When the underground Capitol Hill light rail station is complete in 2016, the need for the construction sites will decrease, leaving five building sites above and around the station that will become available for transit-oriented development (TOD).

Sound Transit has been working collaboratively with the community and the City of Seattle since 2008 on a TOD work program to carefully consider the opportunities and constraints at work for the sites to be redeveloped following construction of the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station. Sound Transit and the City staff have negotiated a Development Agreement term sheet to provide land use guidance for future development of the sites. 

TOD usually involves a mix of housing and commercial uses that support the transit facility. When these neighborhood features are clustered around a transit station, they can help make it easier for people to get around via transit, support local businesses and make neighborhoods better places to live, work and spend time.

Draft development agreement 
The proposed development agreement has been drafted and will be considered by the Sound Transit Board and Seattle City Council later this summer. The City is also undertaking environmental review of the legislation that recommends approval of the development agreement.  

Proposed development agreement (.pdf, 94KB)

For more information on the SEPA process, visit the City of Seattle website. 

Public meeting recap - Sept. 24, 2012

• Presentation: Future Proposed Development on and around Link light rail's Capitol Hill Station
• Meeting displays

When construction is complete, there will be five building sites around the station. Sound Transit has worked with the community and the City of Seattle to define land use guidance for developing these properties. The proposed guidance will go before the City Council for review and public comment in the year to come. Developers will ultimately be responsible for building on the sites; but the documents that Sound Transit, the community and the City drafted will define how and what they build in the future.

Recent documents

• Capitol Hill TOD Public Feedback Report (October 2012) - a summary of feedback received from the public about TOD plans for Capitol Hill.
• Signed Term Sheet (Oct. 15, 2012) - written agreement between Sound Transit and the City of Seattle about TOD development process
• Draft Site Specific Guidelines (2012) - development guidelines each building site
• Sound Transit's Coordinated Development Plan (2013) - guidance for how developers could incorporate the Urban Design Framework concepts, City regulations and Sound Transit's considerations into Capitol Hill TOD development proposals
• Urban Design Framework (2012) - community, City of Seattle and Sound Transit's shared vision for station area development

Older documents

• City of Seattle Ordinance 123711 (2011) - creating development agreement opportunity at Capitol Hill Station properties
• Transportation Analysis Memorandum (2011) - traffic analysis of site circulation options
• Public Workshop Summary (2010) - discussion topics and public comments from community workshop on Nagel Place Extension
• Apartment Market Analysis Report (2010) - analyzing the Capitol Hill apartment market
• Community Forums Summary (2010) - discussion topics and public comments from four community forums to define vision for Capitol Hill TOD
• TOD Sites Baseline Report (2008) - initial analysis of TOD issues and opportunities around the station area

View City of Seattle documents about Capitol Hill Station TOD

Questions?

CapitolHillTOD@soundtransit.org