Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law two bills yesterday, senate bill 5127 and senate bill 6074, which in part will enable the University of Washington, Bothell to move ahead with construction on its long-anticipated science and academic building to be known as UW 3.

The 74,000-square-foot building will house 11 science labs, several classrooms, gathering space and a 200-person lecture hall. This space translates into the ability to serve an additional 1,000 students each year. It is the first building to be constructed on the UW-Bothell campus in 10 years.

The state’s 2012 capital budget will invest approximately $1.1 billion into skills centers ($500,000 for the conceptual design of the Innovation Partnership Zone Washington MedTech Discovery Center), in college buildings ($62.8 million for UW-Bothell’s science building) and in economic-development infrastructure. The budget projects 18,000 new jobs.