Olympia Armory officially closes for 18 months. Here’s why
Dozens of community members gathered outside the Olympia Armory on the city’s east side last week to celebrate the kickoff to construction that will transform the old military building into a creative arts campus.
The revamped space won’t be open until sometime in 2027. Building Manager Valerie Roberts said this is just the first phase of construction, which will include mostly safety and accessibility improvements to the building. The cost is about $18.9 million.
She said the building opened in 1939 as a National Guard Armory and almost immediately became a center for community activity.
Roberts said the armory has a 10,000 square-foot drill hall that’s central to the building and is one of the biggest interior rooms in the city. She said she’s excited to open that space back up to the community for all sorts of events. In the past there have been derby matches, motorcycle shows, art festivals, ski swaps, and the inaugural ball. Roberts said prom could be hosted in the space in the future.
She said the building is on the local, state and national register as a historic place and will be protected as a historic monument. The exterior will look the same, and she said the city will do its best to take good care of the armory into the future.
The city worked with its eight nonprofit anchor tenants that will call the armory home once it’s back open to make sure the design for the new spaces function the way they need.
Funding the armory renovation
According to previous reporting, Roberts said the City Council was presented on July 8 with the funding strategy for both the armory arts campus and the Yelm Highway Community Park project. She said the city has $2.6 million in grants scheduled for the armory project, with another $800,000 in grants possibly on the way.
There’s also almost $1 million cash in hand, and $250,000 from Metropolitan Parks District (OMPD) tax revenue. The city also has access to about $3 million in non-voted utility tax dollars that are slated for parks acquisition and development of properties.
The remaining cost will be covered through debt financing. The city approved a debt financing plan for both parks projects, which will add $5.5 million to the armory. Annual payments of $1.3 million to $1.5 million would be paid on the bond starting in 2027 using revenue from the voted utility tax and OMPD funds.
The total project cost in current dollars is estimated between $30 million and $33 million.
This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM.
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