Shipley Center’s annex going through city’s design review process

By Matthew Nash • October 5, 2022 1:30 am

Music, activities and conversation filled Shipley Center’s halls last week for the senior center’s 12th-annual open house.

Along with the ukulele tunes, food from Leo’s Cafe and raffle prizes, Michael Smith, the center’s executive director, gave a brief update on the center’s planned expansion.

The proposed Health & Wellness Annex building adds about 6,500 square feet on four lots across the street between the center and Taco Bell.

Smith said the center at 921 E. Hammond St. hasn’t been expanded since 2002, when 3,885-square-feet was added.

“Twenty years later, it’s time to increase space,” Smith said. “Sequim is a growing place with more interests.”

A committee has worked on the designs and fundraising for the project since 2017 with unanticipated delays, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith said the plans, designed by Dungeness Design, are going before City of Sequim planners now in the “Design Review Process.”

“It’s very, very close,” Smith said.

The facility features a fitness room for exercise, ping pong and more along with a demonstration kitchen, a conference room, office space and various storage spaces throughout.

About $1.5 million has been raised, Smith said, from bequeathments, community and state grants, and individual donations.

The annex’s color pallets were chosen inside and out, and on display. Its walls will include structural insulated panels (SIPs) — high performance, solid insulation, Smith said

As plan reviews continue, so does fundraising. With more than $1.4 million obtained so far, the project needs more donors and grants, Smith said.

With cost estimates based on pre-COVID-19 numbers and a national rise in building supplies, he estimates they’ll need more than $2 million, he said.

“That number will be refined when bids (for construction) come in,” Smith added.

Donations to Shipley Center are welcome by mail to: Shipley Center, P.O. Box 1827, Sequim, WA 98382. Or, call 360-683-6806.

For more information about the center, email to info@shipleycenter.org or visit www.shipleycenter.org.

Funds for the annex lots were provided by the R. Leo Shipley Estate.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell During Shipley Center’s open house on Sept. 30, executive director Michael Smith gives an update about the center’s Health & Wellness Annex.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell/ Schematics for the Shipley Center’s Health & Wellness Annex by Dungeness Design show how the project will look. It’s currently in the City of Sequim’s Design Review Process, and center leaders hope to secure another $500,000-plus to pay the remainder needed to build.