Design-build team selected for WSU’s new Wenatchee growth facility

Development of Washington State University's new Plant Growth Facility at Wenatchee is moving forward this fall with help from a newly selected design-build team rooted in regional agriculture.

Following a competitive process that drew interest from 16 teams, WSU Facilities Services selected builder Absher Construction, a Puyallup-headquartered company with offices in Wenatchee, and Flad Architects, a national firm whose principal architect for the project is Wenatchee-based.

"This is a special project for all of us," said Aaron Binger, project executive with Absher. "It hits home: we can see the impact to our neighbors who are in the orchard business. We understand the importance of combining science with agriculture here in the Wenatchee Valley."

Founded in 1940, Absher is a large construction firm that builds projects for federal, transportation, educational, multi-unit housing, recreation, and commercial customers. Absher built the Elson S. Floyd Culture Center at WSU Pullman in 2017.

Flad Architects is a national planning and design firm with offices in 10 cities across the country, including Seattle. A top-ranked company for scientific laboratory architecture, Flad collaborated on design of the Chateau Ste. Michelle WSU Wine Science Center in 2013.

The two companies are working with scientists at WSU's Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center to plan and build the new $18 million Plant Growth Facility. Replacing 70-year-oldgreenhouses, the facility will incorporate modern technology and controlled environments to support new studies of plant growth, pest resistance, and environmental stressors.

Expected to begin in spring 2026, construction is supported by a $10 million allocation from the Washington State Legislature's 2025-27 capital budget. Northwest Nursery Improvement Institute, AgWest Farm Credit, Mike and Kathy Hambelton, Rainier Fruit Company, H.R. Spinner, Stemilt Growers, and other industry partners have pledged more than $1.5 million to aid the project. Remaining costs of construction are being supported by royalties from WSU's Cosmic Crisp® apple variety, WA 38.

These facilities will promote collaboration, help us attract talented personnel, and allow us to better serve our industry partners.

Lee Kalcsits, center research team lead and Endowed Chair of Environmental Tree Fruit Physiology and Management, acknowledged donors as well as the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, Washington State Tree Fruit Association, and Northwest Horticultural Council for their advocacy of research infrastructure improvements in Wenatchee and across the WSU system.

"Thanks to their support, we are one step closer to a new facility which will support tree fruit-focused research and Extension programs," Kalcsits said. "These facilities will promote collaboration, help us attract talented personnel, and allow us to better serve our industry partners."

Research at the center embraces a host of specialties, from breeding and physiology to examination of insect pests, bacteria, and viruses.

"All of that research will now be adjacent so the scientists can collaborate on what these trees need to grow and progress through their strengths and stresses in state-of-the-art greenhouses and grow houses," said Ben de Rubertis, principal architect with Flad.

He and Binger have begun meeting with WSU researchers to understand what they do and how their needs could change in the future.

"We know that the tree fruit industry is dynamic," Binger said. "Being able to adapt to those changes is necessary. We're supporting the implementation of new technology to ensure the right environments for every scientist that needs this building."

Designers are also working to ensure that greenhouse spaces can expand to meet future needs without compromising the logic of the building's original layout.

"As their research grows, center scientists can grow the facility along with it," de Rubertis said. "We want to give them the ability to do what they need to do for the next 30 years and beyond."

Like Binger, de Rubertis has a personal connection to Washington tree fruit. Raised in the Cashmere area, he maintains a 30-acreorchard.

"It's such a beautiful industry," de Rubertis said. "As the trees go through their changes throughout the year, it produces a landscape unlike anything else."

For de Rubertis, the impact of the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center comes from helping growers of all sizes think through the implications of everything from crop density and rootstocks to sprays and insect pests.

"This project has the potential to help all our agricultural communities," he said. "I'm drawn to any project that attempts to make the world better, especially one so close to home."