45th and Woodlawn Project “Update”

At this time of rapid growth and quick construction in Seattle, it seems strange that the project at 45th and Woodlawn, which Jordan reported on back in 2014, seems to be progressing at a snail’s pace. Anecdotally, I have seen very few workers at the construction site over the past month. Granted, I’m often walking by that location later in the afternoon or on weekends, but on the few weekdays I have walked by, there have been only a few workers in the pit and very little heavy machinery activity.

According to Seattle DPD, a building permit for the four-story building with 48 residential and 4 commercial units was issued by the city on October 23, 2015. Demolition of the existing structures was to have taken place in November 2015, according to the construction management plan (CMP) posted on the website for Saco Build, whose signage hangs from the project’s fencing. The CMP also states that “first tenant occupancy” was to be in January 2017. I don’t remember exactly when the existing buildings were demolished, but I believe it was sometime in the summer of 2016. Does this mean that the first tenants will take occupancy according to the CMP’s original 14-month timeline, probably sometime in Autumn 2017? That seems optimistic.

I reached out to the project’s architect, its builder, and its developer to get a timeline for completion of the building. None of them got back to me. Only the real estate agent whose placard is posted on the project’s fence replied to my query as to why progress seems so slow. “No idea,” was her response.