Auburn officials are looking for $2 million in grant funds to buy and renovate the old U.S. post office on Auburn Avenue.

Their idea — reopen the building as a health care training and business accelerator center that fosters fast-track training programs in health care and business enterprise.

The 72-year-old building, which King County operated for 45 years as a public health extension office, has stood empty since the county vacated it last winter to cut costs.

Council members discussed the building during a meeting of the Committee of the Whole Monday at City Hall. The Committe meets whenever there is a fifth Monday in a month.

“The biggest thing happening there is that we would retain this historic building,” said Councilman Bill Peloza.

The federal government built the post office in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. Along with the old Carnegie building, built in 1914, it is one of two structures left in the city that were built for a public purpose. Both buildings have a spot on the National Register of Historical Places and on the Washington Heritage Register.

Inside there are 20 exam rooms, four large conference rooms, a marbled reception area and a security vault.

When the new post office was built in the early 1960s, the General Services Administration (GSA) deeded the building to King County for 20 years at a dollar a year, requiring only that the county use it as a public facility, specifically for public health. After 20 years the $1 stipulation was removed, but the public service requirement remained.

King County has been in talks with Auburn officials about the City’s possible acquisition of the building.

But it is not prepared to give it away. At the first meeting between the county and city, the county presented its asking price for the building based on a $950,000 appraisal.

Since then, said Mayor Pete Lewis, the City has sent the county a letter asking that the building be allowed to revert to the residents of Auburn. The letter asks that it remain a public building and that the City receive the same deal the county got from the GSA – a dollar a year for the next 20 years on the condition that it be kept in public service for public health training or other business purposes.

“We’ve only got two (historical buildings) left,” said Lewis. “I mean, for God’s sake, allow us our two remaining buildings.”

Planning Director Cindy Baker said Green River Community College, Auburn Regional Medical Center (ARMC) and the Workforce Health Care Institute support the city's efforts to continue health care training and accelerated business center uses.

"An accelerator center means trying to push things through a lot faster," Baker said. "So the training they've set up — they being the Workforce folks and some of the hospitals – is to increase the knowledge of some of their homecare people. They're trying to get people better trained and educated so that they can get them out into the workforce. There are some 60,000 jobs needed in the hospital arena or medical field right now, and more are expected with the aging population. For them to be able to use that facility would be a boon.

"…That's two opportunities, and we're not stopping with that. Hopefully the door is open," Baker said.

To make this all happen, the city would need to make a number of building improvements, including the following:

• Protect historic features

• Retrofit for current earthquake standards

• Ensure compliance with the American Disabilities act

• Improve energy efficiency through mechanical, lighting and window glazing

• If appropriate, make tenant improvements and install communications and other infrastructure

Lewis said the City is not interested in administering the building but would prefer to find some other entity to do that.

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