UW Tacoma spent $1.55 million to buy the 12,000-sf Pinkerton building in 2001 and spent another $3 million to transform into the headquarters of its Institute of Technology. A $41-million conversion of five industrial buildings is next on the university's Tacoma agenda.
The industrial buildings include two warehouses in C Street known as the Mattress Factory and three connected warehouses on Pacific Avenue. The building will be converted for use as classroom and office space.
A UW Tacoma official did not immediately return a phone call Thursday seeking the cost of acquiring the warehouses and the cost of the conversion. The renovations are slated for completion in December, at which point UW's presence in Tacoma will have expanded to more than 400,000 sf.
The University of Washington opened its permanent Tacoma campus in 1997. The Institute of Technology was established to increase the number of workers with math- and science-based bachelor's and master's degrees.
The Pinkerton Building was built in 1889 as a combination hotel and warehouse and is among the oldest buildings in the Union Station historic warehouse district.BN Builders of Seattle served as general contractor for the renovation. The architect was Jim Merritt, AIA, of the Tacoma firm Merritt Arch. Engineering firms included the Tacoma firms BCE Engineers and PCSA.
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