The McMenamin brothers take over Bothell | Business

The city of Bothell is in the midst of a renaissance.

At a time many cities are struggling with budget cuts, Bothell is building a bigger and better downtown.    

On Wednesday, Bothell officially joined forces with renown Northwest pair, the McMenamin brothers.

Class is permanently dismissed at the Anderson School. Instead of this great art deco building sitting idle, the city teamed up with two men with a whimsical way of creating local pubs, gathering places and hotels.

The city added feathers to its cap, getting Mike and Brian McMenamin involved in its historic preservation.

"We think it's a perfect fit for our community," said city manager Bob Stowe.

The McMenamins have a history with preserving the past in unique ways. Here they've got five buildings to develop into a hotel campus, with restaurants, entertainment and a community swimming pool.

The brothers say they start with the bare bones of a building.

"You know, once you start tearing stuff out, you start finding things that will change your direction," said Brian McMenamin.

And Mike McMenamin says they'll also unearth its soul.

"Purge any evil spirits," he said.

Yes, the brothers do hold exorcisms. They wind their way through the building with bagpipers to chase out evil spirits.
 
"That's an important part of the process just to get some, get ourselves in the right frame of mind," said Mike McMenamin.

The doors may be locked on the North Shore pool building, but not the imaginations of these two men.

Watching the light dance off the water gives them visions of making the entire space dance, right down to the swimming lanes.

"When you're racing, maybe the lines won't be as straight. You know, maybe you'll be going down and then it will have a wiggle and you have to do the wiggle," said Mike McMenamin.

City leaders are ecstatic since part of its $7 million deal with the brothers includes free access for all Bothell residents to the pool, meeting rooms and gardens for 15 years.

The hotel in the main school building will have about 70 rooms.

The city will conduct an environmental cleanup over the next two years. The McMenamin project should open in 2013.

And this is not the only project going on in the city. 

Stowe says the city put up $150 million to spur $650 million in private sector investments.

"Almost 6,000 jobs in our community as a result of that investment. We think that's very significant," said Stowe.

The city’s also expanding its park at Bothell Landing, building a new city hall to anchor its civic campus and improving some highways and streets to more easily and safely move people through town.