Olympia Armory Creative Campus

What’s happening?

The working vision of the Armory Creative Campus is to support Olympia’s artistic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial spirit. As a welcoming hub, where community members find an exchange of ideas and opportunities for creative expression it can provide a safe place and resources for exploration, positive interaction, and is dedicated to inclusive practices that center community voices from groups that are often underrepresented.

Having acquired the facility in March 2022, the City seeks to leverage the 50,000 sq. ft. Armory facility for use as a creative campus. Community input has shaped the 2021-2022 concept design planning phase and will continue to guide the project into the future.

• View the Armory Mission, Vision & Values
  
• View the Armory Concept Design Plan
• View Concept Plan Appendices

The City of Olympia has offered eight community arts non-profits (Anchor Partner) with a strong track record in community arts education and training to enter contract negotiations to become Anchor Partners in the Armory Creative Campus Building and relocate their operations to the site with a long-term lease. These eight organizations applied to be considered through a Request for Qualifications and were selected by a community representative committee.

Organizations selected include:

1. The Bridge Music Project
2. Capital City Pride
3. Community Print
4. Kokua Services /Hummingbird Studio
5. Olympia Film Collective
6. Olympia Lamplighters
7. PARC Foundation
8. TC Media

What's next?

The Armory will be available for limited reservations between January and April of 2025 – please email Valerie Roberts for more information.

Through the Department of Enterprise Services Energy Savings Program, the City of Olympia will be working with Ameresco to conduct a full-scale audit of the Armory facility as well as Phase 1 design and construction to make the building safe, accessible, and functional as a community art center. The audit began in Spring of 2024 with construction to start in early 2025.

Keep up to date! The City will be posting regular updates on this work here on the Engage Olympia page through the News feed tab below.

Selected Anchor Partner organizations will enter into contract negotiations with the City of Olympia to enter into a lease agreement for different areas in the Armory Creative Campus with the intention to move in for the Armory Creative Campus grand opening currently slated for 2026.