Industrial sites · Washington
South Lake Union
Retrofit completed 2009; current status mixed-use office; housing market strong but no retail metrics provided. · summary, model-written
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.
Site profile7 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
3+ other atlas sites within 10 km
This site: 5 within 10 km computed · all sites with this30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent road
This site: 205,494 on I-5 fhwa-hpms · all sites with thisCounty permitting 2,000+ apartment units a year
This site: 7,119 units, King County census-bps · all sites with thisCounty typical rent $2,000+
This site: $2,323/mo zillow · all sites with thisInterstate or freeway within 600 m
This site: I-5 fhwa-hpms · all sites with thisRedeveloped
This site: …one of the most thriving innovation hubs in the United States record · all sites with thisOffice
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Retrofit builtnewtypes-extraction reported |
|---|---|
| Strategy | RedevelopedWikipedia no source |
| New uses | office, otherWikipedia no source |
| What is there now | one of the most thriving innovation hubs in the United Statesnewtypes-extraction reported |
| Retrofit year | 2009newtypes-extraction reported |
| Redeveloper | Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estatenewtypes-extraction reported |
Site context
| Housing permits, King County (WA), 2024 | 7,119 units in 5+ unit buildings, 1,093 in 2–4, 2,352 single-family; 2023: 7,274 in 5+Census BPS |
|---|---|
| Other atlas sites nearby | 5 within 10 km, 21 within 25 km: Rainier Vista (0.0 km); Gas Station on 15th Avenue West (0.0 km); Mini Mart City Park (0.5 km); Rainier Square (0.7 km); Westlake Mall (1.0 km)computed |
| Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW) | 102,448 jobs in 5,725 establishments; average annual pay $60,273; employment location quotient 0.72; employment -1.1% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private |
| Jobs located in the tract, 2022 | 60,876 jobs; 838 in retail trade, 2,354 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 53033008102)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 |
| Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract) | children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 36th income percentile as adults; 3.1% incarcerated at the 2010 count (49 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights |
| Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract) | not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 25.5%; median family income $138,281; 386 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS |
| Schools | Seattle Public Schools (PK-12); 4 public schools within 1 mile: Summit Public School: Sierra; Bailey Gatzert Elementary School; Middle College High School; Interagency Detention SchoolNCES EDGE |
| Elevation | 134 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP |
| Storm events in the county, 2016-2025 | 8 county-logged events: 6 heavy rain, 1 debris flow, 1 flood; $34,994,000 property damage reported; 1 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events |
| Homes for sale in ZIP 98104, 2026-09 | median list price $497,000 (-0.6% on the year); 59 active listings; median 50 days on market; 11% with a price cutRealtor.com Research |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 5,912 establishments (-10%); 104,570 jobs (+8%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $824,870 (-2% 1 yr, +7% 5 yr); typical rent $2,323/mo (+2% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 205,494 vehicles a day on I-5 (Interstate, 11 lanes); 9,952 trucks; 37 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
South Lake Union closed as a manufacturing center in 1990. It was redeveloped starting in 2009 by Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estate into office and other uses. The retrofit is complete (status: built).
Why. The site is located within 1km of Rainier Vista (built) and Westlake Mall (operating). Housing market data shows a ZHVI of $824,870 (2026-09) with 7.4% 5-year growth. County population grew 4.6% 2018–2023. Median rent cited as $2,035 (source: opp_reasons).
Where it stands. The site is part of a cluster of 5 nearby developments within 10km (including Mini Mart City Park and Rainier Vista). King County permits show $2.7B in construction value (2024).
For a planner
- No retail performance data provided
- Traffic data shows I-5 has 205k ADT (2024) but no site access details
For a developer
- No current tenant mix or vacancy rates
- Peer sites (e.g., Mini Mart City Park, Rainier Vista) are 0km away but status unknown
What we do not know yet
- 'Innovation hub' claim in after_notes is unverified
- No current retail or office occupancy data
- Median rent figure lacks source verification
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Totem Lake Mall, Kirkland, WA · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in WA; 16 km away
- Kirkland Parkplace, Kirkland, WA · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in WA; 13 km away
- Longacres, Renton, WA · Other · same strategy: redevelop; also in WA; 17 km away
- Mini Mart City Park, Seattle, WA · Gas stations · same strategy: redevelop; also in WA; 0 km away
Elsewhere on the web
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
- county grew 4.6% 2018–23
- median rent $2,035
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| Closed | 1990newtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| County | King County |
| Census division | 9 · Pacific |
| Notes | Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood, a former industrial complex that declined in the 1980s and 90s, was transformed into an innovation hub in the late 2000s by Vulcan Real Estate. |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer. Know it? Tell us.
Timeline
- 1990 Closed
- 2009 Retrofit: redevelop
Sources
- Innovation district · CC BY-SA 4.0
1 quoted sentence
South Lake Union
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