Seattle's Largest Active Construction Projects in 2026

Plenty of Seattle projects have a construction permit application on file. Far fewer have an issued construction permit. The gap matters if you want to know what is going up on a given block this year. A project only starts building once the city issues its construction permit. Until then it can stay in review for months, sometimes years, with a permit application on file and nothing happening on site.

The permit record shows the difference. Below are the largest developments in Seattle that have an issued building permit, so work on the site can go ahead, ranked by the construction value on that issued permit. After that comes a second list of large projects whose construction permits are still in review.

How we ranked these

Early design estimates inflate a lot of published project values. A tower can show a placeholder figure of several hundred million dollars from an early design guidance filing years before anyone pours concrete. We skip those. Each value below comes from the construction permit the city has actually issued, which is the closest thing in the record to a real construction budget. That is why some numbers here read lower than headline figures you may have seen elsewhere.

Construction permit issued

The former Seattle Times block leads. At 1101 Thomas St in South Lake Union, the city has issued a phased construction permit worth about $213 million for a 41 story office and retail tower on the block the Seattle Times once occupied. The full redevelopment plans office and residential space across several towers, so this is the first major piece rather than the whole thing.

A 44 story tower in the Denny Triangle. 2405 7th Ave is a 442 unit apartment high rise from Holland Development with Weber Thompson as architect. Its issued permit values the tower at about $138 million, well under the $215 million early estimate that appears on some records.

Horizon House keeps growing on First Hill. The retirement community at 800 Seneca St received its west tower construction permit in December 2025 for a 33 story, 202 unit addition on the First Hill edge of downtown.

Neighborhood towers, not just downtown. Four of the eight are outside the downtown core. 3020 NE 45th St, a Quarterra project near University Village, has a permit for 734 units across low towers on a podium. Fremont, Roosevelt, and the University District each have a large permitted project of their own.

Still waiting on a construction permit

These projects are in the construction stage, but their building permits are still in review. We list them by the number of units proposed rather than a construction value.

The Columbia City project at 5900 37th Ave S is the largest by unit count of anything in this stage, a phased redevelopment of a low rise apartment site into 750 units. Downtown has two tall towers that still need their permits, the 53 story 800 Stewart St from Lincoln Property and the 46 story 1516 2nd Ave. Out in Wedgwood, 8340 35th Ave Ne would bring a 319 unit grocery anchored building to a low rise commercial corner.

What the two lists tell you

About 130 Seattle projects have an issued building permit. Read the raw "construction" count and you get a much larger and misleading number, because most of the difference is projects still stuck in permit review. The issued permit separates a project still in review from one the city has cleared to build.

The biggest active budgets are still downtown and in South Lake Union, where zoning allows the tall towers that justify a nine figure construction cost. The biggest unit counts turn up further out, in Columbia City, Ravenna, and the University District, where large mid rise projects add hundreds of units at a time. For a neighborhood by neighborhood view of those mid rise projects, see what is being built in Fremont.

Track the pipeline yourself

Sort every Seattle project by construction value or unit count on BuildVue's map, or filter to the construction stage to see the projects furthest along. For the March ranking that used headline values, compare the 10 biggest projects under construction.

Frequently asked questions

What is the largest Seattle project with an issued construction permit?

By the value on its issued building permit, the redevelopment of the former Seattle Times block at 1101 Thomas Street in South Lake Union leads, with a construction permit worth about $213 million for a 41 story office and retail tower. Among residential towers, the 44 story, 442 unit building at 2405 7th Avenue downtown is the largest high rise with an issued permit.

How can you tell if a Seattle project is cleared to build?

Look at the building permit. Work on the site can start once the city issues the construction permit, which appears in the record as a CN or PH permit with an issue date. A project whose construction permit has no issue date is still in permit review.

Why are these values lower than figures I have seen elsewhere?

Many published values come from early design filings that predate real budgets. Those early numbers are often placeholders. Every value in the first list comes from the construction permit the city actually issued, which reflects the real scope far better than an early estimate.

Where are most of Seattle's biggest projects being built?

The tallest and most expensive towers are downtown and in South Lake Union. The projects with the most units are now in Columbia City, Ravenna, the University District, and Wedgwood, where large mid rise buildings deliver hundreds of units on a single site.