, staff said they will return with refined cost estimates, potential funding sources and likely subsidy levels before any construction or acquisition decisions.

What the vote means: Council did not commit to a specific capital project or to sell property. Instead, the council directed staff to collect resident input and to analyze lease and sale pathways so the city can return with budget and implementation tradeoffs for a later decision.