Seattle Prep Healy Chapel & Theater
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Seattle, WA
- New 350-seat building serves as a liturgical space and performing arts venue
- PACCAR Commons creates a central student gathering space and supports larger school and community events
- Lee Family Fine Arts Center provides dedicated classrooms for choir, band, visual arts, photography, and drama
- Complex addition to McDonnell Hall completed within a dense urban campus
- Flexible, multi-purpose facility designed to support worship, performances, academics, student life, and future campus growth
17K SF
2007
Challenge
Seattle Prep sought to replace aging arts and gathering spaces with a modern facility that could support worship, performing arts, student life, and academic programming. The project required integrating a new chapel, theater, student commons, and fine arts center into a constrained urban campus while maintaining connections to the existing McDonnell Hall. Significant excavation and shoring were required to construct a new building approximately eight feet below the adjacent occupied 1940s structure, creating substantial design and construction complexity.
Solution
As part of our long-standing partnership with Seattle Prep, we were selected to manage the planning, design, and construction of the Healy Chapel & Theater, PACCAR Commons, and Lee Family Fine Arts Center. Our team coordinated stakeholders, consultants, and contractors while managing budgets, schedules, permitting, and construction activities. Through careful planning and oversight, we successfully navigated the project’s complex excavation and structural requirements while ensuring the facility delivered the flexibility needed to support worship, performances, classroom instruction, assemblies, and student gathering spaces.
Outcome & Impact
The project transformed the heart of Seattle Prep’s campus by creating a vibrant destination for learning, creativity, reflection, and community. The Healy Chapel & Theater provides a unique venue for liturgical celebrations, performances, and school events, while the PACCAR Commons and Fine Arts Center enhance daily student life and academic programming. By consolidating multiple functions into a highly flexible facility, the project supports the school’s long-term growth and strengthens its ability to serve students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community.
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Project Partners
Mithun
Architect
GLY
General Contractor
Our Work
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We help schools create performing arts facilities that foster creativity and bring communities together. Through strategic planning, stakeholder alignment, and disciplined project management, we guide projects that maximize impact and support long-term institutional goals.
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