As Pasco and the Tri-Cities continues to grow, the need for more student housing at Columbia Basin College has never been more apparent.
Columbia Basin College recently submitted recent plans to construct a new $28 million residential building at the southwest corner of Argent Road and 20th Avenue.
The building — code named “Polaris,” due to its location as the future northernmost building on campus — will house up to 162 students when it opens in fall 2026.
Each suite will include bedrooms, bathrooms, full-size kitchen spaces and living areas. Rooms will include heating-cooling systems and wireless internet.
Other amenities of the 54,000-square-foot building include study rooms, a lounge area, a multi-purpose space, onsite laundry facilities and a secure bike storage.
Polaris is one of three planned buildings the Pasco college plans to construct at the corner to meet future residential demands. The two other buildings will be built up over the next 20 years.
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The college’s lone residential building for students, Sunhawk Hall, across the street near Sun Willows Golf Course, opened fall 2017 and was about full by the next year.
The three-story, 26,800-square-foot building has 44 apartment-style units with 126 beds.. Monthly rent starts at $517 a person and increases based on density and room type. Residents must be a registered full-time CBC student.
Elizabeth Burtner, CBC’s assistant vice president for marketing and outreach, said it became apparent last year that the college needed to begin planning for this second residential building.
This fall, Sunhawk Hall’s wait list topped out at 78 students — about 64% of the building’s total capacity.
“Although the long-term plan was to build future student housing north of the current Sunhawk Hall building, the college was unable to secure the adjacent property,” Burtner said.
“We then studied currently undeveloped portions of campus and chose this site based upon its adjacency to the current Sunhawk Hall, its topography, our ability to expand parking, and our ability to phase in future student housing projects on the site,” she continued.
Construction of the new residential building is expected to start in May.
It will be about 50-feet tall and four stories, and will require special-use permits and FAA approval due to its proximity to the Tri-Cities Airport. Documents show some parking spots may include charging for electric vehicles.
The environmental impact comment period will end Nov. 19.
The plan to add housing is also part of a broader 50-year capital facilities plan CBC drafted in 2023 to construct new buildings and replace older ones around a sprawling courtyard.
Over the next 15 years, Pasco’s population will grow by 50,000 — and, with it, the region’s demand for higher education.
According to the plan, CBC’s most immediate needs — the projects most likely to get funded over the next 10 to 20 years — include a new performing arts building, a new library, new agriculture and engineering building, a teaching center for excellence and various renovations and facilities improvements.
Recently, CBC completed its new $35 million student recreation center and gymnasium. The state-of-the-art, 80,000-square-foot facility replaced a 65-year-old one, and was paid for with a $50 student fee.
While COVID battered higher ed enrollment nationwide, colleges like CBC are seeing opportunity post-pandemic as record numbers seek workforce training caused by a competitive job market and rising prices for goods.
Fall 2024 enrollment grew 10% to an estimated 8,400 students, including apprenticeships, at CBC despite a confusing and glitchy new financial aid application that penalized Latino and low-income students.
Polaris has not been given a formal name yet, Burtner says. Cheryl Holden, CBC’s vice president for student services, will head a group to select a final name at a later date.
