Plans are in motion to move the Washington Conference headquarters from the current location in Bothell to a more central site. During the 2002 conference constituency session, it was voted that the office could be moved if the transaction would not involve any long-term debt.
A buyer has agreed to pay 6.6 million dollars for the almost 17 acres located in Bothell. The sale is expected to close in mid-2005.
A search committee was formed by the executive committee to find a new location. After reviewing a number of possibilities, the committee recommended a Federal Way site on the corner of 323rd and Weyerhouser Way. This site consists of almost three acres of commercially-zoned land with utilities already in place, for the price of $697,334. An earlier search committee had previously selected this site prior to finally moving to the current Bothell location.
A feasibility study has been completed on this land by a number of experts who recommended that the purchase go forward. Thus the sale was closed on Nov. 15, 2004.
While the new office is being built, conference headquarters will lease a facility in the Federal Way area just off Highway 18 and Weyerhouser Way. The office is expected to move into this facility in February 2005. The Adventist Book Center committee and the executive committee continue to study how to best serve the northern part of the conference.
The future Washington Conference headquarters will be located on these three acres in Federal Way.
John Freedman, Washington Conference president, signs closing papers on the new conference office property as Dave Wolkwitz, trust services director, looks on.
