PW776 Project Intent

This project is to complete a predesign for the Student Development & Success Center project on the campus of Western Washington University, Bellingham, that meets the Department of OFM’s latest predesign guidelines. The project consists of an approximately 40,000 GSF building that will co-locate student advising, admissions and financial aid representatives, counseling, and career development into one collaborative facility.

The projects goals include:

• Offering an integrated approach to delivering student services and increasing ease of access
• Creating both an arrival point and a campus destination where all students feel welcome, safe, and inspired
• Helping students successfully transition into the university and emerge as thoughtful, engaged citizens
• Serving as a welcome center for visitors arriving to campus for tours, prospective student visits, and community interactions
• Achieving high sustainability performance, at a minimum, of net-zero energy and carbon for the facility

The facility should include welcoming and inclusive spaces for the following:

• Student development space that will be used to coach and engage students to support their academic success and development of personal and civic responsibility
• Counseling and support space
• Collaborative study spaces for learning throughout the day and evening
• Classroom and meeting spaces that will serve multiple purposes and could house leadership, entrepreneurial and/or maker spaces
• Interactive spaces for prospective students to explore the college experience at Western
• Other communal spaces like lounge, food service and merchandising

Schedule for the project is to complete the predesign by late May 2022 for review and approval by the Board of Trustees in June 2022, and submission to OFM by July 1, 2022.