1927 Fremont Warehouse Finds New Life in a New Place

By Tom Herriman

In a remarkable display of ingenuity coupled with brute force and delicate judgment, the 12,000-sq.-ft., 230-ton building was jacked up, cut in half and pushed onto a barge with big red trucks last week in Fremont.

Vadino is president of The Production Network (TPN) which until a few weeks ago occupied a 12,000-square-foot warehouse on the Burke property west of the Fremont Bridge on the Lake Washington Ship Canal. TPN creates displays for trade shows and other productions.

The warehouse was built in 1927 for Bryant Lumber Company. J.R. Burke bought the building in 1939; his company, Burke Millwork, made architectural materials there for more than 20 years. It was scheduled to be demolished to prepare the site for new Quadrant office buildings going up there this spring. But Vadino told his staff that day in 1998 that they should just keep the old warehouse and move it to a new location. Property owner Suzie Burke sold the building to Vadino for $1. A new location was found just north of the Fremont Bridge, and on March 3, the journey began.

The tug Catherine Quigley pulls the barge through the Fremont Bridge.

An eight person crew from Lindsay Moving and Rigging prepared the 230-ton, 190-foot-long, 35-foot-tall building for moving and loaded it onto a barge using four 65,000-pound prime mover trucks.

Olympic Tug and Barge moved it up the canal. MRK Constructors will renovate the warehouse at its new site.

Vadino considered moving his company to Tukwila or Kent. "But being in Fremont is important to us," he said. "Moving and renovating the warehouse will provide our employees with a unique and fun place to work, which is vital to retain and attract the best people." He said the majority of TPN workers live in north end communities, many within walking and biking distance.

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