The Seattle projects that had construction permits issued in January 2026, the buildings whose construction permits were finaled, and the applications that won their land use approval.
January is Seattle's slow season for construction, and the permit record shows it. The city issued construction permits for only 52 units all month, split across three small infill sites. The other end of the pipeline was busier. A 243 unit tower in Northgate had its construction permit finaled and made up most of the housing finished in January.
Construction permits issued
Three projects had their construction permit issued in January, which lets them start building. Together they add 52 units.
The Ballard building at 927 NW 57th St is the largest of the three by unit count, 26 units over four stories. The Northgate building has the highest permit value at about $4.1 million. All three are mid size infill, the kind of project that fills the gaps between the bigger downtown towers.
Construction permits finaled
January's finaled construction permits covered 351 units, almost all of them in the three buildings below.
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The Northgate tower, 14343 15th Ave NE, is an eight story building with 243 units, and a completion that large is unusual for any single month. The Fremont building at 4905 Aurora Ave N adds another 95 units on the Aurora corridor. Both took years to build, so their January finals reflect permits issued well before this year.
Land use permits issued
One project had its land use permit, the master use permit, issued in January. That is 3500 NE 94th St in Wedgwood, a three story building with 12 units. It was the only master use permit issued all month, a slow start to the year on the entitlement side.
New projects filed
Seven distinct projects filed a new development application in January. The two biggest are 425 Pontius Ave N, a seven story, 199 unit building in South Lake Union, and 3622 Woodland Park Ave N, a 133 unit project in Fremont. The rest are smaller, including 4134 Beach Dr SW in West Seattle at 18 units, plus applications in the University District, Northgate, and Wallingford. A filing only starts the clock, and most take one to three years to get a construction permit.
This is the first entry in a monthly series. To see where any project above stands today, open BuildVue's map or a neighborhood page.
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