April 9, 2026

Designing so care and community thrive together

Jensen

Bauser

Crawford

Rural communities across Washington continue to face a persistent challenge: expanding healthcare access in ways that are both financially sustainable and genuinely responsive to the needs of local residents. The Snoqualmie Valley — one of the region’s fastest-growing corridors — is one community meeting this challenge head-on, where Snoqualmie Valley Health, Mahlum Architects, and GLY are partnering in a deeply collaborative GC/CM delivery method to reimagine what a community health resource can be.

The result is the HUB at Snoqualmie Valley, an 80,000-square-foot health and wellness destination currently under construction, bringing together medical care, recreation, community gathering, and preventive services under one roof. The HUB is designed not only to meet rising demand for essential clinical services, but also to strengthen the valley’s social, economic and physical well-being.

A NEW MODEL FOR RURAL HEALTH

With population growth in the valley exceeding 600% between 2000 and 2023, demand for services has surged well beyond what traditional clinic expansion alone could address, or fully satisfy.

The idea for the HUB emerged from a simple question: what if a healthcare building could serve people long before they needed medical care?

Image by Nate Burgher Photography [enlarge]

Set within the dramatic terrain of Snoqualmie Valley, the HUB was designed to celebrate the Valley’s active culture and natural beauty.

Planning began with conversations about gaps in local services. Residents needed greater access to family medicine, urgent care, imaging, lab services, retail pharmacy and outpatient surgery. At the same time, the community expressed interest in places to stay active, connect with neighbors, and support their overall health. In response, the team focused on creating restorative, attractive and functional spaces that encourage engagement and promote wellness beyond traditional sick care.

Early in the design process, the team used foam blocks to explore how programs could be arranged throughout the building. This exercise helped visualize how a climbing gym, medical services, and gathering spaces could coexist while maintaining a natural flow.

The program combines essential clinical services with spaces that support everyday wellness and long-term financial stability: a signature climbing gym, physical therapy center, full-service restaurant and flexible gathering spaces. The building is also designed to attract and retain top talent through a distinctive workplace with a strong connection to nature, bringing the surrounding landscape indoors to reflect the character of the Snoqualmie Valley.

The result is a new vision for a medical office building that encourages residents to visit as part of their normal routines, whether for a workout, a meal, a meeting, or an appointment.

Delivering on this bold vision required a building deeply rooted in place, reflective of both the active culture of this community and protective of the Valley’s natural beauty.

BUILT FOR THE VALLEY, AND THE SITE

Renderings by Mahlum Architects [enlarge]

The HUB’s signature feature: a three-story climbing gym enclosed in sculptural glass inspired by the surrounding mountains.

Set within the dramatic terrain of the Cascade foothills, the HUB is designed to respond to both its natural surroundings and the people it serves. Rather than reshaping the land, the design works with the steeply sloped site, using terraced parking levels to integrate natural vegetation and maintain a strong connection to the existing landscape.

A central breezeway draws visitors to the main entry with a clear visual connection to the forested wetlands beyond, while also serving as a gathering space where moments of respite meet the energy of the adjacent restaurant.

Inside, intuitive circulation links public and clinical spaces, with daylight improving wayfinding and creating a calm, welcoming environment. Upper floors provide patients and caregivers with biophilic connections to the landscape and views to Mount Si, while staff enjoy a break area with exterior access and views to Tiger and Cougar mountains.

The HUB’s most distinctive feature is a three-story climbing gym encased in a sculptural glass enclosure that evokes the neighboring mountains, connected to physical therapy and yoga studios overlooking the breezeway. Combined with a restaurant headed by an award-winning executive chef, these amenities create an ecosystem that encourages everyday use—not just clinical visits.

Sustainability is woven throughout: rooftop solar panels support on-site energy generation, EV charging stations encourage cleaner transportation, and the building’s placement protects and enhances the existing on-site wetlands.

Bringing this vision to life wasn’t going to happen by accident. It required careful planning, collaboration, and a delivery strategy built for speed and certainty.

A SMARTER PATH TO DELIVERY

From day one, the team knew they were taking on something extraordinary. Ten acres of steep terrain, sensitive wetlands, and significant stormwater needs meant designing with both urgency and restraint. With Snoqualmie’s famously intense rainfall, staying ahead of the wet season wasn’t simply a goal, it was the gatekeeper to the entire schedule.

[enlarge]

The community-driven restaurant aims to attract neighbors as well as patients and staff.

The owner turned to GC/CM to meet that challenge. Architects, contractors, engineers, and the owner were no longer operating sequentially — they were aligned from the start, working shoulder to shoulder, sharing insights and solving problems in real time. Within weeks, the full team assembled for an intensive pull-planning workshop, reorganizing the entire effort into nine tightly focused design packages, each guided by a Target Value Design process that linked creativity directly to cost and constructability. Co-locating GLY’s estimating and design management teams with Mahlum created a fast-moving workspace where decisions could be made in minutes instead of days.

Budget discipline required equal creativity. When GLY Chief Estimator Kevin Eng suggested a simple organizing concept— two boxes, one ‘active’ and one ‘quiet’—it gave the entire team a common language to align on where to invest expression while protecting critical program needs. Weekly check-ins with the city of Snoqualmie kept permitting on track, clearing the way for an on-time construction start in June. By mid-October, major underground work was complete, just ahead of a winter that delivered record rainfall and regional flooding.

The HUB at Snoqualmie Valley is more than a healthcare facility. It is a demonstration of what becomes possible when a community dares to ask more of its infrastructure. By pairing clinical excellence with everyday amenities, rooting the design in the valley’s natural character, and building through a process defined by trust and shared purpose, the project team has created something that transcends any single category.

When the doors open, the HUB will not simply serve the Snoqualmie Valley. It will help define it.

Renée Jensen is Chief Executive Officer of Snoqualmie Valley Health and brings more than 20 years of healthcare leadership experience driving hospital transformation and advancing community-centered care. PJ Bauser has almost 20 years of healthcare design experience and leads Mahlum’s healthcare design team, passionate about creating healthful spaces for patients and caregivers. Jeff Crawford is a principal, leading GLY’s healthcare and life science sector, bringing more than 20 years of experience delivering facilities that advance patient care and research.

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