Seattle Breaks Ground on 400-Unit Mount Baker Transit Housing Campus as Voters Prepare to Weigh Seattle Transit Measure

Groundbreaking on 400-Unit Affordable Housing Campus at Mount Baker Station

SEATTLE, Washington — Transforming prime public real estate into an equitable transit-oriented community, Seattle municipal officials, community leaders, the University of Washington, and housing developers gathered on October 15, 2026, to break ground on the Mount Baker Redevelopment Project. Located directly adjacent to the Mount Baker Link Light Rail Station on the former University of Washington laundry site, the multi-phase initiative will deliver more than 400 affordable rental apartments across two residential buildings.

Backed by a $40.6 million capital allocation from the Seattle Office of Housing, Phase 1 is spearheaded by Mercy Housing Northwest and El Centro de la Raza. The project delivers 239 deeply affordable apartments—60% of which are family-sized two- and three-bedroom layouts—alongside the Rainier Rising Early Learning Campus, a 6,000-square-foot licensed childcare facility serving low-income families.

Voters Evaluate 10-Year Seattle Transit Measure Renewal on General Election Ballot

The landmark transit-oriented groundbreaking comes as Seattle voters prepare to cast ballots on the renewal and expansion of the Seattle Transit Measure (STM). Placed on the November ballot with unanimous City Council backing, the 10-year measure proposes increasing the dedicated local transit sales tax to 0.3%, generating approximately $138 million annually.

Revenue from the measure will preserve frequent King County Metro bus service hours, enhance late-night transit connections for shift workers, fund physical bottleneck relief, and distribute free ORCA transit passes to public school students, seniors, and low-income residents.

Sound Transit and SDOT Coordinate Multimodal Hub Investments

Working alongside the transit measure, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Sound Transit accelerated engineering for the planned RapidRide R Line along Rainier Avenue, connecting neighborhood riders seamlessly to light rail lines. City leaders emphasized that pairing high-capacity transit with family-sized affordable housing creates resilient, equitable urban centers across the Pacific Northwest.