The development team working on Pierce County’s proposed new general services building will begin removing and testing bricks from the vacant building on the site to determine how they can be used as part of the project.

The brick salvaging is set to begin Tuesday, Nov. 18 and be completed by Dec. 9. Wright Runstad & Company, the internationally renowned developer selected to deliver the project, will manage the work. It is not yet clear how the bricks will be used in the project to consolidate general county services into one building on the site of the former Puget Sound Hospital campus. The hospital closed years ago and the building was cold-shuttered, meaning all systems were removed.

Under County Executive Pat McCarthy’s proposal, general services in eight leased buildings as well as the Pierce County Annex and the County-City Building would move into the new building, creating efficiencies in staffing and service-delivery as well as providing convenient one-stop shopping for people who use county services. The Pierce County Council is scheduled to vote in January on the terms of the lease-to-own agreement, which is still being developed.

More information about the project, including the option of signing up for email updates, is available online.