Yakima Valley Community College will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday morning for the new Palmer Martin Hall.

The new building footprint will be the southeast corner of S. 16th Avenue & Nob Hill Blvd. Palmer Martin Hall will house art, communication studies, early childhood education and modern languages instruction. Specifically, the building will contain classrooms, offices, art studios, digital art and language labs, plus a seminar room and study spaces. The design provides an environmentally sensitive concept of sustainable architecture with the use of natural light, low energy consumption and organic, renewable resource materials that are energy efficient to produce minimum waste. In addition a solar panel array will be installed on the roof.

As part of the Washington State Art in Public Places Program, artist Kay Kirkpatrick has been selected to install her work in Palmer Martin Hall. Kirkpatrick has been working collaboratively with the college and the architects to incorporate her art into the building design.

The existing Martin Hall, along with three other obsolete structures, will be demolished: Martin Annex, Braeburn and a portion of Sundquist Hall.

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