(rshsdepot) Everett, WA

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Everett Station gets ready to roll Monday

By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer


EVERETT -- A year and a half after turning dirt on the new Everett Station
and proclaiming it a model for future transit centers, Gov. Gary Locke
returns Monday to participate in the station's grand opening ceremony.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and other dignitaries will join Locke. The governor's
visit symbolizes the special place the station will hold as a city landmark,
but also gives the governor an opportunity to spotlight the importance of
mass transit as a way to ease the traffic woes of the Puget Sound region.

Locke is expected to be joined by hundreds of spectators who will view for
the first time the completed transit hub. The grand opening ceremony starts
at 11 a.m. Monday at 3201 Smith Ave. Everett Mayor Ed Hansen will be master
of ceremonies. An open house will continue until 7 p.m.

Although the 64,000-square-foot brick-and-glass building with a copper-tiled
roof brings beauty to Everett's otherwise plain industrial sector, the basic
goal of the station is to provide commuters with a conveniently located mass
transit center.

"The new facility goes a long way toward smoothing out those transportation
wrinkles in Everett by making it easier to use public transportation," city
spokeswoman Dale Preboski said.

The station will provide long-distance, commuter and local bus service, an
airport shuttle, taxi service, bicycle racks and 746 parking stalls for
park-and-ride commuters. Rail riders will join bus commuters this summer
when Amtrak begins service. Sound Transit's commuter rail, the Sounder, is
expected to arrive in late 2003. Frequent Everett Transit shuttle bus
service, costing 25 cents a ride, will take travelers downtown in less than
five minutes.

The station also will bring a first-ever offering of upper-level university
night classes, as five state colleges set up classrooms on the second floor.

And for those looking for career development, WorkSource Everett will become
a tenant in April.

Conceptual work for the transportation center began nearly 10 years ago. The
station cost $26 million to build, the money collected through a combination
of state, federal, local and private funds, including $4 million in grants
from the state Transportation Improvement Board. The cost of buying the land
and clearing the site brought the total price tag to $44 million.

On Jan. 16, the Everett City Council decided to keep management of the
station local and authorized a $2 million, three-year contract with Coast
Real Estate Services. Everett brothers Tom and Shawn Hoban founded Coast
Real Estate in 1987. They plan to manage the station in the spirit with
which it was built -- as a gateway into Everett.

"Our approach to managing this facility will be with this vision in mind,"
Tom Hoban said.

SIDEBARS:

Feeling lucky?

Visitors to the Monday grand opening of Everett Station will find out how
lucky they are by playing the count-the-bricks contest. Visitors get to
guess at the number of bricks on the exterior of the four-story building.
Prizes include:

Amtrak Empire Builder round-trip ticket for two from Everett or Seattle to
Whitefish, Mont.

Amtrak Cascades roundtrip ticket for two from Everett or Seattle to
Vancouver, British Columbia, with a one-night hotel stay and a $50
certificate for dinner.

Two separate Amtrak Cascades round-trip packages for two from Everett or
Seattle to Vancouver with a one-night hotel stay.

Two tickets to a Village Theatre performance and a one-night hotel stay.

Four tickets to a Pied Piper performance and one-night hotel stay for four.

Two Greyhound Ameripass tickets valid for up to seven days of travel
anywhere in the United States.

Three separate Puget Pass monthly bus pass certificates for March.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Did you know?

You may know that the grand opening of the new Everett Station starts at 11
a.m. Monday at 3201 Smith Ave. But did you know:

There is more than 750,000 feet of wiring and cable inside Everett Station.

It took more than 7,600 copper shingles to complete the roof.

More than 3,000 light bulbs illuminate the station.

More than 800 people were involved with building the station, including
planning, design and construction.

The precast arch in the inside center of the station weighs 34,000 pounds,
or 17 tons.

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