Date:  Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Contact: Mike Murphy, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4699 (Seattle)

Competitors join forces to buy the Glacier Creek Lodge structure

SEATTLE – It was an exciting morning near Glacier when WSDOT auctioned off 14 cabins, one storage shed, one manufactured home and one large lodge. Some cabins were multi-units. Only one storage shed did not receive a bid.

WSDOT purchased 3.4 acres of property along SR 542 as part of an $11.7 million project to tear down an older, low clearance bridge over Gallup Creek. Crews will replace the bridge with one that will better withstand the heavy toll flooding takes on this state highway.

The 18 structures, sitting on the property had to go before construction could start.

“We accomplished our goal,” said Lorena Eng, WSDOT Regional Administrator. “We wanted to prevent the cabins from going to the landfill.” Locals wanted to keep some of the structures nearby. Today, many locals were among those who bid on the cabins and the lodge.

The auction

On Wednesday, Aug. 19, WSDOT opened the auction and ticked through the cabins one by one. Two cabins sold for the minimum bid of $5 each, four cabins sold for $10 each, other cabins sold anywhere from $15 to $275. The total bids came to $5,341.

The A-frame cabin was the focus of a short bidding war that crept up in $10 increments until it hit the $100 mark. It finally sold for $1,520. The manufactured home sold for $1 and the Glacier Creek Lodge was purchased by several locals who pooled their interest and their funds for $2,700. No word on where they plan to take it. But one owner has a restaurant nearby.

About 70 people showed up and 34 registered to bid. All structures must be removed from the property by Sept. 30.

SR 542 Gallup Creek bridge

Gallup Creek is slowly rising as the streambed fills with debris and rocks. During the rainy season, the bridge that carries SR 542 over the creek is routinely slammed by heavy rocks and the water threatens to flood the highway, flood local property and destroy the bridge entirely. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR542/GallupCreekBridge/

The 2005 legislature approved a plan to replace the bridge with a taller and longer structure able to withstand the pummeling during storm season. To build this new bridge, WSDOT bought the property including the Glacier Creek Lodge and the cabins.

Sustainability

WSDOT estimates it would cost more than $110,000 to tear down and haul all of the structures to the landfill. Staff determined that auctioning off the cabins to be reused would make way for the bridge and save taxpayers money.

“This is a little kinder to the environment,” said Cris Blankenship, WSDOT Real Estate Services. “Lots of people up here near Glacier have property, but either don’t have cabins or want more cabins. They have expressed interest in buying the cabins and moving them to their property.” This is an unusual twist on WSDOT’s sustainability program. While we routinely reuse concrete, gravel and dirt, recycling a home is a little different. But the benefits are clear.

WSDOT saves money by not tearing down and hauling off the cabins, the money made at the auction goes into the state motor vehicle fund which, in turn, can support other WSDOT projects.

More details online

Information about the cabins that were sold is in the auction flier (PDF 1 MB).

Media can download a portion of the Glacier Cabin auction video here: ftp://ftp.wsdot.wa.gov/incoming/videos. Please be patient as the video downloads.

Flickr photos are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157621943925025/

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