As Sea Mar Community Health Centers waits for permitting from the county to build its new clinic in Vashon’s town center, the site — long known to islanders as the Spinnaker building — has increasingly become a dangerous eyesore.

The Spinnaker’s 50-year history on Vashon — first as a popular restaurant and then as the longtime headquarters of a software company — will end when Sea Mar receives a permit from the county to demolish the building and build its new clinic.

But for now, it sits dilapidated and boarded up after repeated break-ins and vandalism.

The most recent break-in occurred late last week, prompting both Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) Chief Matt Vinci and The Beachcomber to reach out to Sea Mar staff over the weekend.

The vandalized building, Vinci told The Beachcomber, was a fire hazard to the public and VIFR firefighters.

On Friday, a thick coat was draped over the frame of a large broken window in the front of the building — seemingly placed there to protect anyone who might be climbing in and out of it from being cut by long shards of broken glass left in the frame.

Both the front and back alley doors of the building were also off their hinges and open, allowing entry to the building. A worn and stained easy chair sat outside the front door, suggesting that whoever had gained access to the building might be moving in.

On Monday morning, Sea Mar executive vice president Jesus Sanchez said, in an email, that he had come to Vashon that morning, and after observing the damage, had called King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) for a security check and clearance, which deputies had performed.

No persons were found inside the building during the security check, said KCSO spokesperson Eric White.

By noon, the building’s construction superintendent, Kevin Steffl, had arrived on the scene with a local worker who boarded up the doors and windows that had been accessed.

According to Vinci, neighboring fire departments in south King County have battled numerous blazes in unoccupied buildings. And in mid-July, VIFR battled an explosive fire that destroyed an RV parked in an encampment of unhoused islanders just a few blocks away from the Spinnaker building.

Fire danger is currently high on Vashon, with a Stage 1 burn ban in effect since late June for all fires to burn yard debris or clear land.

Permitting Delays

Both Steffl and Sanchez told The Beachcomber that Sea Mar’s permitting from the county had been expected to be approved months ago, but the county had returned to Sea Mar with more questions, which they have now answered.

In April, VIFR was given a go-ahead by Sea Mar to use the building for training exercises focusing on search and rescue techniques — a typical use of a building that has been cleared for demotion.

But after a few weeks of exercises in the building, during which VIFR crews pumped smoke into the building and punched holes in its roofs and interior walls, according to Vinci, the fire district was told by Sea Mar to stop its exercises, and a construction trailer was brought onto the site.

Then, for months, nothing happened.

Sanchez explained the situation in an email, saying that Sea Mar’s architectural team had thought that King County permits were imminent at the time, which turned out not to be the case.

“We’re currently awaiting their final review and release of permits,” he said. “With the expectation that we would be getting a permit soon, there was no need to board windows. However given the number of unexpected delays we have had, we have begun boarding up windows and doors.”

Steffl, Sea Mar’s construction superintendent, said on Monday that he hoped permitting would be approved by the end of the month so demolition of the building could take place in early August.

Until then, he said, he would continue to check on the building — something he said he had done once a week, except last week.

“I’ll try to come a couple of times a week now,” he said.

Spinnaker building

According to island historian Bruce Haulman, the building was built by islander Don Cunningham and his brothers in 1972, as a cocktail bar and restaurant, called The Spinnaker — a destination watering hole and eatery still fondly remembered by many long-time islanders.

The building’s most recent former owner, Spinnaker Building LLC — an entity controlled by Scott Shapiro — had owned the building since 2008, when it purchased it for $1.1 million from Spinnaker Associates LCC.

That company was associated with the late islander Wayne Holt, who founded a software company, Software Research Northwest, that began operating in the building in the late 1980s.

The inclusion of “Spinnaker” in the names of both owners was a throwback to its original use, as well as the building’s sail-life architectural features.

Sea Mar Community Health Center purchased the property in November 2022, for $1.15 million, after it split with Vashon Health Care District, which had subsidized Sea Mar since 2020 for its operation of Vashon’s Sunrise Ridge healthcare clinic.

At that time, Sea Mar announced its intention to build and operate its own clinic on the site of the Spinnaker building, independent of the Health Care District. The clinic still operates, under a sublease agreement with the Health Care District, at the Sunrise Ridge clinic.

Due to human error, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated the sale prices of the Spinnaker Building. The article has been corrected.