All Invited to Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Friday, Jan. 31, 2020
After more than a year of construction, Highline College’s new Health and Life Sciences Building is slated to open to students winter quarter 2020.
To celebrate the opening, the Highline College community is invited to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony, complete with tours of the building and light snacks. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 in the newly renovated Building 26, located on Highline’s main campus (2400 S. 240th St. Des Moines, WA 98198). Off-campus community members are encouraged to park in the South parking lot.
The $30 million project is the college’s first significant capital project in more than a decade and will house a number of academic departments in health-related fields, in addition to a new Wellness Center.
“Our students need a central location for our high-demand health and wellness-related programs,” Highline College President John Mosby said. “I’m confident and excited that Building 26 will accomplish those efforts for our talented students.”
The renovation of the three-story building, originally built in 1975, includes a comprehensive interior remodel, a new addition to the building and site improvements for a total of 46,068 square feet of classroom, lab, office and study space. It will also be the first LEED-certified building on campus.
Previously scattered across campus in separate buildings, several academic departments are in the process of moving into the new building. These departments include Nursing, Respiratory Care, Healthcare Professions, Nursing Assistant and Physical Education. There will also be labs for biology, anatomy and physiology courses.
A Wellness Center, which will be open to staff, faculty and students, as well as a personal fitness trainer lab, is located on the first floor.
Additionally, faculty offices in various departments are located in the new building. These include offices in the Respiratory Care, Business Technology, Physical Education, Nursing, Health Care Professions, Math, and Hospitality and Tourism Management departments.
The Washington State Legislature funded the majority of the project with $3.4 million in design funding during the 2015–17 biennium. That funding was part of a Washington Community and Technical Colleges’ capital funding request to the legislature. Years later, the legislature approved an additional $23.37 million for construction during the 2018 legislative session. The college then funded the remaining $3.17 million through local construction and Service and Activities funds. Of the Service and Activities funds, which are funds students pay within their tuition, the Associated Students of Highline College allocated $200,000 for fitness equipment to be in the wellness center.
Project Quick Facts
Total project cost estimate:
$30,368,000 (design and construction)
Project area:
46,068 square feet (renovation and addition)
Method of construction:
Design, bid, build
Project partners:
Architect: McGranahan Architects, Tacoma
General contractor: Pease Construction, Lakewood
Design standards:
The renovation is designed to accomplish the goals set according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. This will be Highline’s first LEED-certified building and a model of sustainability on campus. The college is committed to specifying high-efficiency systems that use less energy, aid with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and create a more sustainable campus.
Building history:
A 3-story concrete masonry structure, Building 26 was designed by architect Robert Billsbrough Price and constructed in 1975 as part of Highline’s third phase of campus construction (1974–78), after the campus opened in 1964. (For its first three academic years — 1961–62, 1962–63 and 1963–64 — the college was housed on a temporary basis at Glacier High School.) Building 26 was originally used for the college’s Dental Technician, Nursing, Business Occupations and Automotive Repair programs.