With campuses in Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell standing strong, the UW community is wondering where the next member of its University family will grow.

Though a new campus in the works, a definite location for the University of Washington's latest home is yet to be determined. What planners do know is that it will be north of Seattle.

Planning for the new campus has been contracted to NBBJ, a Seattle architecture firm.

"This project has easily been 10 years in the making," said Kim Selby, a planner with NBBJ and UW alumna. "Though the UW was not the identified institute until last year ... it excites me to help direct the future of this institution."

Because of the long planning process, a finished project cannot be expected for a little while.

"Right now we are working on a site selection," Selby said.

The Tulalip reservation was once a strong option for the campus site, but the tribe recently decided the land should be used for other necessities.

"The Tulalip tribes have been working on a strategic plan for a couple of months on what the reservation should look like," Rep. John McCoy (D-Tulalip) said.

"We have an enrollment of over 3,700, and 1,800 are under the age of 18," he said. "Once land is removed for specific reasons [like the campus], the land base gets small in a hurry and priorities [are] changed."

The land around the reservation, as well as Skagit and Snohomish Island counties, are all possibilities for the new campus.

"I would like to see the new campus go where the largest number of students can gain the greatest access," UW President Mark Emmert said.

The government, however, has had help making the decision. Community members were asked to submit land options, both private and business, if they were interested in having the campus built on their land.

"All the responses have been very favorable," Emmert said. "A lot of people would like to have this campus in a lot of different areas. ... It is a matter of choosing the right one."

A recommendation for the site will be submitted to the state by Nov. 15, with committee members' opinions on where the campus should go. From there, a budget will be created and the building process will begin.

"Right now it is a process of choosing the most cost-effective, ideal site," Selby said.

The new campus will have a science and engineering focus.

"It will be a lot more hands-on than many campuses," Emmert said.

A day of first instruction on campus is sill too far away to see, although some classes are expected to start in fall 2008.

"We want to begin some classes in fall of '08, but they won't be on the new campus; they will be in a temporary site," Emmert said.

For McCoy, the location of the new campus has little to do with its importance.

"[The new campus] will be an asset to the region no matter where it is sited," he said.