Educational Service District 123 celebrated the grand opening of its newly expanded Professional Development Center this month at 3924 W. Court St. at the corner of Court Street and Road 40 in Pasco.

Partnering with Kennewick contractor G2 Construction and principal architect Design West, ESD 123 broke ground on the $3.6 million expansion in late February 2016. ESD staff moved into the building on Dec. 19 and it was available for public use on Jan. 3.

The original Professional Development Center was built in 2005 as a two-story, 11,800-square-foot building that housed the agency’s media center and three conference rooms. The new expansion more than doubles the size of the original building by adding 12,000 square feet, 14 offices and two more conference rooms.

The expansion also shifted the agency’s central office and public entrance around the corner and out of the one-story, original campus at 3918 W. Court St.

Features of the new building include additional office space to house growing programs, new conference facilities available to school systems and educational community partners, and a state-of-the-art “Classroom for the Future,” intended to serve as a resource to the educational community in furthering education and improving teaching practices.

“Communities from Prosser to Asotin, Othello to Walla Walla and beyond will benefit from this expansion,” said ESD 123 Superintendent Darcy Weisner. “Our ESD programs bring schools and families significant savings and special programs that might otherwise be unavailable to them.”

ESD 123 is one of nine educational service agencies in the state responsible for linking schools to state and national educational resources. Dedicated to delivering collaborative solutions that promote learning, ESD 123 serves 23 school districts in seven counties. The legislatively mandated, not-for-profit organization serves more than 70,000 students ages birth to 21.

More information is available at esd123.org.