Mount Baker Station Lots Eyed for Redevelopment After 20 Years

One parcel to become affordable homes, the other faces challenges for market-rate development.

Apr. 11, 2026 at 2:08pm

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A minimalist studio photograph featuring a sleek, modern architectural model of a multi-story apartment building, constructed from premium materials like brushed steel and frosted glass, floating on a clean white background and dramatically lit to cast long shadows, conceptually representing the complexities of urban redevelopment.A conceptual architectural model hints at the challenges and potential of redeveloping long-vacant transit-adjacent land in Seattle's Rainier Valley.Seattle Today

After nearly two decades of sitting vacant, two Sound Transit-owned parcels next to the Mount Baker light rail station in Seattle's Rainier Valley are moving toward redevelopment. The smaller northern parcel will be transferred to the city's affordable housing office to host around 4-8 affordable townhomes or flats, while the larger southern parcel will be offered for market-rate development despite steep slopes and environmental constraints.

Why it matters

The redevelopment of these long-neglected parcels represents a rare opportunity to add new housing, both affordable and market-rate, in a transit-oriented location that has seen little recent investment. How the sites are ultimately developed will shape the future character of this Rainier Valley neighborhood.

The details

Sound Transit owns roughly 2 acres near the former UW Laundry site and is defining goals for transit-oriented development at the 'East Portal' of the Mount Baker Station. The smaller northern parcel near S McClellan Street will be transferred to the city's affordable housing office, likely hosting 4-8 affordable townhomes or flats. The much larger 100,000 square foot southern parcel will be offered for market-rate development, but faces challenges like steep slopes and an environmentally critical area designation that will limit what can be built.

  • Sound Transit's system expansion committee recently signed off on a resolution to declare the two parcels as surplus and prepare them for eventual offering.
  • The city has already tapped El Centro de la Raza and Mercy Housing Northwest to redevelop the adjacent UW Laundry site into a 431-unit affordable housing project.

The players

Sound Transit

The regional transit agency that owns the two parcels near Mount Baker Station and is defining goals for their transit-oriented redevelopment.

City of Seattle Office of Housing

The city department that will receive the smaller northern parcel from Sound Transit to develop as affordable homeownership units.

El Centro de la Raza

A community development organization partnering with Mercy Housing Northwest to redevelop the adjacent UW Laundry site into 431 units of affordable housing.

Mercy Housing Northwest

An affordable housing developer partnering with El Centro de la Raza on the UW Laundry site redevelopment.

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What they’re saying

“Community engagement and due diligence will shape how and when the sites are ultimately offered to builders.”

— Sound Transit staff

What’s next

The details of how and when the two parcels will be offered to developers, as well as what type of market-rate project can be built on the larger southern lot given the site constraints, remain to be determined through further planning and community engagement.

The takeaway

The redevelopment of these long-vacant Sound Transit parcels represents a rare opportunity to add new housing, both affordable and market-rate, in a transit-oriented location that has seen little recent investment. How these sites are ultimately developed will shape the future character of this Rainier Valley neighborhood.