On June 16, the Auburn City Council passed a resolution “authorizing the authorized” officer — Mayor Nancy Backus — to file a $300,000 Section 108 Loan guarantee application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to finance the redevelopment and build-out of the Auburn Resource Center at 2814, 2816, and 2818 Auburn Way North.

Human Services Director Kent Hay and Jody Davison, Community Development Block Grant Coordinator, introduced the proposed project at a council work session on Monday.

“Kent Hay and his team have put in a lot of work … behind this, and I’m excited to hear more in the acceptance of this because he’s got a vision, and it’s for our community, and his hard work doesn’t go unnoticed,” said Councilmember Tracy Taylor. “I’m excited to know our community will have a place to go when … needed.”

Backus said the work that Hay and his team do “is a much needed resource in our community, and I am excited that we are going to be moving forward with this.”

The Auburn Resource Center is a centralized social services hub where various nonprofit organizations come together to offer their services — ranging from health care and financial assistance to support housing. There, clients get help with ID and documents, and access to substance abuse treatment. It is likewise home to the Auburn Community Court, and, since late 2023, the Auburn Food Bank.

But the city says the building it purchased in 2024 simply can’t meet the needs of the growing community, fulfill its intended purpose of providing additional leasing opportunities for future service providers, and add community meeting space.

The proposal calls for modification of the parts of the building that the Auburn Resource Center and Auburn Community Court use, allowing those areas to do double-duty as public meeting spaces when they aren’t being used.

The plan also calls for the addition of:

• A conference room.

• Private meeting spaces.

• A reception area.

• Upgraded, accessible restrooms for clients.

• A police substation.

The renovation would also address plumbing, roof and fire sprinkler systems, electrical upgrades and add office spaces. The Community Court adjacent to the center has a judge’s chamber with a private restroom, but there aren’t enough restrooms to meet the public’s need today.

To obtain the loan, the project must meet all of HUD’s national objectives, which Davison said it does because:

• More than 38% of the surrounding area’s residents fall below the HUD median-family-income limit.

• Because the city now owns the building, the project falls under the category of reconstruction of a publicly-owned facility, which allows the city to apply for the loan.

• It does now, and will continue to provide services to a broad range of low-income Auburn residents.

The $3 million request is the city’s current borrowing power from 2024. The funds for the loan would be drawn on a reimbursement basis. And the final loan balance at the project’s completion “would most likely” end up below than the initial $3 million request.

In other council action

The council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Backus to sign a contract with the State Department of Commerce to accept a $250,060 state grant to help cover the cost of building a new downtown park next to the future Auburn Avenue Theater.

The city asked for an appropriation from the 2024 Washington State Supplemental State Capital Budget and was granted the money to help with the park’s design and construction. The future park at 125 E. Main St. is adjacent to the site of the theater. The city bought the property with grant funds from the King County Conservation Futures Tax Levy in 2024.

“Once again, the vision of our team is outstanding,” said Councilmember Tracy Taylor. “I am so excited to have something that is going to be next to the theater, and I just envision more people coming downtown, seeing something in the theater, just hanging out in the park. This is just something that’s so welcome and so needed for our downtown. So, thank you to the team for the development and the ideology for it all.”

Lisa Stirgus, the council’s newest member, spoke to a concern that the city is spending too much money on a park when other needs remain unmet.

“It’s important for us as community members to realize that the city does have a comprehensive … business plan that we would know in corporate America or in our day jobs,” Stirgus said. “And so, as we vote on these different resolutions or have different agenda topics sometimes at these meetings that can feel like it’s a one-off, but they are prioritized.”