With currently 65 major buildings under construction across downtown Seattle and surrounding neighborhoods the area's construction boom has hit a 10-year peak. The previous midyear high was 50 buildings under construction in 2014 and 49 in 2015.
The Downtown Seattle Association estimates the total value of all construction projects currently in process is at $3.5 billion — more than double the total from five years ago.
Since the figures were first tracked starting in 2005, the lowest point was 20 buildings under construction in 2007. The figures have tracked higher every year except in 2015 when it took a slight dip.
Most of the buildings currently under construction will take until next year to finish and dozens more are in the pipeline ready to start soon.
The majority of the buildings are residential projects. When the current projects are done, downtown Seattle will have added 44% more housing units tan it had at the start of the decade. In fact, between 2015 and 2017, Seattle will add more new homes in the downtown than the entire city of San Francisco has added in the last three years.
Office construction is booming also. There is currently 5.7 million square feet under construction — less than last year but double the amount from three years ago. And more than one-third of the office space under construction in Seattle is for Amazon.
(more on downtown Seattle's 2016 construction boom...)
