When financial troubles caused the Faith Metro Church to declare bankruptcy, WSU was able to acquire the facility in 1997 through a $3.25 million gift, given by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. The building sits on 17 acres of land. The building was named for WSU's 11th president Eugene Hughes, following his retirement in 1999.

The facility, located a few miles north of WSU's main campus, at the intersection of 29th Street North and Oliver Street, has many amenities, including the 1,750-seat Roger Lowe Auditorium, named for WSU's longtime vice president for administration and finance, the 145-seat Frederick Sudermann Commons, named for WSU's senior adviser to the president, and the Richard Welsbacher Experimental Theater, a black-box theater named for the professor emeritus. The complex also has a gymnasium, an 80-seat meeting room and several classrooms.

When part of the Heskett Center playfields on the main WSU campus were converted to a parking lot, part of the land surrounding the building was made into playfields for intramural sports. The facility houses the Division of Continuing Education, which offers noncredit courses to the community.