The Community Center at Mercer View opened five years ago this week, and to celebrate the milestone there will be an open house and a gaggle of events on Dec. 16.
Despite the fuss, The 42,000-plus square foot center opened on time and under budget at $12.4 million on Dec. 10, 2005. The brick, steel and glass structure was designed by Miller/Hull Partnership. The bid to build the center was awarded to Swinerton Builders.
City finance director Chip Corder said their bid was too low.
“They didn’t make any money on it,” he said. “You can always come in under budget, but we had a contractor who was very hungry.”
Consequently, even though it’s a lovely facility, Corder said they’ve had a few issues such as a leaky roof and some HVAC problems as a result of corners being cut during construction.
“Any new building has issues,” he said.
The center, often referred to as the CCMV, was built mostly with city cash, but there is a remaining debt of $2.65 million, Corder said. Real estate excise taxes from sales of real estate on the Island along with tax revenues from the general fund are being used to pay off the remaining debt.
The CCMV was designed in part to pay its way with revenue from users. The bottom line is the facility does not pay for itself. In fact, Corder said he doesn’t know of any community center anywhere that does.
“The subsidy level from the city is bumped up for inflation each year,” Corder said.
The “allowable subsidy” represents the amount of tax revenue authorized to support the community center. Beginning in 2009, Corder said, the subsidy was increased significantly given the lengthening of its operating hours and heavy use. The subsidy for the fiscal and calendar year 2010 is $322,000.
Looking for more funds, the city is proposing a modest adjustment in room rental rates to generate an additional $25,000 in revenue beginning in 2012. There hasn’t been any adjustment to rental rates in the past two years. Hourly rental revenue in 2009 was $383,000.
The city agreed to build the new community center in 2003 settling on a $13.1 million proposal. Originally opened in 1960, the old center, in this same location, started its life as Mercer View Elementary School. The site was turned into a community center in 1980, where it housed everything from meeting rooms, day care, exercise space and classrooms. The building was torn down in June 2004 to make way for this new building.
The new building has proven to be a hit.
“It’s wildly popular,” Corder said. “The number of visits and patrons has increased each year.”
Corder said they’ve had to take on more custodial staff. Katie Borden, the recreation and Mercer Room coordinator, said they rent out the gym, dance room, four meeting rooms, catering kitchen and the Mercer Room, which can be converted into three smaller rooms.
Borden said they have a balance of recreation activities and room rentals. Health and fitness classes are a big draw. The Mercer Room, which has a view, movie screen, special lighting and food preparations space, is used for everything from wedding receptions to larger Christmas parties.
The gym is used for basketball, pickle ball, badminton and volleyball. Meeting rooms right now are $35 an hour for Mercer Island residents, and $50 for non-residents. The full Mercer Room is $90 an hour for residents and $120 an hour for non-residents. It’s OK for your group to serve beer, wine or champagne, but the renter must have a banquet permit and insurance.
The indoor art gallery changes every six weeks, so if you see a piece you want, you’d better jump on it.
Celebration
The anniversary celebration begins at 10 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m., Dec. 16, with fun, free things for visitors to check out. Later, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., a reception featuring the MIHS jazz band will take place, including presentations by several of the classes at CCMV.
