DES seeks public comment on environmental review of planned demolition of General Administration Building

| By DES communications

The weathered front General Administration Building shows its years of use.

Draft review finds no significant environmental impacts to replacement of building, vacant since 2018, with restrooms and temporary parking lot. Comments are due by Sept. 11, 2024.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Department of Enterprise Services (DES) is seeking comments through Sept. 11 on a draft environmental review for the demolition of the General Administration Building.

The six-story building has been unoccupied since 2018. Its wiring, plumbing, and structural elements no longer meet building code, and entry is hazardous to human health. Renovating the building would be more costly than replacing it.

The draft finds no significant environmental impacts from this project, which would replace the building with a restroom and a temporary parking lot for nearly 300 vehicles.

In 2023, the Legislature appropriated $4.3 million to plan for demolition. Additional funding is needed to implement the plan, remove environmental hazards such as lead and asbestos, and build a temporary surface parking lot.

Environmental review process

The environmental review process under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) ensures that state and local agencies consider the environmental impacts of planned projects. The draft environmental review, called a SEPA checklist, identifies potential environmental impacts and strategies to offset those impacts. It happens before other project steps, like permitting.

Guide to commenting

DES invites members of the public to submit comments on the following documents:

Comments that address a specific part of the SEPA checklist are most useful. See the Department of Ecology’s general tips for commenting.

Printed copies of the documents are available by request.

Submit comments by Sept. 11 to:

Email: DESSEPA@des.wa.gov

Mail to: Department of Enterprise Services, General Administration Building SEPA Checklist, Attn: John Lyons, P.O. Box 41476, Olympia, WA 98504

What’s next

  • DES will review comments and make any needed updates to the SEPA checklist.
  • DES will post the updated checklist and comment responses to the DES website.
  • DES will send a notice to interested parties.

More information

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