New District Office at Barkley FAQ

• The new District Office is located at 1985 Barkley Boulevard, Bellingham, WA 98226.
• Funding for this building is thanks to voter supported bonds from 2013 and 2022.
• The new district office includes a professional learning center, early learning center and family engagement center.
• We were intentional to think and plan beyond office spaces; we want this building to be an asset for staff, families and our community. We want everyone to feel welcome.
• The new district office provides spaces that are accessible, functional and efficient for our staff, families and community partners. These spaces are available for meetings, trainings and gatherings for staff and our community.

• All construction materials selected meet or exceed EPA recommendations for indoor air quality.
• The building structural system is composed of heavy timber columns and beams and cross laminated timber (CLT) panels.
• The mechanical system provides dedicated outdoor air supply for constant outside fresh air with fully integrated building automation controls for maximum efficiency
• Fully electric building utilizing highly efficient systems.  The new District Office to perform with half of the energy used of the national median energy use.
• The building is designed to support future photovoltaic (solar) panels for energy generation.
• The building follows Fitwel Design. Fitwel is implementing a vision for a healthier future where all buildings and communities are enhanced to strengthen health and well-being.
• Many water conservation measures from Drought tolerant native plants, drip irrigation, low flow bathroom fixtures in the building.
• Green certified cleaning supplies will be used for cleaning and maintenance of the building.
• 90% daylit spaces – reduces need for light electricity.
• Fully Programmable LED Lighting that will maximize energy savings and will allow us to easily adjust our lighting schedule to be on only when needed.
• Reclaimed lumber and other lumber milled from local trees that were harvested from fountain district.

We broke ground June 2022. Staff started to move in March 2024. It opened to the public March 25, 2024.  

When we measure functional square footage, the new District Office on Barkley Boulevard is 51,605 square feet. 

We plan to sell in summer/fall of 2024. 

The new District Office is made of sustainable, quality materials so that the building will be enjoyed and used for decades. We take our responsibility seriously to be good stewards of taxpayer support and believe that being responsible means designing and building something with thought and care for those who will utilize the spaces regularly and occasionally and far into the future. So, yes, it’s a big step up from working in the former Roeder Elementary, built in 1908! 

Thanks to two separate grants, the new District Office includes an early learning center, which includes two classrooms for younger children. We will be able to provide childcare to staff and our community starting in fall 2024. Details on pricing and hours will be available summer 2024. 

Locus Coffee is leasing the café on the main level. Starting in April, it will be making and selling beverages and snacks for purchase for staff or anyone who stops by. Locus’ hours are 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. when the District Office is open.  

Dawson Construction was the contractor. RMC Architects designed the building.

Other local people and firms who worked on this project include:

Barkley Group, Coffman Engineers, DCI Engineers, DCW Cost Management, Dykeman Architecture & Design, Faber Fairchild McCurdy LLP, Fora Landscape Architects, Freeland & Associates, GeoEngineers, GeoTest Services, JLR Design Group, KE Moving Services , Metrix Engineers, OAC Services, Pacific Surveying and Engineering, Performance Validation, Spectra Contract Flooring, Jane and Stowe Talbot, TFWB Engineers, Walker Group NW, Windemere Commercial Real Estate and WorkPointe.

The current District Office was built in 1908 as Roeder Elementary School. The building became administrative offices in the 1970s.

It is the oldest building in the district and the only building not seismically retrofitted. In 2006, voters approved a bond that would provide seismic improvements to District Office. However, those funds along with state construction assistance funding were reallocated to the rebuild of Birchwood Elementary School which reopened in 2014.  Although we did not move forward with the seismic improvements, studies were performed that us determine the cost associated with work.

The current District Office has not received any major upgrades in over 100 years.

Major structural deficiencies of the facility include that the roof and floors are not connected to the exterior walls creating a potentially catastrophic situation if the walls were to give way in an earthquake. All building systems including electrical, heating and ventilation and plumbing are at the end of their useful life.

Rainwater and sewage flooding has occurred in the basement where our district technology hub and staff are located. Additionally, the building still has the original knob and tube electrical.

The current building is not accessible for staff or visitors with disabilities.

Renovating the District Office was part of our facilities bond in 2013 and we waited to turn our attention to this project until all our 2013 school projects were complete. Our thinking at the time was to rebuild on our current site at 1306 Dupont Street, unless a better idea emerged. At 115 years old, it is the oldest facility in our district.

The building does not meet any current building codes. There is limited parking, which can be frustrating for visitors, families and neighbors who receive the overflow of cars when we have large meetings or staff trainings, which occur almost daily.

In addition, remodeling would require us to temporarily move during construction and incur rent or leasing expenses for 18-24 months.

In June 2018,we shared that we were approached by local property owners regarding some ideas of different sites for the District Office. These ideas were less expensive and avoided relocation costs.

From 2017-2019, we worked with community partners to evaluate other sites instead of improving our current building.

After extensive research and vetting we decided to move forward with relocating to Barkley.

The site on Barkley Boulevard offers ample parking, room for future expansion if needed, and the possibility to bring local partners and services for families, including an early childhood component. It’s on a bus line, near the City’s trail network, provides amenities for staff and visitors (grocery, medical, retail, etc.) and is centrally located within our school district boundaries.

One of the key advantages is that we will likely save over a million dollars by moving to Barkley as opposed to remodeling our current site on Dupont Street due to avoiding relocation costs and the unknown costs associated with renovation. Even with comprehensive analysis and best estimates, we know that remodeling our 115-year-old building comes with many unknowns. Building new can often be less impactful, less expensive and results in a better final product.

We shared the Barkley proposal with a number of groups, including the Parent Advisory Committee, District Office staff, school board and our leadership team. In March 2019, we shared that the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. We engaged with the public via email, phone and in-person meetings, including a community forum at the District Office on Feb. 26, 2019. While some neighbors have wonders about the future of the office building on Dupont Street once we vacate , many community members say they prefer the plan to relocate to Barkley for the financial savings and better accommodation of future growth, both for office space and parking capacity. Based on the input we received, we decided to move forward with plans to relocate the district office to the Barkley district.

This presentation shared at the community meeting on Feb. 26, 2019 also outlines the advantages of moving to the Barkley location.

One of the key advantages of moving to the Barkley location is that we will likely save over a million dollars by moving versus remodeling our current site on Dupont Street due to avoiding relocation costs and the unknown costs associated with renovation. Even with comprehensive analysis and best estimates, we know that remodeling a building constructed in 1908 comes with many unknowns and that building new can often be less impactful, less expensive and results in a better end product. We ultimately intend to sell our Dupont Street property, unless a better option emerges.

We hired an independent commercial real estate agent to locate a property for us that would meet all our needs, these included: a space for a building of 50,000 square feet, must have adequate water, sewer and utilities, parking for at least 100 people and zoning in place that allows us to use outright or with conditional use permit. The real estate report at the time found only two properties that met our requirements. One property was the Barkley location and the second property was located near Marine Drive and Bennett Ave. This second property posed challenges including location and lack of access to public transportation. It was also not “pad ready” with potential unknowns around wetlands, storm water, utilities and more.

We also had other local partners offer ideas, but ultimately, no other locations fit our budget and needs to accommodate staff and our community as well as Barkley.

In December 2019, we shared that we officially own the land at 1885 Barkley Boulevard, and we will be working with Bellingham-based RMC Architects as our partner in this project. We launched a design advisory committee in 2020, with construction beginning in 2022. The estimated completion is early 2024.

When voters approved the bond in 2013, we estimated it would cost $17 million to complete the entire project. As of 2023, the current estimate is approximately $40 million. We purchased the land on Barkley Boulevard in October 2019 for $2.1 million.