MONROE, Wash. — A historic building in Monroe is at risk of being sold and some Monroe residents are working to prevent the history from being lost.
In 1916 Howard S. Wright Construction built the Central Grade School building in Monroe.
It was an elementary school until the 1970s, then the Monroe School District made it their headquarters.
It is a piece of Monroe history but it’s also connected to some iconic Seattle landmarks.
“Howard S. Wright was the construction company that did the Space Needle, the Monorail and the Seattle Center for the 1962 World’s Fair. They’re just a very notable construction company here in the Puget Sound area. So, that’s another reason we feel this building should be preserved, is it’s his early work,” said Tami Kinney from the Monroe Historical Society.
The Monroe School District said in a statement to KING 5 that the 1916 building is falling apart and no longer fits the school district needs.
“The 104-year-old building is in need of many costly repairs, including a complete upgrade of the electrical system, installation of a new heating/cooling system, adequate air ventilation, removal of unsafe building materials, a new roof and windows, and upgrades to the structural integrity of the building," according to the statement.
In addition to those issues, the building isn't designed for the district's administrative and departmental needs, lacks meeting and conference spaces, and doesn't have enough parking.
"The renovations needed for the current building are so substantial that it is cost prohibitive for the district to pursue that route," the district said.
The district announced that this coming August it will move to a new facility across town that better suits their needs.
This means the Central School District building will be auctioned off.
After the district's announcement, the Historical Society received an outpouring of memories from Monroe residents about their time at the Central Grade School.
“We’re really hoping this building can stay here so that people can drive by, point it out to their grandchildren perhaps and say, ‘That’s where I went to school,’” Kinney said.
Many in the community fear the historic building will be sold to a company who will tear it down and replace it with apartments.
“I feel that it’s important for my daughter and other future people to know there was something here and there is meaning to be had from it,” said Monroe resident Ben Webb.
The school district has no set date on when they plan to auction off the building, but Webb hopes to get enough community support to purchase the building and transform it into a new space while still respecting its history.
He is working with the Monroe Historical Society to create a plan to turn it into a community space with vendors, restaurants and possibly a new home for the Monroe Farmers Market.
“There’s no space for the community to really rally around, and I think that this is it. So, if it just turns into apartments then it’s just a forgotten memory at that point and then people move on and it’s nothing,” Webb said.
Kinney said the vision is to turn Monroe's Central Grade School into something like the Wallingford Center in Seattle, which was the old Interlake Public School building and was repurposed into a mixed-use retail space in 1987.
“It’s an old school, it could easily be adapted for those uses and it’s been done before. So, we’re hoping that since that track record is there of success that someone will find either the money, energy, whatever to do this here,” she said.
Webb said he hopes to get the backing of the district and the community.
“I’m hoping the school board will work with us so maybe we can work out a public/private partnership and then if we can get donations and volunteers, that would help,” he said.
Kinney and Webb will be in the planning phase until the building is up for auction.
“I just really hope it can be saved. It’s just so near and dear to so many of us in the community. We really, really hope that we’ll all pull together and somehow save this cool building,” Kinney said.
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