Central Washington president to sign lease for former Mars Hill property in Sammamish Tuesday

CWU to begin offering college courses in Sammamish in September

Two years since purchasing the property formerly occupying Mars Hill Church, the city of Sammamish appears to finally have new tenants.

Central Washington University President Dr. James Gaudino and Sammamish City Manager Lyman Howard are expected to sign a lease and operating agreement at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting at Sammamish City Hall, the city announced Tuesday afternoon.

The signing is expected to take place following the council’s authorization.

The city stated the initial lease will be for three years, with an annual base rent of $60,000 and will include options for multiple five-year extensions, according to a press release. After three years, the base rent will rise a minimum of $60,000 annually.

The terms of the lease call for the university to pay for all tenant improvements and lease the building “as is.” Central Washington will have a right to purchase the building “at a price that would recover all city investments in the building,” the city stated in the release.

Should the university’s yearly operating margin exceed $500,000 in the lease’s third year, the base rent will increase $120,000 annually moving forward, the city stated.

Central Washington is expected to begin offering college courses in Sammamish no later than September of this year.

The city purchased the two-story, 30,807-square-foot building and 22.4-acre property for $6.2 million in March 2015, with an intent of bringing higher education to the plateau. The property is located at 120 228th Ave. NE and is within walking distance of neighboring high schools Eastlake, Skyline and Eastside Catholic.

The university is expected to offer Running Start classes for high school students, as well as continuing education classes for adults, professional certifications and coursework for baccalaureate and master’s degrees.

The city had previously fielded inquiries from other interested buyers, including from Cascadia College, Bellevue College and the Lake Washington Institute of Technology.