Construction is set to begin this month on the new MultiCare medical building to be built on the former Washington State University Demonstration Forest property.

According to Bonney Lake Planning Manager Heather Stinson, the site plan for the project was approved this past week and tree removal and grading permits were issued, with tree removal scheduled to begin June 16.

MultiCare is the prime developer and tenant of the new 60,000-square-foot building, located on 4.75 acres on the westernmost parcel of the forest.

The new, three-story facility will be constructed primarily of brick and glass with a large glass entryway. There will be a large parking lot on the space as well as new bioswails along 204th as part of a low-impact stormwater mitigation plan.

There will also be a drive-through pharmacy on the west side of the building.

According to Stinson, additional space in the building has already been claimed.

“The building has already been fully leased out,” Stinson said Thursday.

The current project is also actually only Phase I of the total project. Phase II includes a second, 40,000-square-foot building.

Entrance to the property will be from South Prairie Road and the developer will build the new 204th Avenue to access the facility’s parking lot. Eventually, 204th will be punched through the other side of the property to state Route 410 and will have a traffic light, but Stinson said that part of the project depends on future development of the parcel.

Construction on the property, including tree removal, will be limited to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day. The company will construct a security fence around the property as well to make sure hikers and other residents using the trails in the rest of the forest do not accidentally stumble into a construction zone. There will also be a lot of security on the site, according to Stinson.

“People won’t be able to hike through the construction site,” Stinson said.

Stinson said building permits are expected to be approved by June 11 and construction will begin soon after.

“They want to be open by next July (2011),” she said.