Kirkland Teen Union Building (KTUB)

Kirkland Teen Union Building

KTUB Kirkland Teen Union Building 2023

Kirkland Teen Union Building 2001

KTUB exterior photo, credit Patrick Barta

Mural inside KTUB

KTUB Mural

The concept of the Kirkland Teen Center resulted from the first Kirkland Youth Council (KYC) Youth Summit in 1996. And the Kirkland Teen Union Building or KTUB opened five years later in the summer of 2001. KTUB has gone through many changes over the years but its purpose has remained constant as a building to serve the teens of Kirkland.

About Us

March 2024 Update: The Kirkland Teen Union Building (KTUB) will re-open as a teen center in the fall of 2024! Staff are busy preparing the building and planning classes, activities, and programs to welcome teens back to KTUB.

About the Kirkland Teen Union Building

KTUB empowers teens to live their best life. Located in the middle of Peter Kirk Park in downtown Kirkland, KTUB provides programs and services for youth in middle school through high school (ages 11-19).

 

Activities

Kirkland Parks and Community Services has year-round teen programming for teens in the Kirkland area. Programs include outdoor adventure trips, health and wellness courses, job and life skill classes, field trips, and social events such as teen nights. Our programs run all year long. Many of them are no cost events but scholarships are easy to get.

Teen Activities and Programs

Youth Services

The City of Kirkland Youth Services section provides support, programs, resources, and advocacy for all our youth in grades 6-12. 

  • Kirkland Youth Council - a group of about 45 middle and high school students who serve as the official advisory board on youth related issues and concerns to our City Council. They research, develop, and implement a wide variety of programs, activities, and resources for Kirkland teens.
  • Youth Traffic Court - Kirkland's Youth Traffic Court (YTC) offers teens ages 16-17 the opportunity to have moving violations heard in front of a judge and jury of their peers. Any teen who has been issued a moving violation by an officer from any of the jurisdictions served by the Kirkland Municipal Court (Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Medina Woodinville, Yarrow Point, and Kirkland) can partake in YTC.
  • Youth Mini Grants - The City of Kirkland offers a mini-grant program to provide short-term, limited funding for Kirkland youth and community groups for projects, activities, events, and training.

KTUB History

In 1996, the Kirkland Youth Council organized its first All-City Youth Summit. Over 300 youth gave the Kirkland Youth Council and the City a mandate that they wanted Kirkland to be a better place for teens. The number one recommendation from this group was to develop a teen center in Kirkland. In 1997 the concept of a teen center emerged as one of five City Council priority goals. Teens needed a safe and welcoming place to hang out after school or on weekends; a place to develop relationships with police, community members, and the business community. Kirkland youth wanted a center for artistic and self-expression, particularly through music, art, and photography.

Unique to this project was the City’s desire and determination to have youth input throughout the development and implementation of both the program and facility. After years of research, dedication, and persistence, the teens of Kirkland were able to dedicate a facility to their peers on June 9, 2001. The KTUB facility is truly a reflection of Kirkland’s dedication to youth and the power that young voices can have in a community.

After a competitive RFP process, Friends of Youth was selected as the operating partner. Together, Friends of Youth, youth and City staff designed the facility, developed the programs, and hired staff. Friends of Youth continued this progressive, inclusive, youth centered approach throughout its ten-year partnership with the City. In 2009 Friends of Youth chose not to renew its contract with the City as the organization moved toward focusing its efforts on youth experiencing and transitioning out of homelessness.

A second RFP process was held in early 2010 for a new operating partner for the Kirkland Teen Union Building. On July 1, 2010, the City entered into an operating agreement with the YMCA of Greater Seattle. In June 2020, the City of Kirkland chose not to extend the agreement with the YMCA for services.

In November 2020, KTUB became a temporary host for Studio East. [News Release]

A formal process to identify the next organization to fulfill KTUB’s mission as a recreation, resource and arts center for teens began in 2022. An RFP was issued on August 4, 2022. Three operating models were reviewed by City Council at their January 17, 2023 meeting. City Council directed staff to proceed with the city operating model.