Monday April 6th’s Seattle Times reports on the Seattle monorail remodeling project and the changes to the ownership of OMW’s client, Seattle Monorail Services (SMS), the monorail operator. Behind the scenes over the past three years, OMW members Bob Klein, Dave Ellenhorn, Athan Tramountanas, and Bill Malaier have been working to make the project a reality for our client. SMS operates the monorail under a concession agreement with the City of Seattle. The new station improvements at Westlake and the Seattle Center will boost efficiency and increase passenger capacity before the grand opening of the Climate Pledge Arena this fall. Transportation planners anticipate that more than 10% of sports and music fans will take the monorail to events at the arena. The monorail Westlake station platform offers direct access to the Sound Transit light rail by elevator.
Bob, Dave, Athan and Bill have been engaged in the four parts of the transaction since 2018. The four parts are:
- Integrating the monorail into the ORCA regional transit fare system through modifications to the concession agreement between SMS and the City of Seattle.
- Selling 50% of SMS to the Oak View Group, the controlling owner of the Seattle Kraken.
- Changing the Westlake station easement between the City of Seattle and the Westlake Mall owner, changes which authorize the station renovations, and which give the City and SMS greater control over the Westlake station.
- Implementing the renovation work by negotiating a construction loan, a mortgage subordination agreement, a construction contract, and companion agreements.
The new station improvements are wonderful news for Seattle sports and concert fans. The remodeling work is scheduled to be completed in October, in time for the start of the NHL hockey season.
Construction staging begins Monday, April 12. The monorail will then be shut down from April 12 to April 30 during the demolition phase of the project, said Tom Albro, managing member of Seattle Monorail Services.
