The former Washington State Library on Olympia's Capitol Campus reopens Thursday, Sept. 24, as a modern workspace for the state House of Representatives.

The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners listed a grand opening ceremony for the Joel M. Pritchard Building at 2 p.m. at 415 15th Ave SW, according to the county's weekly schedule. The building sits on the Capitol Campus and is managed by the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services, or DES.

What changed

The rehabilitation and expansion project totals 77,000 square feet, including a 58,591-square-foot addition. DLR Group designed the overhaul, and BNBuilders served as general contractor. Construction ran from November 2024 through summer 2026, a roughly 20-month build, with DES listing substantial completion by the end of July 2026.

The renovated building will house the House of Representatives and its legislative staff. New features include daylit workspaces, a café and a public hearing room, according to DLR Group. The project targets LEED Gold certification and Net Zero energy readiness.

Before the renovation, more than 60 percent of the building sat empty. It was originally built for book storage and could not be converted to office space. DES also cited the building's proximity to a steep, unstable hillside and an inadequate seismic resistance system that raised the risk of failure during an earthquake.

The project addressed those hazards with seismic upgrades, mechanical and electrical improvements, hillside stabilization and a new Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete panel system.

At the project's topping-out ceremony in September 2025, BNBuilders project executive Matt Lubbers called it "a complex project," noting the team balanced "historic preservation with seismic, mechanical, and sustainability upgrades."

The building's history

Architect Paul Thiry designed the original structure, which was built in 1957–1958 at an authorized cost of $2.45 million. It was the last monumental building added to the Capitol Campus and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

The building was renamed in the late 1970s for Joel Pritchard, who represented Washington's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1973 to 1985 and served as the state's 14th lieutenant governor from 1989 to 1997. Pritchard is also known as the "Father of Pickleball." He co-invented the sport in 1965 with friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum at his summer home on Bainbridge Island.

His daughter, Peggy Pritchard-Olson, recalled in 1997 what her father said at a party held in his honor shortly before his death, according to his Pickleball Hall of Fame profile: "Out of all the things he'd done in his life, he was most proud of that game."

Pritchard died Oct. 9, 1997, in Olympia.

What's next

The Sept. 24 ceremony is listed as an in-person event at 2 p.m. at 415 15th Ave SW. The county's weekly schedule does not name speakers or provide details on public attendance.