Save the Nuclear Reactor

Help Historic Seattle and other preservation advocates save the UW Nuclear Reactor Building!

The University of Washington recently issued a request for comments for the scope of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that they are preparing for a proposed project—a new Computer Science and Engineering building (CSE II). The UW’s preferred site for redevelopment includes the National Register of Historic Places-listed Nuclear Reactor Building (aka More Hall Annex).

The comment period deadline for EIS scoping has been extended to April 2, 2015 (from March 18).

Please send your comments to the UW to voice your support for preserving the Nuclear Reactor Building and urge the university to consider alternatives to demolition. We believe there is a potential “win-win” alternative that allows for construction of the new CSE II building and preservation/adaptive reuse of the historic structure.

Contact the UW today! Urge the UW to broaden the EIS Scope to:

  • Identify additional alternative sites (the university is considering only two sites at this time); and
  • Include a preservation alternative that incorporates the Nuclear Reactor Building in the project

In addition, request that the UW hold a public meeting to further discuss the scope of the EIS. The State encourages lead agencies (the UW is the lead agency in this project) to engage the public early and throughout the EIS process, rather than just do the minimum to meet requirements.

Send your comments via email by Thursday, April 2, 2015, to Jan Arntz at [email protected]. Ms. Arntz is the Environmental/Land Use Compliance Officer at the UW Capital Projects Office. For questions, please contact Ms. Arntz at 206-221-4319 or via email.

Download the EIS Scoping notice here.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to advocate for the preservation of the Nuclear Reactor Building! If you’d like to get involved with this advocacy effort, please contact Eugenia Woo, Director of Preservation Services, Historic Seattle, at [email protected] or 206.622.6952, ext 245.

Photo by John Shea – Heart Bomb photo event, February 13, 2015