Sound Transit plans for transit-oriented development at Capitol Hill light rail station

March 23, 2009

Summary

Agency working with city, community to increase redevelopment opportunities adjacent to station

Story

After listening to suggestions from the Capitol Hill community and the city of Seattle, Sound Transit has adjusted the design of its Capitol Hill light rail station to create more opportunities for nearby housing and shopping.

“The work Sound Transit is doing to support quality, community-oriented redevelopment at the Capitol Hill Station will bring added vitality to Capitol Hill and serve as a model for transit stations in neighborhoods throughout the region,” said Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who as chair of Sound Transit’s Central Link Oversight Committee (CLOC), sponsored policy changes to strengthen Sound Transit’s transit-oriented development. “Maximizing transit-oriented development is critical for getting the most out of the investment citizens have made in building a regional light rail system.”

Details about Sound Transit’s work to accommodate such transit-oriented development were presented to the Central Link Oversight Committee at its March 19 meeting. Design of the Capitol Hill Station is now more than 90 percent complete. The station will have three entrances, located at Broadway and East John, Broadway and East Denny, and Nagle Place and East Denny. Four to five sites will be available for redevelopment as light rail station construction nears completion.

Throughout the station design process, Sound Transit has sought feedback from the community and the city of Seattle. That feedback resulted in design refinements that enhanced transit-oriented development opportunities around the station entrances. Those refinements include reducing the size of the station entrances, allowing buildings over the station box, shifting the station vent location, and extending Nagle Place to increase site access. These changes have resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of property that will be available for redevelopment after construction.

Sound Transit will begin putting out requests for proposals from developers in 2012 and make the sites available for developers to begin construction in 2015 so that new residents and businesses can move in soon after University Link opens in 2016.

Sound Transit is hosting a series of community meetings to gather citizens’ transit-oriented development visions and input. Those meetings will kick off on March 25, 2009 from 6-8 p.m. at Seattle Central Community College, Room 4106, and continue on a quarterly basis.

“The next step is to work with citizens to ensure that the design, scale, and quality of the Capitol Hill Station and its surrounding buildings fit with their community vision and are something they will be proud to live near for many years to come,” said Phillips.