CHS would feel bad showing you the sincere effort going on at E Union’s new restaurant 8 Ping Yang — but they know what they are in for. The food and drink business is a brutal one but the first time restaurateur behind the new Asian grill joint has a seasoned business partner. Both are giving their all at 8 Ping Yang. Continue reading
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
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
Thursday’s complicated rescue
Seattle Fire undertook a complicated rope rescue after a worker fell at an E Madison construction site Thursday morning.
SFD was called to the work site just after 11 AM to the reported fall. The man was reported in a difficult to access location amid the construction and firefighters utilized an aerial ladder and stokes basket to lower him safely to the ground.
The man was transported to the hospital in stable condition, Seattle Fire reports.
Work began at the construction site last summer to complete a seven-story mixed-use development jigsawing into the block next to Chop Suey and the Madison Pub in a project from Euclid Development.
E Madison and E Union were closed to traffic during the response.
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(Image: Chuck’s CD)
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“We’re thrilled to announce that we’re leaving behind our outdated crappy food and bringing you some exciting changes!,” the Chuck’s CD announcement reads.
The new Chuck’s CD menu now includes a French Dip Sandwich with “Mama Lil’s Peppers, Boar’s Head roast beef, havarti, creamy horseradish, and a side of hot au jus” and two versions of the classic Reuben Sandwich. “For those who love meat, we have a corned beef version, while our veggie-friendly option features a pickled beet Reuben,” Chuck’s says. Continue reading
By Matt Dowell
The demand for turnkey food and drink spaces in Seattle’s Capitol Hill and Central District cores remains high as 8 at Ping Yang, a “Thai charcoal grill concept,” is slated to open in late April on E Union in the former home of OOLA.
“We’re not doing traditional Thai, per se,” said Ben Evans, the new and first-time owner. “We’re trying to come up with newer fusion flavors.“
Check the menu posted on the front door for examples: Dungeness crab cake with Phuket curry sauce, khao-soi and ribeye, Thai green curry pasta, Thai tea crème brûlée.
8 at Ping Yang will share some flavors with its Ti22 Belltown cousin (Image: Ti22)
Evans is partnered with Suttabusya “Ice” Thiraphan, a seasoned Seattle restaurateur and head chef. Ice runs Ti22 in Belltown, which serves “authentic Thai food made from Ice’s grandmother’s recipes”. He’s also listed as head chef at Basilic Essentially Thai in Queen Anne, and was owner of the now-closed Fish Cake Factory in Belltown.
“This is my first time on the operational and owner side of the business versus just being an employee,” said Evans. “So this is a whole new world for me.”
“I brought Ice on board to be a mentor and someone I can learn from.” Continue reading
Kirby Kallas-Lewis and KT Niehoff’s “all time favorite spot in their all time favorite neighborhood” will be available again.
The OOLA Capitol Hill restaurant has shuttered while its Georgetown craft spirits distillery will carry on.
The 14th and Union restaurant had been shuttered for a prolonged “temporary closure” that is now permanent. CHS checked in with Kallas-Lewis a few weeks back but the owners weren’t certain about their plans. Over the weekend, they posted the sad decision:
Kirby and I want to share with you that we will be closing our OOLA Capitol Hill Restaurant, effective immediately.
It has been a true pleasure sharing our little oasis on Capitol Hill with you all. Thank you for the magical moments and energy you’ve brought into the space, and for being so present for this great experiment.
But the couple reports the OOLA Distillery “lives on.” Continue reading
(Image: Seattle Parks)
Seattle Parks is officially unveiling the $500,000 summer makeover of the TT Minor Play Area.
The E. Union playground next to the Seattle Public Schools campus was overhauled in June by volunteers as part of the Greater & Greener Conference, a gathering of parks officials and designers.
Seattle Parks says around 50 conference attendees joined the department and Play Creation to help construct the new play area, “which is now a vibrant community space for children and families.” The two main structures of the play equipment were donated by Landscape Structures and Play Creation, the city says. Continue reading
With reporting by Alex Garland
In better times, you would hear more about the Heartwood, a recently completed mass-timber affordable apartment building at the core of Capitol Hill and the Central District, that puts its residents in direct contact with a building material more closely connected with the planet and the feelings of home.
The cross-laminated timber project is one of the first in the country to be designed with full exposure of mass timber in the structure. The newly opened building’s eight stories feature full exposure of its timber beams so residents and visitors can see, touch, and feel the wood. Other types can build higher — like this project on First Hill — but require that the wood be kept “encapsulated.”
But the Heartwood’s amazing composition has been overshadowed.
“[The timing surrounding the development and lease up of the Heartwood has presented challenges,” a spokesperson for the building’s developer Community Roots Housing tells CHS. “We’re seeing a softened rental market that has led to a slower lease up of the property than we anticipated, which is having an impact on other projects in our pipeline.” Continue reading
A rendering of the planned development (Image: Board and Vellum)
Developers say work is finally beginning on the seven-story mixed-use development planned to slide into the block between Chop Suey and queer bars Madison Pub and Diesel at 14th and Madison.
The Puget Sound Business Journal reports Euclid Development says construction has started on the seven-story, 138-unit development with hopes of a summer 2026 opening. The project includes plans for new commercial space at street level on both Madison and Union as well as underground parking for around 50 vehicles, PSBJ reports.
CHS reported here in 2023 on the design plans for the project from 15th Ave E-headquartered Board and Vellum for the puzzle piece-shaped Tanager Apartments building and its “two towers” rising “around a courtyard teeming with vegetation and natural life — a forested oasis in the middle of a bustling neighborhood.” Continue reading
