Step Inside Lowell Elementary’s $35.6 Million Fresh Start

If you’ve been watching Lowell Elementary take shape, your chance to step inside is coming next week. The school will celebrate its grand opening Tuesday, October 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with public tours and an invitation to reconnect with the Lowell community. Students, staff, families, alumni and interested neighbors are all welcome.

The new school welcomed students on September 9, following a complete replacement of the previous campus on the same site. Tacoma Public Schools describes the finished building as 60,000 square feet across three stories, with room for nearly 500 students. The district lists a $35.6 million project budget, funded through the $535 million school-construction bond voters approved in 2020.

One of the building’s distinguishing features is its use of cross-laminated timber, an engineered wood material used in its structure. Designer BCRA says Lowell is the district’s first educational project to incorporate it. Exposed structural wood brings warmth to the interior while putting part of the building’s construction on display—something worth looking for during a tour.

The design also draws from the Pacific Northwest, with ocean, mountain and sky themes woven through the architecture, interiors and graphics. BCRA and Korsmo Construction worked with the district on a steeply sloping site, balancing the school’s needs with mature trees and neighborhood views. The result offers visitors a look at how a modern school can fit into an established North End neighborhood.

A completely new building hasn’t meant leaving every piece of the old Lowell behind. BCRA incorporated a historic mosaic from the 1949 school, while the district’s construction timeline documents the original Lowell sign being installed in the replacement building. Those familiar elements give returning families and alumni something to recognize alongside the new spaces.

The celebration takes place at Lowell Elementary, 1218 N. Yakima Ave., the address listed on the school’s current website. The district’s announcement invites everyone to tour the building and celebrate its next chapter. If your memories of Lowell belong to an earlier classroom—or your connection is simply passing it on a neighborhood walk—October 13 is an opportunity to see what has changed and what has been carried forward.