Pasco college ready to spend $2 million for building

Columbia Basin College is poised to spend up to $2 million for a new building near its new student dorm.

The board recently agreed to buy the 10,500 square-foot office building and the half-acre parcel at 2815 St. Andrews Loop.

College leaders said they weren’t ready to discuss their plans for the building until the sale is finished.

That’s expected to happen after the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges approves it at its next meeting this week, said Anna Tensmeyer, the college’s marketing and communications director.

While officials are quiet about their specific plans, the six-unit building is already home to the Columbia Basin College’s Student Housing office. It is the closest building to the college’s new student dorm, Sunhawk Hall, and part of the Sun Willows Business Center.

The documents from the state board’s packet say the building will continue to house the residence life department and serve as extra space for the college.

The college employs residence advisers along with a director of the program to provide programing and support for the students along with marketing the spaces to the students.

It is unclear what will happen to the building’s other four current tenants, including agriculture engineering consultants and a construction equipment supplier.

Real estate broker the Tippet Company owns and manages the building, according to the Franklin County Assessor’s Office.

The company bought it in 2001 for $86,655, and the county valued it last year at $1.1 million.

Expanding Pasco campus

Along with helping the residence life department, the purchase would help future initiatives in that area, said the documents.

The property is within what the officials called “the Pasco campus sphere of influence” and is part of a 60-year plan to look at places where it can expand.

While officials said the college’s 150 acres around the Pasco campus provide plenty of space, they are hemmed in beyond that.

College officials are looking to buy or find ways to partner with companies or other agencies to increase student opportunities.

“Over time, the college is interested in expanding their influence in the local community,” college officials said in their master plan.