Highline High School

Check out photos of our progress: Staff and community members helped plan, review designs or participated in community meetings. On HHS Alumni Day in May 2019, we said goodbye to the old building and took a group photo. Skanska took over the site in July 2019. Crews completed demolition by the first week of November. Construction moved from the southeast corner to the northwest corner of the site. The new school opened September 2021.

Staff and community members rolled up their sleeves and helped with planning and design of the new high school through the HHS Design Review Committee, community meetings and feedback opportunities. Staff helped the architects support the educational specifications in the design. See the design images and read the February 2019 news update:

Architects Share Final Design Details 
-- February 2019

Please call 206-631-3002 to request to see the HHS display boards in person or for accessibility assistance. 

HHS was hosted at the Olympic Interim School for two years during construction of the new school, starting in fall 2019. In the end, much of the 2020-21 school year was spent in distance learning. Students returned on schedule to the new Highline High School on September 2, 2021 for in-person learning.

Planning & Design | February 2017 - February 2019

Bid & Award | February - July 2019

Construction | July 2019 - July 2021

Occupancy | July - August 2021

School Starts | Fall 2021

Highline High School is over 90 years old and was identified as a top priority for capital improvements. The building has outdated, failing mechanical systems. Because it was built in and for an earlier era, it is not up to current fire or earthquake codes. The electrical infrastructure cannot support the technology we expect in today’s schools. 

Highline has undergone several additions and partial renovations, which have extended its use well beyond its expected lifespan. The latest renovation, 25 years ago, remodeled classrooms in the main building but did not address major systems such as heating and plumbing. An independent building evaluation conducted in 2013 found plumbing in poor condition, mechanical systems failing, leaks in sprinkler systems and failing cornice joints, among other issues. 

We recognize that the Highline High School building holds a special significance in the community. We have selected Bassetti Architects to design Highline High School. Bassetti has successfully rebuilt a number of historic schools, including Roosevelt High School, Franklin High School, and Stadium High School.

Here you can view before and after photos of school projects done by Bassetti Architecture.

• West Seattle High School
• Roosevelt High School 
• Madison Middle School 
• U.W. Mary Gates Hall