What’s the headline number from the Madrona Group’s April 2026 Snohomish County housing report? Sales Activity Intensity came in at 54.9%, down only slightly from 56.0% the month before — meaning more than half of all listings still went pending within the first 30 days. Inventory tightened to 1.6 months. Mortgage rates moved up to 6.45%. Single-family resale prices held near $877,000 with homes selling at 99.8% of list price. The market did not slow down the way the inventory headlines suggested.

You probably read yesterday’s coverage of Snohomish County’s April housing market — the NWMLS data showing inventory up 51.8% year-over-year, the median sale price at $738,000, the 2.8 months of supply. That is one accurate way to read this market. Here is another, also accurate, with very different implications.

The Madrona Group dropped its April 2026 Snohomish County report this week, and it does not look like a market that lost its footing. It looks like a market that is moving slower at the top of the funnel — fewer homes coming on, fewer offers per listing, more buyer hesitation — but where the deals that do happen are happening fast and at strong prices.

The number we want to focus on is Sales Activity Intensity — and we are going to explain it because it is not a number that shows up in every market report and most readers have never seen it framed this way.

What Sales Activity Intensity actually measures

Sales Activity Intensity is the share of all active listings that go pending within the first 30 days on the market. Not closed — pending. Pending is the moment a buyer’s offer has been accepted and the deal is moving toward closing. It is the moment when the market said yes.

A 54.9% Sales Activity Intensity in Snohomish County for April 2026 means that more than one out of every two homes that listed last month had a buyer say yes within 30 days. That is a fast market. It is fast even after a small dip from March, when the same number was 56.0%.

For comparison, a market that is genuinely cooling — homes sitting, sellers cutting prices, buyers waiting — typically shows Sales Activity Intensity drop into the 30s or below. When intensity drops below 30%, sellers start to see real concessions show up at the closing table. That is not what we have right now.

What’s behind the number

Three factors are working at once in the April 2026 Madrona Group data, and none of them point in the same direction:

Mortgage rates moved up to 6.45%. That is up from earlier in the year and up enough to price some buyers out at the margin. Higher rates almost always slow demand. They have slowed it some — but they have not killed it.

Inventory tightened to 1.6 months. A balanced market in real estate is usually 4 to 6 months of inventory. At 1.6 months, Snohomish County is still well into seller’s-market territory. Note this is the Madrona Group’s specific measurement — the broader NWMLS data on the same county shows 2.8 months because the two reports use slightly different inventory definitions and time windows. Both are true. The Madrona number is the tighter view.

Single-family resale prices held near $877,000 with homes selling at 99.8% of list price on average. When buyers are paying within 0.2% of the asking price, they are not negotiating much. They are competing.

Put the three factors together: rates went up, but the homes that are listed are still moving fast and selling at almost full asking. The buyers who are still in the market have stopped flinching.

What this looks like on the ground in Everett

Everett sits inside the Snohomish County data but does not behave exactly like the county average. The city’s median sale price runs lower than the county figure — Redfin had Everett’s most recent typical home value near $620,000, well under the $738,000 county median that NWMLS reported. The reasons are familiar: more starter homes, more condos, more older housing stock, more variation between neighborhoods.

The Sales Activity Intensity dynamic still applies in Everett. A waterfront condo at Sawyer or Carling priced reasonably is going pending in days, not weeks. A starter home in Delta or Riverside priced at the neighborhood median is doing the same thing. What sits is what is overpriced. What sits is what assumes the market is still set to 2022.

We have seen this pattern in our own coverage — the April 2026 condo market story we published last week showed Snohomish County condo averages up 4.4% year-over-year and Everett condos selling in a 22-day median at 99% of list. That is the same fast-but-narrow market the Madrona report is describing, just on a different property type.

What this means for buyers right now

If you are buying in Snohomish County in May 2026 and you have been waiting for the market to break, the Madrona data is the latest signal that a wholesale break is not coming. Specific properties will be soft. Specific sellers will negotiate. But the broad market is still leaning seller.

A few practical takes from how this number sits:

• Stop waiting for the price to come down before you make an offer. At 54.9% Sales Activity Intensity, the home you are watching probably already has another offer. The price you saw on Zillow last Tuesday may not be the price that closes.
• Get rate-locked before you write an offer. With rates at 6.45% and trending up rather than down, the rate you can get this week is probably better than the rate you can get if you wait three weeks. A 0.25% rate move on a $620,000 Everett home is roughly $90 a month for the life of the loan.
• The 99.8% of list price number is the real number. If you are writing offers at 95% of list and watching them lose, that is why. The market is not built for 95% offers right now.

What this means for sellers right now

If you are selling in Snohomish County, the Madrona data is telling you something sellers sometimes miss: price-to-list discipline matters more than ever.

• Price it right and it goes pending in 30 days. Price it 5% high and it sits — and the market has been trained to read sitting as a problem. The 30-day window is the window where intensity captures your home as a fast mover. Past 30 days, you are competing with newer listings.
• The 99.8% of list price number cuts both ways. You probably will not get more than asking. You also will not have to take much less than asking. So price it where you are happy to close.
• Inventory is tight but moving up. The Madrona number says 1.6 months, the NWMLS number says 2.8 months — both are tighter than 4-6, but both are looser than 12 months ago. If you have been on the fence about listing, the supply side is finally giving you some company on the market. Earlier was easier. Now is still good.

How this fits with everything else we know about Snohomish County in April 2026

This week alone we have seen:

• The NWMLS report showing 51.8% year-over-year inventory growth and 2.8 months of supply
• The Madrona Group report showing 1.6 months supply and 54.9% Sales Activity Intensity
• Snohomish County condo data showing 4.4% YoY appreciation and 22-day Everett median time on market
• Mortgage rates moving up to 6.45%, the highest level since fall 2025
• The Sage Investment Econo Lodge studio-apartment conversion announcement in South Everett — 124 new units coming online by August 2026

None of those data points contradict each other. They are all measuring different parts of the same market. The market is more inventory than it had, fewer offers than it had, slower at the top of the funnel — and still selling fast and near asking when the property is priced right. That is a more complicated story than “the market is hot” or “the market is cooling.” It is the market being different things at the same time depending on which lens you bring.

The Madrona Group report adds a useful lens: the velocity at which deals close, not just the count of homes listed. That velocity number is what tells you whether the market still works. In April 2026, in Snohomish County, it still works.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sales Activity Intensity in real estate?

Sales Activity Intensity is the percentage of all active listings that go pending — meaning a buyer’s offer has been accepted — within the first 30 days on the market. It is a velocity measure of how fast the average home is moving. Above 50% indicates a fast seller’s market; below 30% indicates real cooling.

What was Snohomish County’s Sales Activity Intensity in April 2026?

54.9%, according to the Madrona Group’s April 2026 Snohomish County housing market report. That is down slightly from 56.0% in March. Both numbers indicate a strong seller’s market.

What are mortgage rates in Snohomish County right now?

The 30-year fixed rate referenced in the April 2026 Madrona report is 6.45%. Rates have ticked up from earlier in the year. Individual rate quotes vary by lender, credit score, down payment, and loan size.

Why does the Madrona Group report say 1.6 months of inventory and the NWMLS report say 2.8 months?

They use slightly different inventory definitions and time windows. The Madrona Group’s measure tends to capture a tighter view focused on actively moving listings. NWMLS uses a broader inventory definition that includes some listings the Madrona view excludes. Both are accurate; both reflect a Snohomish County market still well below the 4-6 month range that defines balance.

What is the median home price in Snohomish County in April 2026?

The April 2026 NWMLS report listed the county median sale price at $738,000. The Madrona Group report references single-family resale prices holding near $877,000, which uses a different scope (single-family resale only, with different geographic weighting). The two numbers describe overlapping but not identical slices of the market.

Is now a good time to buy a home in Everett?

“Good” depends on your specific situation — your down payment, your job stability, your timeline, the neighborhood you’re targeting. What the April 2026 data says broadly: prices are not falling, inventory is up but still tight, and rates are higher than they were earlier in the year. Waiting for a wholesale price break is currently not what the data supports. Talk to a local agent and a local lender about your specific math.

Is now a good time to sell a home in Everett?

Yes, if it is priced right. The market data says homes priced at the neighborhood median are going pending within 30 days at 99.8% of list. Homes priced 5%+ above the neighborhood median sit. Pricing discipline is the difference between a fast sale and a long sit.

What just changed at Everett Mall? Brixton Capital — the mall’s owner — has scheduled a May 19, 2026 pre-application meeting with the City of Everett to convert a portion of the existing enclosed mall into a self-storage facility, with a 60,000-square-foot proposed office sitting where Topgolf’s hitting bays were going to go. Topgolf was supposed to be the Hub @ Everett’s anchor tenant. Now it may not happen at all.

For two years the story we got told about Everett Mall was the Hub. Brixton Capital — the San Diego-based real estate group that bought the property — and the City of Everett came out together in 2024 with renderings of an outdoor walkable destination, retail recolored from the inside out, and a 68,000-square-foot, three-level Topgolf as the anchor pulling everyone in. The permits were filed. The 11-acre site was mapped. The narrative held.

That narrative is now bending.

On the City of Everett’s permitting portal this week, Brixton Capital has scheduled a May 19, 2026 pre-application meeting for a project described as “the interior demolition of the existing enclosed mall structure and the conversion of a portion of the building into a self-storage facility. The scope also includes subdivision actions to place the proposed storage use on a separate legal parcel.”

That alone would just be news that the demolition we’ve all been waiting for is finally getting paperwork moving. But the latest site plan that came in with the application tells a different story.

What the new site plan shows

Two things sit on the new Brixton site plan that were not on the Hub renderings.

The first is a single-story building labeled “Everett Mall Self Storage.” It sits where a parking lot was going to be in the Hub vision — so it is not directly displacing Topgolf. But it is also not what anyone signed up for when this redevelopment started. There are already a dozen self-storage facilities within five miles of the mall. None of them are destinations. None of them generate the foot traffic that a mall reinvention needs to work.

The second is more telling: a 60,000-square-foot building labeled “Proposed Office” that sits squarely on the footprint where the Topgolf hitting bays and outfield were going to go. The old LA Fitness building, which was supposed to come down to make room for Topgolf, now appears in the plan as something that will either be salvaged or replaced to provide that office space.

Topgolf needs the area marked for the office. The office is in the area Topgolf needed.

The two plans cannot both be true.

Why this might be happening

Topgolf’s parent company has been in restructuring mode since the same window the Everett permits were getting approved. Topgolf Callaway Brands announced a corporate split, then Topgolf CEO Artie Starrs left for Harley-Davidson in 2025. On January 1, 2026, private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners completed an acquisition of a 60 percent stake in Topgolf from Topgolf Callaway Brands for approximately $1.1 billion. Industry coverage has framed the entertainment chain’s recent decline as a problem of over-expansion — too many venues opened too fast, with the new ones cannibalizing the older ones.

In other words: Topgolf is in pullback mode, not expansion mode. New venues that were promised but never officially confirmed by Topgolf corporate — like Everett — are exactly the kind of project that quietly disappears in a private-equity restructuring.

Neither Brixton Capital nor Topgolf has officially said the Everett venue is dead. The City of Everett has not announced a change. But the new site plan does the talking.

What we covered before — and what’s different now

We wrote about The Hub @ Everett a week ago, on April 25, when the story was that Topgolf was stuck — permitted in January 2025, but on hold pending corporate restructuring. The construction never started. The 11-acre footprint sat untouched. At that point the question was whether Topgolf would eventually break ground or whether Brixton would have to find a new anchor.

The May 19 pre-application meeting is the answer to that question. Brixton is not waiting on Topgolf anymore. Brixton is moving forward with a different building program for that footprint. Even if Brixton hopes Topgolf eventually shows up, the site plan being submitted to the City does not assume Topgolf shows up. That is the meaningful change.

It is also a quiet downgrade of what The Hub was supposed to be. A self-storage building and a 60,000-square-foot office building are not the kind of tenants that bring people to a mall on a Saturday. Alderwood Mall down in Lynnwood is full on Saturdays. People circle the parking lot waiting for spots. That is what a working mall in 2026 looks like. A storage facility and a cubicle building is not in that category.

What this means for the larger Everett Mall picture

The Hub @ Everett sits on 11 acres in the Twin Creeks neighborhood and is the largest single retail-redevelopment project in South Everett. The mall as a whole is roughly 800,000 square feet of building on a much larger campus. Brixton’s original sales pitch for The Hub assumed Topgolf would draw the foot traffic, which would justify upgrades to the rest of the campus — Ulta Beauty and At Home are already moving into the former Sears box, and the relocated Mall Station opened in December 2025. The walkable outdoor reorientation only works if the anchor pulls.

If the anchor turns out to be a storage building and an office, the rest of the upgrade math gets harder. Tenants pay rent based on the foot traffic they expect. Foot traffic projections that assumed a Topgolf are not the projections you get with self-storage.

There is still room for another pivot. Brixton could find another entertainment anchor — a movie theater, a family entertainment center, a fitness destination — and the storage and office plans become the backup. The May 19 meeting is a pre-application discussion, not a building permit. Things can still change between now and the actual permit filing.

But for right now, what the City of Everett’s permitting portal shows is a mall that planned to be a destination and is being re-planned around uses that nobody drives across town to visit.

The May 19 pre-application meeting: what it is and what it isn’t

A pre-application meeting in Everett is the very first formal step a developer takes with the city before submitting actual building permits. It’s a planning-staff conversation — the developer brings their concept, the city tells them what regulations will apply, what studies they’ll need, what review process the project will go through. It is not a public hearing. There is no vote. There is no decision.

But it does signal seriousness. Pre-application meetings cost money to schedule and prepare for. Developers don’t book them for ideas they’re not pursuing. When a project shows up on the pre-app calendar, it means the developer has internal alignment to keep moving forward with that specific concept.

So the May 19 meeting is the equivalent of Brixton telling the city: this is what we’re actually planning to build now. The Hub @ Everett brochure is no longer the operative document. The new site plan is.

What we’ll be watching

A few things to track in the coming weeks:

• The actual building permit application. A pre-application meeting usually produces a building permit application within three to nine months. Whatever Brixton submits formally will tell us whether the storage-and-office concept holds or whether they pivot again.
• Any official Topgolf statement. Leonard Green & Partners has been making public moves since taking control on January 1. A formal cancellation of Pacific Northwest expansion would clarify a lot.
• Brixton’s leasing posture for the rest of The Hub. If self-storage and office are now in the program, the retail pitch to other tenants changes. Watch for tenant announcements that downshift from the original Hub vision.
• City of Everett response. The original Hub deal involved zoning and permitting cooperation from the city. A meaningful program change at the site may trigger new city review — especially if the storage building requires the subdivision Brixton is also proposing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Topgolf coming to Everett Mall?

As of May 2026, no construction has started, no Topgolf representative has confirmed the Everett location publicly, and Brixton Capital — the mall owner — has filed a pre-application with the City of Everett showing a 60,000-square-foot office building in the exact footprint Topgolf was going to occupy. The official permits from January 2025 are still on the books, but the new site plan does not assume Topgolf is happening.

Who owns Everett Mall?

Brixton Capital, a San Diego-based real estate firm, owns Everett Mall. Brixton acquired the property and announced The Hub @ Everett redevelopment plan in 2024.

What is the Hub @ Everett?

The Hub @ Everett is the marketing name Brixton Capital and the City of Everett gave to the planned redevelopment of the existing enclosed Everett Mall into a more walkable, outdoor-oriented retail and entertainment destination. The original anchor was supposed to be a 68,000-square-foot Topgolf venue.

When is the Brixton pre-application meeting?

May 19, 2026, with the City of Everett’s planning staff. This is a pre-application discussion, not a public hearing — there is no public comment period and no vote.

What did Brixton apply to build?

According to the City of Everett’s permitting portal, the May 19 application covers the interior demolition of the existing enclosed mall, conversion of a portion of the building into a self-storage facility, and subdivision of the storage use onto its own legal parcel. The accompanying site plan shows a 60,000-square-foot proposed office building in the area where Topgolf was going to be built.

Is the rest of The Hub redevelopment still happening?

Yes — Ulta Beauty and At Home are still moving into the former Sears box, the relocated Mall Station opened in December 2025, and other tenant work continues. The pre-application change appears specific to the Topgolf footprint and the previously-planned parking lot area where the storage facility would now sit.

When would construction actually start?

A pre-application meeting is the first step. A formal building permit application typically follows three to nine months later, and construction starts after the permit is issued. So even if the storage-and-office concept holds, ground-breaking is at minimum late 2026 and more likely 2027.

Quick answer: If you are an EvCC student in cosmetology or theater, the new Baker Hall is still on track for winter quarter 2028. The building is about 10,000 square feet smaller than the original plan, but the cosmetology working salon and the 250-seat theater both survived the redesign. Until the new building opens, cosmetology and theater programs continue in their current arrangements. The 1962 Baker Hall has not housed students in roughly two years, so day-to-day class life is not changing in 2026 because of the redesign — but the move-in date you should plan around is winter 2028.

For Everett Community College Students: What the Baker Hall Redesign Means for Cosmetology, Theater, and Your 2026-2028 Plans

If you are at EvCC right now, or thinking about enrolling for fall 2026, or about to apply to the cosmetology or theater programs, the Baker Hall news matters in a specific way for you. The replacement building got smaller. The 2028 opening is still on. Your programs still get the spaces they were promised. But the way the campus looks between now and winter 2028 — and the building you eventually move into — has changed.

This is the student-and-prospective-student guide to what the redesign means and what to plan around.

Your Programs Are Safe

The redesign cut roughly 10,000 square feet from the original 32,000-square-foot Baker Hall plan. What got preserved through the cuts:

The cosmetology wing. A working salon with the plumbing, ventilation, and station layout cosmetology training requires. Classrooms. Meeting spaces. Department offices. None of that came out of the design.

The 250-seat theater. A real performance space with dressing rooms, a set-construction shop, costume storage, and the support classrooms a theater program needs. The 250-seat figure stayed.

What was cut was slack — the circulation space, the future-flex rooms, the breathing room around the core program functions. As a student, you will probably not notice that on day one in 2028. You will notice it five or ten years later if the program grows beyond what the smaller building can hold. That is a future-EvCC problem, not a current-student problem.

What’s Happening Until Winter 2028

The 1962 Baker Hall has not housed students in roughly two years. That means whatever interim arrangement your program is in right now is the arrangement that continues through 2026 and most of 2027. If you are in cosmetology, you are using the current cosmetology training facilities EvCC arranged when the old Baker Hall was vacated. If you are in theater, the same applies.

The redesign does not change those interim arrangements. It just delays demolition of the old building so the construction window aligns with the revised drawings. Demolition is now timed against the new construction schedule, not happening on the original 2025 calendar.

What Winter 2028 Looks Like

If you are a current EvCC cosmetology or theater student on a two-year track, winter 2028 may be after your graduation. If you are on a longer track or you transfer in for fall 2026 or fall 2027, you may be the first cohort to take classes in the new Baker Hall. That cohort gets:

• A modern cosmetology salon with proper plumbing, ventilation, and station infrastructure
• A 250-seat theater with proper backstage, fly space, dressing rooms, and set-construction support
• Classrooms designed around current teaching models, not 1962 teaching models
• A building meeting current seismic, accessibility, and mechanical standards

Those are real upgrades over what either program could ever deliver inside a 64-year-old building.

What the Redesign Means If You’re Choosing EvCC

If you are deciding whether to enroll at EvCC for cosmetology or theater specifically because of Baker Hall:

The 2028 opening is on the table but not guaranteed. Public construction projects can slip. A six-month or one-year slip would not be unusual; a multi-year slip would be unusual but not impossible. Plan around winter 2028 with the understanding that fall 2028 is also possible.

The program quality does not depend on the building. EvCC’s cosmetology and theater programs have been running through the entire Baker Hall transition. The quality of instruction is not waiting for 2028. If you start in fall 2026, you will get the program — just not in the new building.

The smaller redesign is still a real upgrade. A 22,000-square-foot purpose-built building with a working salon and a 250-seat theater is meaningfully better than what the 1962 Baker Hall could have offered even after a renovation. The cuts removed slack, not core function.

What to Watch For

If you want to track the project’s progress as a student, the milestones to look for:

• Construction documents revised and re-permitted (2026)
• Cornerstone Construction trade-package rebids (2026)
• Demolition of the 1962 Baker Hall
• Foundation and shell work (2027)
• Interior fit-out and inspections (late 2027)
• Move-in and program opening (winter quarter 2028)

EvCC’s facilities communications and the school’s board minutes are the most reliable sources for milestone updates as they happen.

The Practical Takeaway

If you are a cosmetology or theater student, the redesign is, on balance, a good outcome. The alternative — a project killed for budget — would have meant no new Baker Hall at all. The alternative — a supplemental appropriation request — would have meant a 12-18 month delay while Olympia worked through the request, with no certainty of approval. Cutting scope to keep the 2028 opening preserves the deliverable.

The deliverable is what you actually need: a working salon for cosmetology training, a real theater for theater performance and production training, and modern classrooms for the support coursework. That is what arrives in winter 2028. Just slightly smaller than the original drawings showed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Baker Hall redesign change EvCC’s cosmetology program?

No. The cosmetology wing, including the working salon, was preserved through the redesign. The program continues as currently arranged through 2027 and moves into the new building in winter quarter 2028.

Is EvCC’s theater program still getting a 250-seat theater?

Yes. The 250-seat theater, dressing rooms, set-construction shop, and costume storage all survived the redesign.

When does the new Baker Hall open for classes?

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

What is happening to my program until winter 2028?

The 1962 Baker Hall has not housed students for roughly two years, so program arrangements that have been in place since the building was vacated continue through the construction window. The redesign does not change those interim arrangements.

Is the new Baker Hall smaller because EvCC is shrinking the program?

No. The 10,000-square-foot reduction came from circulation space, flex space, and support functions — not from program-critical spaces. The cosmetology salon, the 250-seat theater, and the supporting classrooms were preserved at full scope.

Could the 2028 opening still slip?

Yes. Public construction projects can hit permit, supply, or labor delays. A short slip is not unusual; a multi-year slip would be unusual. Students should plan around winter 2028 with awareness that fall 2028 is possible.

Will the new building be more accessible than the 1962 Baker Hall?

Yes. New campus construction in Washington must meet current ADA and accessibility standards. The 1962 building was designed before those standards existed and would have required near-complete reconstruction to comply.

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Related Exploring Everett coverage:

• EvCC’s $38M Baker Hall Replacement Got Smaller (Source Post)
• Mayor Franklin’s 2026 State of the City: Five Priorities Now Shaping Everett
• Everett’s $14 Million 2027 Budget Decision: A Complete Guide

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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