Downtown Seattle sets new record for construction
Jul 21, 2017, 5:51 AM
(File, KIRO Radio)
A new record for construction in downtown Seattle has been set, and a new report from the Downtown Seattle Association shows there are no signs of it slowing down.
Seattle is known as “the crane capital of the US.”
Everywhere you look downtown, there’s either road construction, or new buildings being built.
Currently, there are 74 major projects currently under construction.
According to a new study, that’s the most since the Downtown Seattle Association started tracking construction projects in 2015.
The previous record, set last year, was 65 buildings, and the number of projects currently underway has doubled in five years.
In addition, records show there are 150 projects still working through the permitting process.
Other notable data from the report:
-Two-thirds of the buildings under construction are residential, due to job growth and so many new residents wanting to live downtown.
-Those buildings are primarily apartments instead of condos.
-Commercially, roughly 5 million square feet of office space is currently under construction. While that number is down for the second year in a row, developers think there will be a new peak in 2019.