Construction & Neighborhood News

Established in a sleepy section of north Seattle over a century ago, Lakeside School is now centered in a busy residential neighborhood that is growing along with the city and region.

Lakesiders and neighbors of Lakeside, please check this page for updates on construction and other news that impacts our campus and the surrounding area.

Construction and Neighborhood News

The T.J. Vassar ’68 Center for Sciences and Humanities

In spring 2026, Lakeside Upper School will officially open the doors of the T.J. Vassar ’68 Center for the Sciences and Humanities. This new academic building will have 12 English and humanities classrooms; eight biology, physics, and chemistry/advanced science labs; a wide variety of spaces for collaboration and fun; and outdoor spaces for learning and community-building that will knit the building into the Upper School campus.

Watch this video to learn more about T.J. Vassar: a pillar of the Lakeside community whose legacy continues to shape the school.

Limited use of the building will begin this spring, with full occupation taking place in the 2026-2027 school year. Keep an eye out for an invite to the grand opening in April 2026!

Construction on 1st Ave NE

Street improvements are currently being installed on 1st Avenue between 140th and 145th. This includes new sidewalks, bus loading zones, fire hydrants, utilities, and paving. While safe pedestrian access will be maintained, there will be some impacts to traffic, including traffic barriers, fencing, and a temporary lane closure. This project will also include the completion of the Upper School’s perimeter fencing, which will ensure a safer and more secure environment for our school community. Work on this project will extend through the fall. Learn more in this news article.

Construction on 145th Street

The City of Shoreline is currently engaged in improvements along 145th Street (which borders the north end of our Upper School campus). This affects travel to and from Lakeside. When complete, the project will improve safety, traffic congestion, and multimodal access along the 145th St. corridor and help connect Lakeside’s campus to the new light rail station. Read more about the projects (including updates and maps of the affected areas) on the City of Shoreline webpage.

The 145th St. corridor is an active work zone. For everyone's safety, please reduce your speed while driving through the area. Pay attention to the construction signs and barrels as the configuration of the road will change over the next year. The pedestrian and bicycle pathway connects 1st Avenue NE to the east side of the I-5 overpass and the light rail station. This path may shift slightly with construction activities.

View the building's progress

An aeriel view of a building and a view of a road with new sidewalks.

Click on the image to view the construction site's time-lapse camera!

News and Updates

Four-week closure of 1st Ave NE at N 145th Street

Dec 12 2025

Mid-December through January construction impacts

Dec 10 2025

Construction impacts for November and December

Oct 28 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

Work hours

Timeline

Fall 2025

Interior finishes: Flooring, ceilings, casework, lighting.

Site finishes: Pathways, paving, benches, planting.

1st Avenue improvements: New sidewalk along the East side of the street, from 140th to 145th; paving of the northbound lane; water main work; utility pole relocations; and frontage fencing.

Winter 2025

Building systems start-up and testing. Final inspections.

Spring 2025

Move-in!

Safety

Fences: Only construction personnel are allowed within the fencing. No students, faculty, parents/guardians, or visitors are permitted inside the fence.
Trucks: All trucks will enter the site on NE 140th St., and will use construction flaggers or spotters at the gate. Pedestrians, keep your head up, be aware of extra traffic, and look both ways before crossing streets!
Construction personnel: Our construction company, BNBuilders, asks that community members not approach construction personnel with questions or comments unless there is an emergency concern; personnel will not interact with students, and this is a boundary we expect Lakesiders to respect as well.
Traffic control on 1st Avenue: The northbound lane is closed during daytime hours, with flaggers at each end and intersections to direct drivers with alternating traffic using the southbound lane. Please respect the flaggers and allow yourself extra time in your commute.

Movement around campus

As you move around campus, please be aware of the fencing and stay out of the construction jobsite. The sidewalk along 1st Ave NE will be open. Where work is occurring on 1st Avenue, flaggers and pedestrian escorts are available to assist pedestrians to safely navigate the area. NE 140th St. does not have a sidewalk, and trucks will be coming and going — please use caution walking along the shoulder of the road and follow instructions from construction personnel.

Parking

The senior lot is open except for a few stalls necessary for construction use, through the end of 2025.
The athletics center lot is open except for a few stalls necessary for construction use, through the end of 2025.
The employee lot behind the library will be partially closed throughout the project, leading to a reduced number of spaces there.
Construction personnel are not permitted to park in any Lakeside lots. They are encouraged to carpool, but others will be parking on public streets around the school, so students could experience more parking congestion than usual. As always, please be considerate of our neighbors and do not obstruct driveways, fire hydrants, etc.

Noise

The construction process will produce some noise that's atypical for our campus, even as our builders do their best to be good neighbors. Some activities you may expect to hear include:

Truck and equipment back-up alarms used for safety, which sound like beeping or white noise.
Earthwork equipment through the end of 2025.
Vacuum trucks used to protect the health of tree roots during digging, which sounds like tumbling rocks.
Concrete pumping and placement, which makes a loud knock.

Questions? Concerns?

For straightforward issues such as a ball going over the fence, please contact the Community Safety team at 206-730-8299.

If you have other questions or comments about the construction, please contact webhelp@lakesideschool.org.