Whatcom County to purchase Bellingham office building for planning department

Whatcom County will buy an office building in Bellingham for $8 million and move its Planning and Development Services Department from its aging Northwest Annex headquarters east of Ferndale, the County Council decided in a 5-2 vote Tuesday night. 

Western Washington University is selling the two-story brick building but will rent offices there for two years, according to terms of the deal approved Monday. The 30,000-square-foot office building houses the WWU Testing and Passport Center on 1.35 acres at 333 32nd St., just west of the Sehome Village shopping center in the Happy Valley neighborhood.