Chinook Building Grand Opening

(Bob) This is King County Conversations. I’m Bob Ferguson and I represent District 1 on the King County Council.

On Friday, January 25^th, King County opened its new office building located in Downtown Seattle. I thought we should do something a bit different with this building so I sponsored a contest asking 7^th, 8^th and 9^th graders from throughout King County to submit potential names for the new building along with an essay explaining their suggestion. We received about 150 entries. This approach was a unique opportunity to engage young persons and give them a greater sense of connection to local government.

The name that was selected was submitted by Kirkland student, Megan Drews. She suggested “Chinook” because of the importance of salmon to our region. Another student, Connelly McHugh, suggested that each floor within the building be individually named.

With that recommendation, the County Council decided to name the first 9 floors after citizens or important themes of each of the nine county council districts. I had the opportunity to name the 1^st floor and with this privilege I chose to honor Ivan Doig, a Shoreline resident, noted writer, and National Book Award finalist for “This House of Sky.” At the building’s opening ceremony, Mr. Doig spoke about how the Northwest became his home.

(Ivan Doig) What a singular honor this occasion is for me. I’ve won some literary awards in my time but never before have I been the first among floors. And it seems to me to be a pretty substantial floor, its supportive of its citizenry, a lot of us here today. It’s open and welcoming to the distinguished floors above. William Butler Yates said ‘a poem should close with the click of a well made box.’ If we are lucky that sometimes happens in the prose of life too as it has for me here today thanks to Bob and the other the councilmembers.

On a crystalline day in 1966, my wife Carolyn and I first drove into Seattle and King County across the first floating bridge we’d ever seen or heard of in a gunboat Buick. Our magazine jobs, editing jobs in Chicago thrown away behind us like confetti as we came west to stay. That stay began at the UW where I began PhD study in the history of the American west and quite specifically why I mentioned it today, in its modes of government. My dissertation was written about John J McGilvra, of McGilvra Boulevard, the US district attorney for Washington Territory when he came west from Chicago in 1861. And a lawyer, civic leader and shaper of Seattle until his death in 1903. McGilvra’s land claim was what is now primarily the UW arboretum including Fosters Island, and the Lake Washington neighborhood for about a mile down southward of Union Bay there. Madison Street slices through the grid of First Hill as it does because McGilvra had it cut through the forest as the road to his house and land. So that rather long ago dissertation of mine on “The Life and Times of an Urban Frontiersman” as I titled it, seems to me to be echoed now in well made fashion. In the click of this day and this ceremony, I am historically pleased to be the name that will greet people at the elevators to ascend through the constellation of floors of my fellow King County honorees.

(Bob) I encourage everyone to visit their local public Library and check out one of Ivan Doig’s books. In addition to “This House of Sky,” my personal favorites include “Winter Brothers” and “Searunners,” both of which are set along the Washington Coast

The new Chinook Building is a modern, environmentally-friendly facility. I was pleased that it was built on time and on budget and that its design is consistent with national green building standards.

This building also cut unnecessary spending in a number of ways. First, it has allowed King County government to consolidate its offices. Before the construction of the Chinook Building, many county departments leased office space from privately owned buildings at a high cost to taxpayers. Now, with most agencies in the Chinook building, the nearby King County Administration Building, and the King County Courthouse, residents can be assured that more of their money is going to fund the critical services that they need and not to pay rent in downtown Seattle.

The furnishing of the Chinook Building was another way we minimized costs. The Council received a funding request from the King County Executive to purchase new office furniture for the Chinook Building. As chair of the capital budget committee at the time, I sponsored an amendment requiring that the County first search the used furniture market for a better deal.

During this search, the County received information about Safeco Insurance’s upcoming sale of high-quality used office furniture. It was a perfect match. The County was able make this purchase from Safeco and in the end we saved nearly $2 million.

The Chinook building has been a success story from the students who participated in the naming contest to putting together a building on time and on budget and as always, if you have any questions or concerns about this or any other issue, I encourage you to contact me at bob.ferguson@kingcounty.gov.