CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the Seattle Department of Transportation; authorizing the Director of Transportation to enter into a lease agreement on behalf of the City of Seattle with the Cultural Space Agency, a city-chartered Public Development Authority, for its use and occupancy of a portion of King Street Station; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
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WHEREAS, the King Street Station (Station) was constructed by the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1906; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle (City) acquired the Station from the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) by quitclaim deed dated February 15, 2008 (Deed); and
WHEREAS, upon acquiring Station, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) commenced extensive seismic upgrades, and renovated and restored historic elements throughout the Station, utilizing a combination of funding from the 2008 Bridging the Gap levy and other City funds, as well as significant federal, state, and private funds; and
WHEREAS, under the Deed, the City’s title to Station was conditioned on the City’s recognition of Amtrak’s historic rights in and to the first floor of the building for use as an intercity passenger rail depot, pursuant to the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1971 (49 U.S.C. § 24308), which created Amtrak, a quasi-public corporation that consolidated and restructured passenger rail service; and
WHEREAS, Amtrak’s rights and operational responsibilities were later memorialized in a 20-year lease agreement with Amtrak, authorized by Ordinance 125004 and executed between the City and Amtrak in July 2016; and
WHEREAS, in December 2018, a partnership among SDOT, the Department of Finance and Administrative Services, and the Office of Arts and Culture (ARTS) completed a build out of the third floor of King Street Station to serve as the new location for ARTS, which included gallery space for hosting exhibits curated and sponsored by Seattle-based non-profit arts organizations; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, SDOT and ARTS entered into a memorandum of understanding granting either ARTS or a future Public Development Authority the right of first refusal to develop space for community arts organizations within the vacant, unfinished second floor of King Street Station; and
WHEREAS, in January 2021, the City chartered the Cultural Space Agency Public Development Authority (CSA), whose mission is, in part, to secure long-term affordable commercial cultural space with community partners, more specifically with communities of color, with a particular focus on the needs of Black and Indigenous communities (see Clerk’s File 321874); and
WHEREAS, Cultural Space Agency acted on the MOU’s development option, with approval from Arts, and since then SDOT and CSA have partnered to design and deliver a tenant improvement project building out the second floor of King Street Station, which included nearly 5,500 square feet of unfinished space, the last of the remaining space not under Amtrak’s control; and
WHEREAS, the tenant improvement project is nearing completion and Cultural Space Agency will soon begin utilizing the space as a home for five arts-oriented non-profit organizations devoted to youth arts education and professional development, particularly Black, Indigenous and other People of Color, including the Jackson Street Music Program; Red Eagle Soaring Native Youth Theatre; The Rhapsody Project, which celebrates music and heritage through an anti-racist lenses; Totem Star, which provides recording arts training and mentorship opportunities for area youth; and Wh!psmart, a statewide trade organization dedicated to supporting creative workers and creative businesses, with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusivity; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation (Director) is authorized to execute, for and on behalf of The City of Seattle, a lease agreement with the Cultural Space Agency Public Development Authority providing for its use of a portion of the King Street Station, substantially in the form of the agreement attached to this ordinance as Attachment 1.
Section 2. Any act consistent with the authority of this ordinance taken after its passage and prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.
Section 3. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2023, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this ________ day of _________________________, 2023.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Approved / returned unsigned / vetoed this _____ day of _________________, 2023.
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Bruce A. Harrell, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2023.
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Schereen Dedman, City Clerk
(Seal)
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Lease Agreement between The City of Seattle and the Cultural Space Agency Public Development Authority (CSA)