The Port has secured agreements with public partners for development of the three (3) parcels not being offered via this RFP, which total 4.3 acres. This public investment will collectively form a nucleus of activity that is oriented around enjoyment of the waterfront, open space, environmental responsibility, and educational opportunities, all of which will serve to complement additional private investment in the District. In addition to the projects listed below, the City is building a new $35 million City Hall two (2) blocks south of the District on the site of a former Safeway. That project is currently in the de-construction phase. Construction is set to be fully under way by Summer 2009.
Hands On Children’s Museum
A public/private partnership has been created to build a larger, permanent home for the region’s premier hands-on learning institution devoted to children. The new Hands On Children’s Museum (HOCM) will expand the community’s resource center for early learning, increase access to the arts for students and families, stimulate economic development through tourism, and promote revitalization by attracting more families to downtown Olympia. HOCM currently attracts over 150,000 visitors each year, a number expected to swell to 200,000 during the first year at its new location.
The $18 million, three (3) story museum will include 27,000 square feet of indoor exhibit space in a LEED-certified building, a 25,000- square foot outdoor learning center, and will be located on Parcel 5 of the East Bay District. In a very exciting and unique partnership, HOCM and the LOTT Alliance are working together to coordinate water-related exhibits and programs, which will be enhanced the neighboring physical locations of the Museum and LOTT’s Education Center.
As of January 2009, HOCM is on-track with its fundraising goals for the museum and is targeting Spring 2010 for the start of construction. The Port has retained the air rights to the northwest portion of the HOCM property for potential future construction of a parking garage.
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