Published May 28 2015
An aging, former elementary school at Surrey Downs Park has been the "temporary" home of Bellevue District Court for nearly 30 years, but that arrangement is about to change. On Monday, the City Council reviewed plans to move court operations in June to an extensively renovated, leased building at Bellefield Office Park.
King County provides district court services at Surrey Downs, located at 585 112th Ave. SE, under an agreement with the city. The court's new home will be at 1309 114th Ave. SE, just a few blocks away. Plans call for court operations to open at the "Bellefields Building" on June 23. A public open house will follow.
District Court Judge Donna Tucker thanked the council Monday for supporting the change. She said the Surrey Downs facility is well beyond its useful life and that her court staff are excited about the new digs, where they can "provide services with confidence and pride." Tucker said new technology at Bellefields Building will allow the court to upgrade its case management system, making operations more efficient.
District Court processes a variety of cases in which charges were made by the City of Bellevue, including traffic infractions, misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors. About 11 percent of the visits to the court are by misdemeanor defendants. Other court services include marriage licenses, passports and name changes.
The city's Probation Services Division also will move to the Bellefields Building.
City officials have long planned to relocate the District Court and Probation Services from the Surrey Downs building, which is in poor condition. That work escalated because access to the property from 112th Avenue Southeast will be eliminated with the construction of East Link light rail along the west side of the street. Relocation of the courts and removal of the aging structure, will allow for the redevelopment of Surrey Downs Park.
After an extensive search, the 29,486-square-foot, stand-alone Bellefields Building was chosen because it's the right size and configuration, offers adequate parking, is located near transit services and is close to the existing court building and to City Hall.
Under a use agreement between Bellevue and King County, the city pays for most of the improvements to the Bellefields Building, budgeted at $4.45 million; the county will contribute up to $125,000 for improvements, the moving expenses and the cost to install and maintain the building security system. The city will lease the Bellefields Building for $6.7 million over 11 years.
Under a separate interlocal agreement, King County will continue to provide court services for Bellevue through 2016, with a renewal provision for another five years, through 2021. If the council wishes to explore operating its own district court system, it would have time to examine that option.
More information is available with the council agenda material.