The Guthrie Center

Located on Guthrie Road, adjacent to Lowell Johnson Park (A.K.A. "The Ol' Swimmin' Hole"), the Guthrie Center is a 2.39-acre property and structure being acquired by Anderson Island Park and Recreation District.

AIPRD's agreement grants the Lutheran Church a lease to the bottom floor for as long as they want it for their congregation.

For the time being, we are focused on closing on the property, then procuring permits, plans and materials for basic renovations to bring the full structure into an up-to-code, usable space for our community, with the top floor open to the community in 2025.

News Updates about this process:

9/2023 - Announcement of Acquisition and Development

Snapshot

LOCATION

11408 Guthrie Road

FEATURES

Use TBD

PARK COMMISSIONER CONTACT

John Larsen | 253-884-9798

jlarsen@andersonislandparks.org

Community use in 2025

AIPRD is beginning the process of considering community use of the upper floor of the Guthrie Center. To finalize our permitting, we will need to define the use of space in the next few months, but please know this process will take time - especially with an all-volunteer organization. We appreciate your patience as we undertake a completely new type of stewardship on behalf of the Park District.

Below are the materials submitted by the organizations requesting consideration, as well as the timeline and process for selection.

PLEASE NOTE: At this time, we are ONLY considering proposals for projects on the top floor of the building. Any requests to create infrastructure or community use on the grounds will not be considered until after the building is up to code and finalized for tenants - 2025 or later. We know this might be disappointing, but we simply cannot put resources toward discussing or implementing longer-term projects until we get through the hurdle of renovating the existing building.

AIPRD STATEMENT OF INTENTION

Starting in the year 2025 it is the desire of the AIPRD to offer lease(s), for the benefit of the community, for the useful space of the top floor of the recently acquired Guthrie Center.

For questions, contact:

John Larsen, AIPRD Commissioner

jlarsen@andersonislandparks.org

Phone # 253-732-5204

Use Proposals for Public Review

Below are the submissions we received, along with their supporting materials. These organizations will join us at the public input meeting on Monday, January 15th at 6pm at the ALCC to answer questions and participate in the discussion. Request the Zoom meeting link by emailing bschneider@andersonislandparks.org.

Guthrie Center Use Proposal - Anderson Island Arts (pdf)

Download

Guthrie Center Use Proposal - Anderson Island Health Advocates (pdf)

Download

Health Advocates Appendix A: Aug 2023 Proposal (pdf)

Download

Health Advocates Appendix B: AI Fitness Center Endorsement (pdf)

Download

Special Meeting Agenda - Jan 15 2024 (pdf)

Download

RFP Process

1 | TOUR THE FACILITY

2 | WRITE YOUR PROPOSAL

From November 1 - 30, interested parties must schedule a tour of the facility, prior to authoring their proposals. This offers you and AIPRD the chance to explore use cases and answer questions. Contact John Larsen (253-732-5204) to schedule this walk-through.

2 | WRITE YOUR PROPOSAL

After touring the facility, download the Word document RFP, fill it out and submit it to John Larsen by January 3, 2024.

3 | PUBLIC INPUT

4 | SELECTION DECISION TBD

On January 15th at 6pm in the ALCC, AIPRD will hold a special meeting to get public input on the proposed uses. All organizations who submitted RFPs are encouraged to attend to help answer use-case questions. Request the Zoom meeting link by emailing bschneider@andersonislandparks.org.

4 | SELECTION DECISION TBD

Due to the need for additional research regarding zoning for the property, the Board will not make a final selection until zoning questions are resolved.

Anderson Island Park & Recreation District

PROJECT UPDATES

WANT UPDATES ON THE GUTHRIE CENTER PROGRESS?