Message from the president about Seattle Central campus

Dear Friends:

In the coming months, a big change will take place on our Capitol Hill campus – we will tear down the North Plaza building, which has reached the end of its useful life. In its place, we are finalizing plans to construct a temporary plaza that will provide open space.

I say temporary because our ultimate goal is to redevelop this section of campus. We have a need, both now and in the future, for modern classroom space that will help us provide the best education possible to our students. And, with thousands of people accessing the Capitol Hill neighborhood through the new light rail station each day, it is in our best interest to create a much more welcoming “front door” to campus. Seattle Central’s campus master plan, created in 2001, forecast the need for a new building in this location to house technology programs that can lead to high-demand, high-wage careers in our growing region, and we are exploring the possibility of moving forward with this vision.

Along with the north end of our campus, the area south of Pine deserves attention, too. To ensure our college has the resources to support our educational mission in the future, we would like to work with community partners to identify optimal uses for several of these properties.

This reimagining of campus will only succeed with support and input from our community. Over the next few months, I will visit with a variety of groups to engage in meaningful dialogue about these plans, and I invite you to participate in an inclusive process so we can ensure everyone’s voice is heard.

Sincerely,
Sheila Edwards Lange, Ph.D.
President