HARBORVIEW HALL SEEKING REUSE CONCEPTS

King County is currently soliciting qualifications and concepts for the adaptive reuse of Harborview Hall, a 1931 art deco tower located on the campus of Harborview Medical Center.  The tower has been slated for demolition beginning this fall, but has been given a short “stay of execution” to consider alternatives to demolition.  Submittals are due by October 6^th.

The building was to be torn down to make way for a plaza in the middle of the Harborview campus.  However, the building has been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and one last look will be taken to see if the building is salvageable.  Designed by noted architect Harlan Thomas, it was built as a residence for UW nursing students and continued as such for thirty years.  In the early 1960s, much of it was converted to medical office space and laboratories.  The exterior and much of the first floor public space remain intact.  The City of Seattle denied landmark status for the building in 2009, in a 4-3 vote.  Any rehabilitation of the building would require meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, an extensive seismic retrofit and a use compatible with Harborview Medical Center. Once submittals are received, a panel will determine whether any of them are feasible, and a decision to move forward with an official RFP project or demolition will be made in late October.  For information on the RFQ/C, please go to the King County Procurement site.