Seattle Culture

Historic Cornish College Building For Sale

Kerry Hall was the original home of college founder Nellie Cornish

By Rob Smith April 9, 2024

Exterior view of the historic Cornish College of the Arts' Kerry Hall on a sunny day with clear skies.

The former home of a Seattle visionary is for sale.

The historic Kerry Hall building, at 710 E. Roy St. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, was built in 1921 and was the home of Nellie Cornish, who founded the arts college in 1914 and ran it for 25 years. The college was formed in the building and has occupied it since then.

Side-by-side comparison of a sunlit rehearsal room with a piano and chairs, and an empty theater with seating facing a stage equipped with lighting rigs.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Brunette/CBRE

The planned sale will complete Cornish’s longtime plan to unify its campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Most Cornish classes are now held in its Main Campus Center and other buildings in the Denny Way and Boren Avenue areas.

An empty dance studio with large mirrors, a glossy floor, and exposed brick walls featuring large arched windows.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Brunette/CBRE

“The sale of Kerry Hall will bring dance and music classes to our main campus, allowing students to better utilize the cross-disciplinary opportunities that make a Cornish education unique,” says Cornish College of the Arts President Raymond Tymas-Jones. “It also immerses developing artists in the heart of Seattle’s technology scene, where creativity meets innovation.”

Cornish will reinvest proceeds from the sale, which is being managed by CBRE, into existing facilities and operations. Enrollment is expected to exceed 530 students in the 2024-2025 school year, higher than it was prior to the pandemic.

Kerry Hall, a 31,900-square-foot building, includes classrooms, studios, rehearsal space, and a large performance venue. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Brightly lit hallway in a building with wooden benches, artwork on the walls, and a water fountain.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Brunette/CBRE

A sunny courtyard with a covered walkway featuring decorative columns, adjacent to a multi-story white building.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Brunette/CBRE

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