September 9, 2026

Maritime skills center launches at Tacoma waterfront

Photos via Port of Tacoma [enlarge]

The Maritime Center campus is pictured under construction earlier this year. The port’s new building is on the left. Maritime 253 is on the right.

Classes begin today at Maritime 253, a new regional career and technical education (CTE) center in Tacoma focused on priming high school students for careers in the maritime and technical industries.

The brand-new building is located at 225 Maritime Center Drive (a new custom address) on land owned by the Port of Tacoma on the eastern shores of the Thea Foss Waterway.

The port partnered with Tacoma Public Schools on the project, which is part of a two-building campus, dubbed the Maritime Center, that will also include a new business center for the port. The business center is under construction next door and is expected to open in spring 2027.

The design/build team for both buildings is TCF Architecture and BNBuilders. Ground was broken on the training center in January 2025. Construction of the business center followed in April 2025.

Maritime 253 is owned and operated by Tacoma Public Schools and supported by nine member school districts: Chief Leschi Schools, Clover Park School District, Fife Public Schools, Franklin Pierce Schools, Orting School District, Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, Tacoma Public Schools, University Place School District, and Vashon Island School District. Each member district is guaranteed student enrollment seats and is represented on the Maritime 253 Governing Board by its superintendent. The school offers free advanced, industry-focused courses and training in subjects including robotics, marine technology, fabrication, welding and vessel simulation. Courses are geared toward students in grades 11 and 12.

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The Maritime 253 building is approximately 42,000 square feet.

The Maritime 253 building is approximately 42,000 square feet. It houses CTE classrooms and lab spaces. Specialized spaces include a marine technologies and robotics lab, mechatronics lab, logistics simulator classroom, welding workshop and a vessel operations and drones simulator room. TCF says the space is “crafted as a flexible, real-world workshop.” Surrounding the building is 6,420 square feet of covered outdoor workspace to support hands-on projects and vessel maintenance training.

The port's new business center will total around 60,000 square feet across two-and-a-half stories. As a new headquarters, it will include commission chambers for public meetings and workspace for approximately 150 employees of the port and the Northwest Seaport Alliance.

The two buildings have complementary architecture with massing that evokes maritime themes, angular rooflines, and bright white facades. The business center reaches upward at its western elevation in a gesture reminiscent of a ship's bow.

THE NEW MARITIME CAMPUS

Photo via AHBL’s LinkedIn page [enlarge]

TCF Architecture describes the regional career and technical education center as “a flexible, real-world workshop,” for students interested in maritime and technical careers.

The Maritime Center campus is on a roughly 21-acre parcel that is part of the Tacoma Tideflats subarea and was formerly a superfund site. Environmental remediation was completed ahead of groundbreaking, and included the removal of 39,000 tons of contaminated soil and over 300 creosote pilings from the Thea Foss Waterway.

In addition to the new buildings, the project is transforming former industrial land into new marine habitat and walkable public domain. A public plaza bifurcates the campus buildings, creating a new community events space, and new walking trails will link the campus to the shoreline and a new public dock.

Approximately 2.7 acres of habitat will be restored, the port says.

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Offerings at Maritime 253 include vessel simulation training.

The campus is the first Salmon-Safe certified project in Tacoma. The accreditation recognizes the protection of water quality and fish habitat during construction and ongoing site management. The buildings are targeting LEED certification and include 700 rooftop solar panels.

The port and TPS are paying for their respective buildings. TPS has funded Maritime 253 using a $535 million school construction bond voters passed in 2020. The budget is around $50 million, outlets report.

The Port of Tacoma's Capital Investment Plan budgeted $150 million for the new business center.

The project team also includes structural engineer AHBL.