The Mountaineers Board of Trustees has ratified the purchase and sale agreement to sell the club headquarters building and relocate to Magnuson Park.

The deal closed on March 2, according to Executive Director Steve Costie, but the architect, Clark Design Group, PLLC, had been working on the design of the new building months before the sale of the current building closed. Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year, according to Costie, and the club should be able to move into its new home some time next year.

The closing of the transaction follows months of conferences on what the club needs to facilitate its operation in the new building, located on the east side of Sand Point Way on a site that once housed the Puget Sound Naval Station. Known as Building 67, The Mountaineers' new home was used as a motor-pool facility by the navy. The estimated cost of remodeling Building 67 to meet the club's needs - now at $3.9 million - will be contributed toward the lease agreement with the City of Seattle which owns and manages Magnuson Park.

Over the past six months, the club was negotiating with the buyer of the current headquarters in Queen Anne - John Goodman (Goodman Real Estate, Inc.) - on how much he would provide beyond the original remodeling cost estimates. In the time since the lease was drafted, the remodeling estimate rose to $3.9 million, of which Goodman will ultimately pay $1.4 million, according to Mountaineers Controller Brian Horstman, leaving the club a balance of $2.5 million.

The closing of the sale to Goodman concludes the pursuit of a new location for the club headquarters that began more than two years ago. A committee created by the board of trustees recommended in 2005 that the lease option at Magnuson Park was the best alternative. Negotiations with the city and consultation with Mountaineers activity committees on their specific program needs then ensued.

A meeting room capable of accommodating 500 persons or more, a climbing plaza, ample parking, proximity to the Burke-Gilman Trail and to other outdoors-related organizations at Magnuson Park were cited as highlights of the new site. In the meantime, the aging of the current building, constructed in 1950, and the incumbent investments needed in the near future to maintain it were cited as reasons to look for a better location. The New Facilities Construction Committee also noted idle space and maintenance of that space when rooms were not being used or rented in the current building.

After negotiations on the lease had started, a group of Mountaineers members decided in early 2006 to present an option it believed the facilities committee did not fully explore - co-development of the current building. In essence, the club would retain a portion of the building while the developer and owner would either rent or lease the balance of space in the way of an apartment complex and offices.

After a club-wide meeting was held with the proposed co-developers, the club's board of trustees voted to stick with the plan to move to Magnuson.

The new site is located in the northwest corner of the Magnuson Park complex, which lies at the foot of the View Ridge neighborhood that stretches uphill and westward from Sand Point Way. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration complex lies just north of the club's new home.

Other recreational and conservations entities inhabiting the 350-acre park include the Cascade Bicycle Club, Earth Corps of Washington, Sail Seattle, Arena Sports (a private business) and the Washington Native Plant Society. Space is leased by the city to civic and recreational groups in general.

The park includes more than a mile of shoreline along Lake Washington to accommodate sea kayaking programs. The climbing plaza will be around 3,000 square feet and consist of a climbing wall of roughly 34 feet in height and 90 feet in width. An open space will be included in the climbing plaza, bordered by more climbing, scrambling and hiking terrain for practice on slabs and hillsides.

The climbing facility, as part of the lease formula, will be owned by the city and open to the public. The club is designing the plaza so that diverse Mountaineers activities, including Naturalists and MOFA (Mountaineering Oriented First Aid), may use it for their instruction.

To initiate construction of a new facility, an existing, one-story garage of wood and concrete must be demolished. The current two stories of concrete will be renovated to house club operations. The administration and staff will be located at street level, along with two multipurpose rooms with two mobile dividers, a conference room, lobby, break room and storage spaces.

On the mezannine, or second level, The Mountaineers Library and another meeting room will exist.
"This is an exciting milestone for The Mountaineers and a critical part of our strategy for our next 100 years," noted Mountaineers President Bill Deters. "Months of detail work by the New Facilities Construction Committee, working with the purchaser of our current club headquarters, has resulted in an agreement very favorable to our club. Now the move to Magnuson project can proceed," he added.