Crews demolish 1908 Roeder School in Bellingham for 42-unit cohousing project

Crews began tearing down the 1908 Roeder School on Dupont Avenue in Bellingham this week. Bellingham Public Schools sold the site to 4th Corner Commons, which plans 42 one- and two-bedroom cohousing units around a shared courtyard; seismic retrofit costs made preserving the building unfeasible. Facing bricks are being salvaged for landscaping, and trees will be milled into bowls. Demolition should finish by year's end, with new construction starting March 2027.