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Downtown Seattle development had a record-breaking 2016

51 more projects are scheduled for completion in 2017

By Sarah Anne Lloyd
A number of cranes over buildings, with a view of Downtown Seattle Oran Viriyincy/Flickr

68 buildings were under construction in Seattle’s core at the end of 2016, according to a new report by the Downtown Seattle Association—more than any other year since DSA began tracking the data in 2005.

Those construction projects total $4.4 billion—a number that has quadrupled since 2010.

This data would confirm what’s visible from walking downtown, or from seeing the whopping 62 cranes dotting the Seattle skyline.

Downtown Seattle Association tracks development in both Downtown and the surrounding area—including SoDo, South Lake Union, Uptown, and Capitol Hill west of Broadway.

2017, says DSA, is going to be a banner year for Downtown construction as Seattle grows even more rapidly. “Developers are planning years down the road,” said DSA President and CEO Jon Scholes in a statement. “There are 47 residential buildings alone underway and, combined with commercial work, we will nearly double the number of finished projects in 2017 compared to last year.”

According to DSA’s data, 51 projects in the area are scheduled for completion in 2017, and 38 in 2018.

Data compiled from Seattle in Progress shows nearly 90 projects completed in DSA’s purview since 2014, with more than 180 permit-approved projects currently underway, including more than 15,000 residential units. An additional 146 projects have applied for permits.

West of I-5 and north to Denny alone, more than 70 permit-approved projects currently underway with 6,618 units of residential, compared to 26 projects completed since 2014.

As Seattle keeps growing, reports like this can help put some numbers underneath the cranes we see every day—and as the numbers imply, we’ll keep seeing for a long time.