Under Construction: the Cascade Bicycling Center

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As the largest advocacy and riding organization in the country, Cascade Bicycle Club maintains a high standard for our events, advocacy and education programs.

With the completion of our new strategic plan (check your mailbox!), we’ve laid out ambitious goals to meet, all aimed at our new mission of “improving lives through bicycling.”

But to visit our office? The experience is currently underwhelming.

Over the years, we’ve simply outgrown our current headquarters, which are now are woefully inadequate to serve our 36-person staff and our community’s needs. Classes take place wedged between overcrowded office cubicles. The space is uninviting and offers no place for our members and volunteers to gather. We even have a windowless space called the “cage”, a remnant of our military building’s past. As our classes continue to fill to capacity and beyond, we are limited by the confines of our physical space.

Fortunately, we won’t have to bear it much longer – and neither will you.

Recently, the city of Seattle presented Cascade with a unique opportunity to lease 8,000 square feet in Magnuson Park’s Building 11, transforming a historic building into a vibrant community gathering space.

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, we broke ground. With our partners, community supporters and members we celebrated this momentous occasion with a groundbreaking ceremony.

Ron Sher, Cascade board member, spoke at the ceremony, describing the Cascade Bicycling Center as "transformative... a place where volunteers and staff can come together."

Opening mid-November, Cascade Bicycling Center will feature:

  • open workspace to accommodate a growing number of staff and volunteers;
  • community kitchen and dining space;
  • community gathering spaces will allow people to rest, refresh and connect;
  • auditorium to host classes, movies and events; and
  • classrooms to teach safe riding to people of all ages and abilities and provide space for kids’ camps.

Additional features will be constructed as funding is available, including:

  • a bike shop to maintain Cascade’s educational fleet and teaches bike repair skills; and 
  • a traffic Garden will give children and new riders an opportunity to learn urban bicycling skills in a safe setting.

Now, with the first weeks of construction completed, the transformation of the space is beginning. A new floor has been laid, skylights installed and green roof construction started on the bike shop.

And did we mention the view? From the new Center, you’ll look out to Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains.

With all this to offer, we will bring our community together and become a premier destination for events and the start and finish of rides, both large and small.

In the next few weeks, there will be several opportunities for community members to visit and engage with the space before we move.

  • Tuesday Oct. 14, 6 - 8 p.m.: Annual member meeting and Open house. RSVP
  • Saturday, Nov. 15 (tentative): Grand Opening Celebration. RSVP

All events will take place at the new space in Building 11 in Magnuson Park, 7787 62nd Avenue NE Seattle, WA 98115.

We’d like to thank our partners, who are donating time, expertise and materials to make this a reality:

Our mailing address is now:

Cascade Bicycling Center

7787 62nd Avenue NE

Seattle, WA 98115

In November we will relocate to our new space. Until then, you can still visit us at 7400 Sand Point Way.

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