Meydenbauer Center to Host King County Superior Court

Amira Beidas

Meydenbauer Center will welcome the King County Superior Court as a building tenant, starting on August 4, 2020. The Courts will be occupying the facility Monday – Friday through at least the end of 2020, and their expected hours of our operation are 8:30 am – 4:30 pm each day.

Civil trials, including some family law bench trials, will be conducted in Meydenbauer Center meeting rooms. In line with the guidance from the Washington State Department of Health, the court rooms will be set up with the appropriate social distancing measures – chairs will be set at least 6 feet apart and the rooms will be sanitized between uses.

Furthermore, we are in the process of applying for the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Star facility accreditation to ensure that our facility is prepared to respond to and recover from any biorisk situations, including those related to COVID-19. Our goal is to have the accreditation by September 1, but we will be in full compliance with the program’s standards by August 1. We are also making upgrades in our HVAC system based on the guidance of building industry associations. We have worked with our HVAC service provider to upgrade the filters in all HVAC systems, increase the outside air flow by 25% and have fill air recycle replacement run before and after each building use.

Meydenbauer Center’s mission remains serving as a gathering place for Bellevue and the Eastside. With the current concern surrounding mass gatherings and the spread of COVID-19, we felt that our community would be best served by the facility being open for the use of the Court.

We also remain open for events that align with Governor Inslee’s Safe Start Plan. Contracted events that align with the appropriate phase of the plan will continue to happen at Meydenbauer Center. We are also available for weddings of up to 200 guests on the weekends.

We will continue to provide updates on further developments related to Meydenbauer Center’s operations as they are available. In the meantime, we encourage inquiring parties to download and read our one-sheet on methods and steps being taken to ensure our space is safe for guests.