Fight city hall? Not at these two welcoming sites

Visiting Redmond and Bellevue city halls was like shopping at a high-end store. Staff members were so helpful that I had to smile and repeat several times, "I'm just looking."

In this case, I was comparison shopping. Both city governments recently moved into new city halls. What were they like from the consumer point of view?

First, if you live in either city, be proud.

Redmond's City Hall, painted in warm colors throughout, made me feel comfortable and welcome from the moment I arrived. Bellevue's warms up once you get beyond the big-city feeling of the main corridor and the public conference rooms.

Redmond started its City Hall from the ground up — a new building on its municipal campus that is becoming a showcase combination of civic buildings and open space. Bellevue remodeled an existing building from a forbidding fortress to a slick office complex.

Both buildings have similar refreshing "attitudes" in how they dealt with windows and views. The worker bees get 'em. Cubicle walls are low enough that natural light helps illuminate individual work areas. The managers' offices are on the interior walls.

Location influences both designs.

As I wandered the public area of Bellevue's City Hall, I was drawn repeatedly to the southeastern windows where, on a clear day, you can see Mount Rainier. You can also see the green trees on Wilburton Hill — a much-needed distraction considering the building also commands a view of Interstate 405. (At least it's a handy way to check traffic if you need to use the freeway.)

The public parking garage on the northwest blocks out some of the high-rise buildings in downtown Bellevue — and that's not a bad thing.

Walk into Redmond City Hall and a wall of windows to the west looks out at the Sammamish River Trail. During warm weather, a series of outdoor decks nestled between the two wings of the building will entice you to forget business and go outside to play. During nice weather, employees will be able to take breaks outdoors on several decks and terraces.

City council chambers in both buildings come with a "wow" factor. They're dramatic, but there's enough wood, warm colors and upholstered chairs to make even the most nervous citizen feel welcome to share their views at meetings.

I particularly liked Redmond's because the windows overlook a wonderful water fountain and glass sculpture. The tall rods of glass are designed to reflect different colors. Move a couple of inches one way or the other and a seemingly clear piece of glass becomes blue or purple or orange.

Redmond honors historical roots

Redmond City Hall won big points with me for another reason.

City employees were asked to suggest names for the conference rooms. Although the rooms also have numbers, the names celebrate Redmond. The first floor includes the Bytes Cafe and the Trestle, Old Links, Slough and Pennyfarthing rooms.

Bytes is a reference to the city's high-tech companies such as Microsoft; trestle refers to the nearby railroad trestle that crosses the Sammamish River; Old Links memorializes the Redmond Golf Course that's now home to Redmond Town Center; and Pennyfarthing refers to a penny-farthing bicycle, the model used on the Redmond signs at the entrance to town and a tip of the hat to the traditional bike derby days.

The second-floor names nod at nature — Douglas Fir, Heron and Chinook rooms.

The third- and fourth-floor names pay tribute to Redmond's history with the McRedmond, Nokomis, Justice White, Clise, Dudley Carter, Red Brick Road, Salmonberg and Willowmoor rooms.

Nokomis is the name of the city's oldest service club, Dudley Carter was a noted local wood carver, Clise was the family that owned Willowmoor Farm — the site of today's Marymoor Park, and Redmond was briefly named Salmonberg.

Alas, Bellevue City Hall is much more formal. Conference rooms are merely numbered and lettered — 1E-111. But such formality doesn't exist above the public area.

Credit the imaginative folks in Bellevue's Parks and Community Services Department for starting the fun.

The staff taped up paper signs such as Play Street and Cascade Vista in the aisles between cubicles. They've dubbed one area with couches and chairs as Patrick's Living Room. Patrick Foran is the Parks Department manager.

According to insiders, other departments have picked up on the idea and are coming up with appropriate monikers for their aisles.

There's another major difference between the two buildings. In Redmond, citizens can visit any department throughout the building; they don't need escorts or badges. In Bellevue, you need to be accompanied by an employee with a badge to gain entrance to more than the first and second floors.

Easy parking at both

From a consumer standpoint, parking couldn't be easier at either place.

It's a short stroll from the parking garage in Bellevue or the parking lot in Redmond to the front doors. But give Redmond planners credit for a really cool idea.

Because Redmond City Hall is on a municipal campus — the senior center, public-safety buildings and King County library all share the same few acres — the City Hall parking lot connects to the library parking lot.

Mike Paul, the senior project manager who oversaw the Redmond City Hall building, said it's a two-way street.

At night when the library parking lot overflows with patrons, they can park in the City Hall lot. And vice versa during busy hours at City Hall. There's an additional parking structure north of the public-safety building.

The biggest surprise was finding operating fireplaces in both city halls.

Look for Bellevue's about halfway between the main entrance and the council chambers. It is an alcove with chairs and couches. Redmond's is just beyond the reception area, a few yards from the doors leading to the outdoor terrace. It, too, will have comfortable chairs (they were on order but hadn't arrived when I recently toured the building).

If I had to pick a few words to describe each city hall, call Bellevue's dramatic and slick and Redmond's warm and cozy.

On the downside, if you have to hang out for long at either place, bring your own lunch or snacks.

While both have space set aside for cafes, neither city has finalized an agreement with a contractor. When Bellevue does, the space for the deli is in the nonpublic area.

No munchies? How about a cup of coffee?

Bellevue has an espresso stand in the lobby but it closes midafternoon except on city council meeting nights. Redmond? Bring your own thermos.

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com