Quick answer: Everett Community College paused and redesigned its $37.9 million Baker Hall replacement project after construction-cost increases pushed the original 32,000-square-foot design over budget. The redesign cuts roughly 10,000 square feet but preserves the cosmetology wing with a working salon, the 250-seat theater, and the winter quarter 2028 opening target. Architect McGranahan PBK and contractor Cornerstone Construction stay on the project. The $37.9M capital allocation has been on the books since the 2023–25 state budget cycle.

Everett Community College’s $38 Million Baker Hall Replacement: The Complete 2026 Guide to the Redesign, the Programs, and the Winter 2028 Opening

Most college construction stories that hit a budget wall get smaller, slower, or quieter. Everett Community College’s Baker Hall replacement just hit the wall — and the result is a campus project that got smaller, kept its core programs, kept its 2028 opening, and is more useful as a case study for state-funded capital construction in 2026 than a typical campus building update would be.

Here is the complete 2026 guide to what is happening at Baker Hall: the $37.9 million project, what got cut, what survived, why the schedule still works, and what the building means for EvCC students, the cosmetology program, the theater program, and the surrounding waterfront-adjacent campus footprint.

What Just Changed

EvCC paused the Baker Hall rebuild and shrank the planned new building by about 10,000 square feet, citing rising construction costs. The original design called for 32,000 square feet. The revised version comes in at roughly 22,000 square feet — a third smaller.

What did not get cut: the core program elements. The new Baker Hall still includes:

A dedicated cosmetology wing — including a working salon, classrooms, meeting spaces, and offices for the cosmetology department
A 250-seat theater with dressing rooms, a set-construction shop, and costume storage
Additional classroom space layered around those two anchors

What got cut, in plain terms, is the slack. The square footage that allowed flex space, larger circulation areas, and room to grow programs into the building over the next decade — that is the part that gave way to the budget math. The bones of the program survive. The breathing room around them does not.

The 2028 Target Is Still On

Even with the redesign, EvCC is aiming for a winter quarter 2028 opening. That is the operational target the school is working toward right now. Demolition of the existing 1962 Baker Hall — which has not seen students in roughly two years — has been delayed to align with the revised construction window, but the timeline to having students in the new space has not slipped beyond winter 2028.

A 2028 opening from a 2026 redesign is a real schedule. It requires:

Construction documents revised to the new scope
Permits refreshed against the revised drawings
Cornerstone Construction rebidding the trade packages with the smaller scope
Mobilization and site work in 2026
Foundation and shell in 2027
Interior fit-out and inspection in late 2027
Occupancy and program move-in for winter 2028 quarter

Each of those steps has float built in, but not a lot of it. A 2028 opening is achievable; a slip to fall 2028 or beyond is not unimaginable if any of those phases hits a snag.

The Players

The professionals on the project:

Architect: McGranahan PBK, selected in February 2025
Contractor: Cornerstone Construction, brought on in May 2025
Funder: Washington State, through the 2023–25 capital budget cycle, with the $37.9 million allocation
Owner: Everett Community College

That team has been in place for over a year. Keeping the architect and contractor through the redesign — instead of restarting procurement — is the move that protects the 2028 schedule. Restarting would have meant another 12-18 months easily.

What Got Cut: The Slack, Not the Bones

It is worth being specific about which 10,000 square feet came out of the design, because that is what determines how the building actually feels in 2028:

Circulation space. Wider hallways, larger lobbies, more generous gathering spaces — these are the first things that get value-engineered when costs rise.

Flex and growth space. The original design likely included shell space — built but unfinished rooms ready to be assigned to whatever program needed them in 2030 or 2032. That is one of the easier cuts because the impact is in the future, not at opening.

Some support functions. Storage, mechanical clearance, prep areas around the theater and salon — all candidates for tightening.

The cosmetology working salon and the 250-seat theater stayed because they are the reasons the building exists. EvCC’s cosmetology program needs salon-grade plumbing, ventilation, and station layouts that you cannot retrofit into a generic classroom. The theater program needs a real stage, a real fly system, and real backstage. Cutting those would have meant rebuilding the program around a different teaching model. The school chose to cut the slack instead.

Why the 1962 Baker Hall Has to Go

The existing Baker Hall opened in 1962. By 2026, that is a 64-year-old building. It has not housed students in approximately two years. Mid-twentieth-century campus buildings on the West Coast share a familiar problem set: seismic standards have moved several times since the original construction, mechanical systems are at or past end-of-useful-life, accessibility retrofits would require near-complete reconstruction, and the floor plans were designed for teaching models that no longer match how the programs operate.

For a cosmetology program that needs salon-grade infrastructure and a theater program that needs proper stage and backstage, the 1962 building was no longer a workable home. That is why the replacement strategy got chosen over renovation in the first place.

The Larger Construction-Cost Story

The Baker Hall pause is one data point in a regional pattern. Construction costs across the Puget Sound have been outrunning state capital budget allocations for several budget cycles. Public-sector projects budgeted in 2023 dollars and bid in 2025 or 2026 dollars are routinely landing 15-30% over their allocations. The choices in those moments are: cut scope, get more money, or kill the project.

EvCC chose to cut scope while preserving program. That preserves the public investment and keeps the 2028 opening on the table without going back to Olympia for a supplemental appropriation. For state-funded campus projects across Washington’s community college system, this is a useful template.

What 2028 Looks Like for EvCC Students

When students walk into the new Baker Hall in winter 2028, they will find a smaller building than the original plan, but a working cosmetology salon, a real 250-seat theater, and the classroom support those programs need. That is the deliverable.

The building also fits into a larger EvCC campus context that includes the existing arts and humanities footprint, the Northshore-area campus connections, and the broader Everett Station and waterfront corridor. Baker Hall’s replacement sits in that fabric.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is happening with Everett Community College’s Baker Hall?

EvCC paused and redesigned the $37.9 million Baker Hall replacement project, cutting roughly 10,000 square feet from the original 32,000-square-foot design due to rising construction costs. The cosmetology wing, 250-seat theater, and winter 2028 opening target all survived the redesign.

Who designed and is building the new Baker Hall?

McGranahan PBK is the architect, selected in February 2025. Cornerstone Construction is the contractor, brought on in May 2025. Both stay on the project through the redesign.

When does the new Baker Hall open?

Winter quarter 2028 is the current operational target. Demolition of the 1962 Baker Hall is being aligned with the revised construction window.

Why was Baker Hall redesigned?

Construction costs across the Puget Sound region rose between the project’s 2023 budget allocation and the 2025-26 bid environment, pushing the original design over the $37.9 million capital budget. EvCC chose to redesign at smaller scope rather than seek a supplemental appropriation or kill the project.

What programs will the new Baker Hall house?

The cosmetology program (with a working salon) and the theater program (with a 250-seat performance space, dressing rooms, set-construction shop, and costume storage) are the anchor tenants, plus additional classrooms.

How big is the new Baker Hall?

Approximately 22,000 square feet in the redesign, down from the original 32,000-square-foot plan.

How is the project funded?

Through Washington State’s capital budget. The $37.9 million allocation has been on the books since the 2023–25 budget cycle.

What was wrong with the 1962 Baker Hall?

The 64-year-old building has aging mechanical systems, outdated seismic standards, and floor plans that no longer match how the cosmetology and theater programs operate. It has not housed students in approximately two years. Replacement was chosen over renovation.

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