Tag Archives: development

Seattle makes deadline for state Middle Housing law but still has big 20-year growth plan questions to solve

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Tuesday’s council vote on the legislation was held in a virtual session as City Hall was closed in anticipation of a planned protest outside the building

By the hair on its chin, the Seattle City Council has met a statewide deadline for implementing new so-called Middle Housing legislation, approving a bill Tuesday setting the framework for expanded zoning to allow a greater range of housing types in more parts of the city.

CHS reported here on the final amendments shaped by the comprehensive code update committee led by District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth that will put many of the development and zoning changes proposed over months of debate back on the table now that the May 30th deadline for the interim legislation has been met.

The city turned to the interim legislation intended to form the structure of the comprehensive plan and Neighborhood Residential updates to implement the HB 1110 state Middle Housing laws after legal challenges to the planning process slowed down an already massively delayed process. Mayor Bruce Harrell’s initial 20-year plan proposal the council started with itself had landed around a year later than planned. Continue reading →

While Seattle debates ‘Middle Housing,’ this 8-story project will fill in another Capitol Hill block

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The old duplex is a goner

As the city debates a new growth plan and “Middle Housing” zoning changes that might someday allow a fourplex to rise in Madrona, the site of a 123-year-old, barely 2,000-square-foot house is being prepared to hold 25 new homes on one of the most densely populated blocks of the most densely populated neighborhoods on the West Coast.

Capitol Hill is not complaining — but it is carrying a great deal of the load that has pushed Seattle back into the top 5 for growth in the country’s major cities.

The Bejelit Capitol Hill Cohousing project slated for E Olive St. between Harvard and Boylston is being planned to rise eight stories on 3,312 square feet of land nestled between the massive 1940-built Lenawee apartments building and the smaller but still impressive 1917-built Porter Apartments.

The infill project not substantial enough to trigger the public design review process is a good representation of the state of multifamily housing development on Capitol Hill in 2025. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill QFC redevelopment plan gets ‘Director’s Decision’ approval

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(Image: Daily Journal of Commerce)

The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections has issued its Director’s Decision approving the plans for a six-story development to rise on the block currently home to the old 15th Ave E QFC.

Just over a week remains for any possible appeals to be filed against the decision.

The process milestone marks nearly two years of meetings and debate about the development including the East Design Review Board’s approval last fall of a requested zoning departure to allow the building an extra story in exchange for a layout that will preserve a prized European hornbeam tree along E Republican while also transitioning the project to better mesh with the adjacent lower structures to the north.

Any appeals must be filed with the Hearing Examiner by May 29th. Continue reading →

Council committee to debate amendments to Seattle’s Middle Housing bill

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The Seattle City Council’s comprehensive code update committee led by District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth is ready to vote on amendments to the legislation designed to ensure that Seattle meets the June 30 implementation deadline for the state’s Middle Housing bill and expanded zoning to allow a greater range of housing types in more parts of the city.

Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM, Hollingsworth and the select committee are scheduled to take up the amendments for a vote.

CHS reported last week on the proposed amendments that would put many of the development and zoning changes proposed over months of debate back on the table.

The interim proposal up for consideration is intended to form the structure of the comprehensive plan and Neighborhood Residential updates to implement HB 1110.

The specifics on the borders of the city’s new Neighborhood Centers will be a larger fight. Continue reading →

New plaza and support for Town Hall: City finalizing public benefits deal for alley vacated to make way for First Hill 32-story apartment towers

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Ovation Apartments

The vacation of public right of way for a major new double tower apartment development next to First Hill’s Town Hall Seattle is bringing neighborhood improvements including a new public plaza plus new financial support for the Seneca St. cultural center.

Legislation finalizing the way for the city to hand over the alley space between Seneca and Spring in exchange for a $5.3 million roster of public benefits was approved earlier this week by the Seattle City Council’s transportation committee including D3 rep Joy Hollingsworth. The bill will now move on to the full council for final approval. Continue reading →

There is a spring 2025 construction crane busy over Capitol Hill

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CHS started spring reporting on the economic conditions behind a slowdown in development and the disappearance of design reviews and construction cranes from Capitol Hill. There is an exception to the trend — a busy crane hard at work above 14th and Union.

The Tanager Apartments project broke ground last summer and is one of the few major multifamily housing currently under construction in the central city. The project from the Euclid Development was designed by 15th Ave E’-headquartered Board and Vellum.

The seven-story, 138-unit mixed-use development is being built to jigsaw into the block between Chop Suey and queer bars Madison Pub and Diesel at 14th and Madison. The businesses remain open through the ruckus and growth. Continue reading →

Neighborhood group takes city to court over ‘sweeping changes’ in Seattle growth plan

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District 3 representative and chair of the Seattle City Council’s comprehensive growth plan special committee Joy Hollingsworth is facing another legal hurdle in efforts to deliver a new 20-year development plan for the city as an influential neighborhood group from outside her district is suing to put a halt to the process.

The Friends of Ravenna-Cowen group filed a petition last week for a “writ of review” calling on the King County Superior Court to intervene and reverse the city Hearing Examiner’s recent dismissal of appeals against the growth proposals.

In the suit, the group says the comprehensive plan proposal being moved forward by Mayor Bruce Harrell and Hollingsworth is too aggressive and requires more environmental review.

“This level of growth is not achievable without sweeping changes to Seattle’s zoning code to permit widespread construction of 5-6-story apartment buildings throughout the City, including in historically significant neighborhoods,” the suit reads.

Petitioners Friends of Ravenna-Cowen and resident John Cary are represented by Seattle legal firm Sirianni Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger PLLC.

The lawsuit follows the Hearing Examiner’s dismissal of a raft of appeals from neighborhood groups earlier this month including cases representing Madison Valley, Mount Baker, Hawthorne Hills, and “73 remaining Southern resident killer whales.” A state “safe harbor” law that exempts actions taken by local governments to increase housing capacity from appeals under the State Environmental Policy Act played a key role. Continue reading →

With 25% of Seattle lacking infrastructure needed for multifamily housing, legislation would change the way developers pay for water lines and utilities

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As the city slowly but surely works toward a new 20-year growth plan that is hoped to spread development across the city more equitably, the Seattle City Council began debate this week on legislation to change the way infrastructure improvement costs are shared with developers.

The city says more than 25% of blocks outside of the downtown core lack a water, sewer, and/or stormwater mainline.

Officials say under the current structure, costs in areas that lack infrastructure land on the first developers hoping to pursue multifamily housing in the neighborhood: Continue reading →

Council bill will give Seattle developers more time for stalled projects

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Gridline, Capitol Hill’s most recent residential development, opened in 2023

The Seattle City Council’s session Tuesday afternoon will include a vote on a proposal hoped to help buy more time for developments bogged down by challenging economic conditions.

Under the bill, developers would be eligible for a two-year extension on existing permit applications and issued permits for projects approved under the city’s old 2015 or 2018 Seattle Building Code requirements.

“Projects with permit applications vested to the 2015 or 2018 codes would need significant redesign should their applications or permits expire and more recent Seattle Building Code provisions be applied to the project; the redesign could add significant cost to the project,” the council’s analysis explains. Continue reading →

With the Knights of Columbus at Gridline’s core, Harvard Ave’s newest residential development is 112 years old

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In March, CHS reported on the disappearance of construction cranes and design reviews for new projects on Capitol Hill. There are exceptions. There is also a development to welcome to the skyline in the interconnected zone between Capitol Hill and First Hill.

Capitol Hill’s newest residential development, the Gridline Apartments, has reached near-full occupancy less than a year after opening its doors. The two-building adaptive reuse project developed by SRM Development includes 178 units split between the West Building, with 49 units, and the larger North Building, with 129 units. The development offers a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, catering to a range of renters.

The project has grown up and around the neighborhood’s old Knights of Columbus building. Gridline was born of an overhaul of the landmark-worthy building that surrounded the old structure with new apartments

The smaller West Building opened in November 2023 and achieved 95% occupancy in about nine months. The North Building, which opened in March 2024, reached stabilized occupancy by late January 2025, taking just over 10 months to fill. As of now, both buildings are approximately 97% occupied.

“We’re pleased with how quickly these buildings have filled,” said Mike Erickson of SRM. “The location, amenities, and quality of the buildings have resonated with renters.” Continue reading →