City of Shoreline, School District Work Out Deal For Future Of Old Sunset Elementary

The Shoreline School District and the City of Shoreline announced Monday that they have worked out an agreement related to the future of the closed Sunset Elementary School building and site located in the Richmond Highlands neighborhood.

Under the agreement, the School District will pay for the demolition and removal of the school building while the City takes over the maintenance, utilities, supervision and scheduling of the property. The details of the agreement will be similar to the joint-use agreement entered into between the School District and the City for use of Paramount School Park, incorporating some of the terms in the Sunset Site Planning Agreement.

The School District hopes to accomplish the demolition as soon as possible, and plans to cover the costs of removing the building through the annual savings of maintenance, utilities, supervision and scheduling over future years. The City believes it will be able to cover the costs of continued maintenance and supervision of the site through the parks maintenance budget.

"Removing the vacant building will be a win-win for our community. While the Friends of Sunset Park and others continue to identify funding for the proposed park on the property, the demolition of the building will go a long way to making this public facility safer and neighborhood friendly," said Superintendent Sue Walker.

"Continuing to find areas where the City and the School District can collaborate on projects benefits all Shoreline residents," stated City Manager Julie Underwood. "This will bring us a step closer to seeing a park on that site."