Title
A MOTION implementing the recommendations of the county auditor final oversight report on the Ninth and Jefferson Building; requesting the executive to review county procedures for management of capital projects with alternative delivery methods, streamline the county's retail lease approval process, and develop strategies to facilitate county project managers in managing public-private partnership projects.
Body
WHEREAS, the initial Ninth and Jefferson Building ("NJB") project was authorized to be a 144,380 square foot building with a 480 stall parking garage for 89.8 million dollars, and
WHEREAS, the NJB was part of the Harborview Bond Project, managed by the University of Washington Capital Project Office for King County, and
WHEREAS, in August 2003 the council approved increasing the project to a 190,000-square-foot medical office building with a 630-stall parking garage and a budget of 119.4 million dollars, and
WHEREAS, the county stopped construction after an approximately 15-million-dollar cost overrun was projected, and
WHEREAS, the county removed the project from the scope of the Harborview Bond Project managed by the University of Washington and restructured the project as a 63-20 public-private partnership managed by the facilities management division, which structure involves a nonprofit that financed the project using tax exempt bonds, contracted for development and owns and manages the building during a lease-back period while Harborview's rent is used to pay back the development costs, after which the county owns the building, and
WHEREAS, the restructured NJB project delivered a 440,000-square-foot medical office building and garage on schedule and within a 188.7-million-dollar budget, including making use of a substantial portion of the work done on the initial cancelled project, and
WHEREAS, the NJB project was a major undertaking that spanned many aspects of county capital project management and therefore provides a valuable oppo...

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