Green River Community College will host a follow-up meeting about the new Trades Building planned near the corner of 124th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 320th Street.

The meeting is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Family of Grace Lutheran Church, located at 31317 124th Ave. SE, Auburn.

College staff and project leaders will share updates about the building plans, including site design, landscaping and construction ideas for the Trades Building, which will be designed as a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver-certified building.

When completed in 2015, the Trades Building will provide a modern instructional environment and help meet local employers’ demands for qualified graduates.

“This is a follow-up to the meetings we held in April, where we asked neighbors to share their concerns and ideas about the Trades Building,” said Sam Ball, dean for capital projects. “There are still some unanswered questions, but we’ve made good progress on noise studies and other site analyses that will help shape the building and site design.

“We will also have a more accurate representation of what the new Trades building will look like from adjacent properties – which should be of great interest to residents.”

The project is possible because of a recent agreement between the College and the City of Auburn to exchange the current Lea Hill Park property for GRCC and Green River Community College Foundation-owned property located immediately to the north.

Green River’s Trades programs are housed in aging buildings at the east entrance to campus. Many of the structures were built more than 40 years ago (1966). They have exceeded their life cycles, are unable to meet current safety requirements, and no longer are adequate to support the instructional programs, according to Ball. The new building will combine state-of-the-art equipment and facilities with mature landscaping, green building materials, and sensitive site design.

The instructional programs in the Trades Division include Auto Body, Automotive, Carpentry, Manufacturing, and Welding. Each of these programs is designed to prepare students – many who are laid-off workers seeking retraining – for immediate employment.

For more information on the project or neighborhood meetings, visit the college’s web site at www.greenriver.edu or call John Ramsey, in the Public Information Office, at 253-288-3360.