King County has officially purchased the crisis psychiatric center building in Kirkland that it had been leasing since 2024. According to tax documents filed this week, the deal totaled $32.6 million, significantly above the building’s assessed value of $18 million. That gap reflects the dynamics of the Eastside real estate market: in places like Kirkland and other Eastside neighborhoods, proximity to Microsoft and Amazon campuses has driven sharp demand and a shortage of commercial land. Buyers are often paying a premium not so much for the building itself as for the potential to redevelop or repurpose the site for housing or offices. The difference between assessed and market value is also due to the fact that assessed value is a conservative figure used for tax calculations and often lags real market prices by years. This pattern is typical of West Coast tech hubs, where real estate market frenzy is especially pronounced.
The seller was San Francisco-based Roxborough Group, which purchased the property in 2019 for nearly $36 million. The center provides urgent mental-health care to anyone, regardless of insurance or financial means. As county spokeswoman Carissa Braxton-Lyle explained, buying the building is intended to save public funds and ensure the center’s long-term operation at its current site. She emphasized that the purchase will not affect the facility’s hours of operation — all services will be preserved in full. Moreover, owning the property opens opportunities to expand the range of services offered in the future.
This center is the first of five planned crisis psychiatric facilities in King County. The program is funded by a dedicated property-tax measure of $1.25 billion approved by voters in a 2023 referendum. Such targeted property taxes are a common mechanism in King County, allowing residents to vote to finance specific projects, such as building affordable housing or addressing homelessness. These funds cannot be used for the county’s general needs (for example, police or roads), because Washington state law limits increases in general property tax without direct voter approval. The system provides transparent funding for pressing social issues without continually raising the base budget, and gives voters direct control over spending — a mechanism popular under the state’s “direct democracy” approach.
Last year alone the center served more than 3,600 unique patients, with total visits exceeding 5,400. The center is operated by Arizona-based Connections Health Solutions. The building includes a 23-hour observation ward, small “calm rooms,” and beds for patients who need stays of up to 14 days. A second similar center, also to be operated by Connections Health Solutions, is planned to open in the Capitol Hill area in late 2027.
Based on: King County buys Kirkland crisis center building for $33 million