MONROE — Plans are in motion to move the Monroe School District headquarters to a leased location along Hospital Road after a unanimous vote of the school board last week.
The district’s headquarters are currently at the corner of Fremont and Ferry streets downtown. It wants to move to a former clinic at 14692 179th Ave. SE vacated by Providence.
The move would get staff out of a 100-year-old space for a newer one and triple the number of parking spaces available. It also provides updated electrical and ventilation systems, and more space for meetings and trainings, said Tamara Krache, a district spokeswoman.
No specific time is set for a move from the old space to the new, but the process is moving ahead.
On Sept. 9, the school board voted unanimously to sign a letter of intent, freeing the district to take steps toward new headquarters. The board will need to approve the negotiated lease agreement before the plan can proceed.
The monthly outlay is $57,000 for the 31,000-square-foot space.
That’s about $1.83 per square foot.
“If you were to rent a house in today’s market you will likely pay about that much per square foot of space,” Krache said.
The current district office is a former school. It is in need of repairs that create a cost that is “extremely high” and even if renovation was completed instead of a move, the Fremont Street space is still lacking, Krache said.
The largest space available in the Fremont building is too small to accommodate the full administrative team for meetings and professional development events, she said.
