November 8, 2001
New Urban Horticulture building to be considered
Designers with the architectural firm Miller Hull Partnership of Seattle are now considering ways to rebuild Merrill Hall, which was firebombed at the UW’s Center for Urban Horticulture last May. They will explain the pre-design phase and seek comments from the neighborhood and campus community Nov. 19.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the center’s Northwest Horticultural Society Hall, which was spared in the May 21 arson attack. The eco-terrorist group Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the fire that burned through the center’s main building, wreaking havoc in the library and destroying or damaging years of research on ecosystem health and plant science.
The bulk of Merrill Hall was beyond saving and was razed. The section of the hall that housed the library and herbarium remains but requires extensive repairs.
Among the considerations during the pre-design phase now under way are the possible ways to rebuild a structure of similar size and materials using $4.1 million appropriated by the state Legislature and enhancements that might be possible with donations following the fire. Donations continue to be accepted for the Urban Horticulture Recovery Fund. Contact Linda Kaye, 206-543-9505, College of Forest Resources, Box 352100.
The design is to be done by mid-2002 and the new building should open in January 2004.
The UW has spent more than $1.2 million helping CUH since the fire. “Within minutes of that early morning blaze, the University of Washington was committing resources to help us,” says Tom Hinckley, center director. University money has been used for such things as recovering materials from the damaged hall, arranging for interim work and office space, ascertaining the condition of buildings and demolition, salaries for recovery workers and help for graduate students.
The center continues to contend with the effects of the fire. Consider the following:
- Miller Library. The University paid to retrofit an area so the library can reopen – on a small scale – on Dec. 10 in Isaacson Hall, another structure that did not burn. Books and other materials treated for smoke and water damage are being sorted in University space at Sandpoint. Some books, for instance, have come back from freeze-drying and cleaning looking more like accordions than manuscripts. An estimated 15 percent of the books are damaged beyond saving.
- Graduate students. Much of the research and course work of the center’s graduate students was damaged. The University helped students with tuition and money to replace books. Two students have managed to complete their thesis defenses and the center welcomed 14 new graduate students this fall.
- Five trailers in place. Trailers are providing office and work space for faculty, students and staff. Some faculty relocated to other College of Forest Resources space. Organizations with space in Isaacson Hall – the Northwest Horticultural Society, Seattle Garden Club and Puget Sound Mycological Society – offered the use of their offices as temporary facilities after the fire.
- Rentals – The fire did not damage the rental facilities at the center and events have operated on a normal schedule.
Reward offered for arson suspect
A reward of $16,000 has been offered for information regarding the arson fire at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Callers can contact Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 206-343-2020 or from elsewhere in the state at 800-274-6313. Calls are confidential and anonymous
The UW, the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have each pledged $5,000 toward the reward. Crime Stoppers is covering the other $1,000.
The investigation is still under way, according to UW police. Authorities are interested in finding two men seen in the area of Merrill Hall a few days before the fire, on the day of the fire but not since then.
One is a white male, 6 feet tall, slim build and approximately 40 years old. He had a scraggly salt/pepper beard, scruffy clothing and appearance. He was riding a red bicycle. A sketch is included on Crime Stopper posters now up at the CUH. His companion also was a white male, 6-feet tall, slender build but appeared to be slightly younger.
