Bellingham, Washington is constructing a new school designed for students with disabilities who need support beyond traditional high school, and the building itself is drawing nearly as much attention as the students it will serve.
The Community Transitions facility, rising at 322 Calluna Court, will be a 22,000-square-foot mass timber structure built to serve students aged 18-21 who are transitioning from high school to adult life. These programs, required under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, provide life skills training, vocational preparation, and community integration support. For the Bellingham School District, which has historically operated these programs out of older or borrowed spaces, the new purpose-built facility is a significant step up.
Mass timber construction, which uses engineered wood products like cross-laminated timber rather than steel or concrete, remains unusual for K-12 schools. Washington has been a national leader in expanding its use, updating building codes in 2023 to allow mass timber in larger structures. Bellingham's location near timber resources in the North Cascades makes the material a practical as well as symbolic choice for a city that adopted one of Washington's earliest local climate action plans.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Construction began after a Notice to Proceed was issued in November 2025, and the project is already underway. RAM Construction, a Bellingham-based general contractor serving as the project's GC/CM, is coordinating the phased build. Washington's GC/CM delivery law allows school districts to select contractors based on qualifications rather than lowest bid alone, a model increasingly used for complex school projects across the state.
The project carries a 15% participation goal for minority- and women-owned businesses, administered through Washington's Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises. Meeting that target may be challenging: Whatcom County is roughly 80 percent white, the regional construction labor market is tight after a decade of population growth, and minority-owned construction firms remain underrepresented across the state. The goal is aspirational rather than a binding quota, reflecting the legal framework established after the Supreme Court's 1989 Croson decision.
The district funded the project through a \$159.4 million capital bond passed by voters in February 2020. Washington school construction costs have climbed 30 to 50 percent since 2019, according to the state's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, driven by labor shortages and rising material costs. The district has not publicly disclosed a total project budget for Community Transitions.
Subcontractor work on the exterior and site improvements, including stormwater retention systems, parking, and pedestrian pathways, is the current open phase of construction. The school's completion timeline has not been publicly announced.
