U District Station TOD - 45th & Roosevelt Site

Project facts

• Location: U District Station, Seattle, WA
• Site area: ±0.4 acres
• Current use: Vacant
• Status: Negotiating
• Development partner(s): Low Income Housing Institute

About this project 

Sound Transit’s property at 1000 NE 45th Street, about two blocks from U District Station, is slated to become a keystone transit-oriented development project in Seattle’s U District.

Following a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process, issued in partnership with Seattle’s Office of Housing, we issued a Notice of Intent to Award to Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), a non-profit housing developer, to create an affordable housing project on agency property at 1000 NE 45th Street in Seattle. The proposed project includes 160 affordable units serving households earning between 30% and 80% area median income (AMI), with an average at or below 60% AMI.

LIHI proposes a 12-story mass timber building, a first for Sound Transit’s TOD program. Mass timber construction can offer enhanced sustainability and an efficient construction schedule, and the project will meet or exceed the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard. Additionally, the project proposes to make significant safety and comfort improvements (such as wider sidewalks, seating, street trees, and landscaping) to the pedestrian environment, a community priority.

As proposed, over 15% of the 160 units will serve households earning at or below 30% AMI, and over one-third of units will be family-size (two or three bedrooms). Community-oriented ground floor uses are planned to include a commercial/retail space and an “Urban Rest Stop” that provides restrooms, shower facilities, and laundry. The Urban Rest Stop would serve a wide range of people, including homeless individuals and families.

In addition to pre-committed funding from the Office of Housing, this project is eligible to take advantage of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and Amazon Housing Equity Fund resources targeted for Sound Transit TOD sites.
 

Temporary use: Tiny home village 

Sound Transit has been leasing the property to the City of Seattle for free as a temporary tiny house village prior to construction beginning on the LIHI project.  

Village operations were wound down in September 2024 and the city shifted the funding resources and capacity to another site. With the interim use concluded, in the coming months both Sound Transit and LIHI will be working on the TOD site to prepare for development. 

Community engagement 

In 2021, we worked to learn more about the community’s aspirations for TOD near our new U District station. We heard strong support for maximizing affordable housing for families and individuals in this high-opportunity neighborhood near the station.

You can read the public feedback we gathered throughout our engagement process in our Community Engagement Report (see the documents section on this page for summaries in four languages).