May 20, 2025

Bellevue College breaks ground on $54M W Building

Rendering by Mithun [enlarge]

A schematic design of the W Building. The project comprises a mix of remodeled space and new construction.

Bellevue College has broken ground on a $54 million project at its South Bellevue campus that will provide new opportunities for students pursuing the arts, as well as an expansive makerspace.

The project comprises a mix of remodeled space and new construction. About 6,116 square feet of the college's existing C Building will be demolished on the north side, with 23,038 square feet taken down to the structure and remodeled. An additional 33,580 square feet of new construction will be built behind the current R Building. A new central atrium will connect the old and new construction.

The resulting 56,618-square-foot facility will be called the W Building and will sit adjacent to a courtyard that is one of the major crossroads at the campus.

The W Building was designed by Seattle architecture firm Mithun and is being built by Comer General Contractors of Everett. Construction began last week.

Photo courtesy of Bellevue College [enlarge]

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the project on May 15.

The new facility will serve as a hub for the college's arts department, housing workshops for sculpture, ceramics, metal and woodworking, alongside studios for 2D design, photography, screen printing and painting. A gallery on the second floor will provide a platform for student art.

The building will also house digital media arts classrooms, supporting game design, visual arts, film production, and 3D modeling.

A new ground-level makerspace will provide access to 3D printers, laser cutters, resin printers and a range of high-tech equipment for students across the campus to invent and collaborate.

The W Building is set to open in winter 2027. When it does, it will expand the college's total building footprint to more than 1 million square feet across its 100-acre campus at 3000 Landerholm Circle S.E.

“It will be a really beautiful, functional, and collaborative building located in the heart of campus that everyone can participate in,” Christopher Butler, Bellevue College's capital project and design manager, said in a press release.

The project is aiming for LEED Silver certification. That will be achieved via rooftop solar arrays, touchless fixtures, and other energy-efficient designs.

The W Building is the largest capital project to be initiated on the campus this decade and has been a long time in the making. A previous plan, in 2021, called for the construction of an entirely new 52,000-square-foot building on an undeveloped field next to the campus' main parking garage. The college says that didn't proceed for multiple reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic.