September 11, 2025

Historic Pritchard Building tops out on Capitol Campus

Photo courtesy of BNBuilders [enlarge]

The final structural beam has been placed for the remake of the Pritchard Building on the state Capitol Campus.

Work to remake the historic Joel Pritchard Building on the Washington State Capitol Campus reached a major milestone this week.

Design firm DLR Group and general contractor/construction manager BNBuilders held a topping out celebration for the $106 million rehabilitation and expansion of the mid-century modern landmark. The project is headed by the Washington Department of Enterprise Services (DES).

Completed in 1958, the Pritchard Building was designed by architect Paul Thiry, and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built to house the Washington State Library, and is now home to members of the House of Representatives and their staff, the Code Revisers Office, and other state support staff.

The project transforms the former state library, situated to the south of the Legislative Building, into a modern, sustainable workplace for the House of Representatives and its legislative staff. The new design preserves the structure's architectural legacy while meeting the needs of a 21st-century Legislature.

Renderings by DLR Group [enlarge]

The new design preserves the structure’s architectural legacy while meeting the needs of a 21st-century Legislature.

[enlarge]

The project transforms the former state library, situated to the south of the Legislative Building, into a modern, sustainable workplace for the House of Representatives and its legislative staff.

The 77,000-square-foot project includes a 58,591-square-foot expansion, seismic and MEP upgrades, hillside stabilization, and a new glass fiber reinforced concrete panel system for energy efficiency.

Work started in 2024 with the demolition of the building's historic book stacks to prepare for construction as part of DES's major Legislative Campus Modernization (LCM) project. This is the second phase of the LCM, which addresses space needs of legislative agencies as well as critical issues with the Pritchard, Irving R. Newhouse and John L. O'Brien buildings.

Substantial completion of the Pritchard Building is expected by the end of July 2026.

The placement of the final structural beam signifies the transition from structural work to interior build-out.

“Topping out is an important milestone on a complex project like this,” said Matt Lubbers, project executive at BNBuilders, in a news release Tuesday. “Balancing historic preservation with seismic, mechanical, and sustainability upgrades has required innovative solutions and a strong partnership with the project team, and we're proud of the progress we've achieved together.”

When completed, the new Pritchard Building will have daylit workspaces, a new cafe, and a public hearing room. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification and Net Zero readiness.

“It has been remarkable to see Pritchard construction progress to this point,” said DLR Group Principal and Project Manager Erica Ceder. “I'm excited to see our design for the renovation take shape, and I look forward to this next chapter of the Pritchard Building in the Capitol campus story.”

DLR Group is the architect, structural and MEP engineer. Other members of the project team include HBB Landscape Architecture and Holmes, historic structural engineer. Subcontractors include Auburn Mechanical, mechanical; Prime Electric; DBM Contractors, pile; and MidMountain Contractors, sitework.