Spokane-based ESD adding on to conference center

Educational Service District 101, one of nine such districts statewide, is adding on to its conference center on South Regal Street.

The 7,900-square-foot addition to an existing building is valued at $2.3 million, according to permits issued by the city of Spokane. When complete, the center will be nearly 14,000 square feet in size.

The one-story addition is currently under construction at 4202 S. Regal St. It will have one large conference room with a capacity of nearly 300 people, said Cameron Golightly, project manager with Meridian, Idaho-based Design West Architects, which designed the center. The conference room will have modular walls allowing the space to be made into four smaller rooms.

“They currently have a conference center that has one large conference room and a couple classroom-sized rooms,” Golightly said. “They do a lot of training for teachers, for staff, for superintendents, and their existing conference center is always full. They just saw the need for this one.”

Design West has offices in Spokane, Pullman and Kennewick. The company also designed the Moscow Intermodal Transit Center, Boise State University Student Recreation Center and Village Center Cinemas in Wandermere. Recently, it’s done work on Washington State University’s Museum of Art and Public Safety Building.

ESD 101 serves 59 public school districts and 45 state-approved private school districts in seven counties, allowing them to collectively plan and buy equipment. It also acts as an intermediary between the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the school districts. Other ESDs overseeing the state’s 295 school districts are in Yakima, Vancouver, Tumwater, Bremerton, Renton, Pasco, Wenatchee and Anacortes.

ESD 101 oversees districts with nearly 100,000 students.

Meridian Construction, of Spokane Valley, is the project’s general contractor.