As Seattle Development Slowdown Continues, A New Mixed-use Apartment Building Is Ready To Open On Capitol Hill

One of the few new mixed-use apartment buildings to rise on Capitol Hill during the ongoing development slowdown is ready to welcome its first residents.

The seven-story Tanager Apartments now rises above the cluster of music clubs and bars it was designed to puzzle-piece together with at 14th and Madison. Chop Suey, the Madison Pub, and 14th Ave bear bar Diesel remained open during the construction.

Finishing work has included large, colorful murals on the building’s faces and above Chop Suey’s own wall of artwork.

“Inside the community, thoughtfully designed brand-new homes offer a variety of floorplans to fit the way you live,” reads the pitch for the new market-rate project. “Enjoy inviting shared spaces including a landscaped courtyard and rooftop decks, perfect for gathering, unwinding, and taking in the city from above.”

A second-floor one-bedroom above 14th Ave will run you $2,004 a month. You can get a seventh-floor one-bedroom above the internal courtyard for $1,800.

The Tanager building also includes a few affordable units under the city’s Multi-Family Tax Exemption program.

CHS has followed the project a little more closely than usual as developers say cost inflation and flagging rents have all but iced the start of new projects on Capitol HIll, in the Central District, and across Seattle. Many projects like a new development near 23rd and Union are being planned but most groundbreaking remains on hold. Here is an unofficial tally of paused projects in the area.

For the seven-story, 138-unit Tanager building, work began in the summer of 2024 despite the economic uncertainty as Euclid Development.

The design plans from Board and Vellum for the puzzle piece-shaped building included a concept of “two towers” rising “around a courtyard teeming with vegetation and natural life — a forested oasis in the middle of a bustling neighborhood” above underground parking for around 50 vehicles.

Early planning for the project centered on a development focused on the E Union side of the block involving only the former La Panzanella bakery property most recently home to businesses including Oola Distillery, gay bar Union, Restaurant Zoe, and Bar Sue. In 2022, those plans were expanded with a property deal for the 1920-built Talbot Building garage on E Madison opening up a new jigsaw opportunity for a much larger project.

The building uniquely has three frontages that has paved the way for right of way improvements including new sidewalk, planter, ADA Ramps, and “associated road improvements” along E Union and 14th Ave. Along Madison, the project has made sidewalk and planter improvements but limited its right of way work there as the G Line bus rapid transit changes were also underway in the area. The new G Line marked its first year of service in October.

In addition to new homes, the Tanager Apartments building was designed with new commercial space at street level on both Madison and Union though its not clear if any business tenants are lined up for the spaces. New commercial space in the area has struggled including the Chloe on Madison building that replaced the Piecora’s block. Piecora’s was torn down a decade ago and the development’s commercial spaces have never been leased. Meanwhile, The empty restaurant space formerly home to Skillet at 14th and Union across from the new Tanager Building reportedly has a new tenant ready to reactivate the corner.

Madison might be one theme in any early rumblings of a renewed push of redevelopment in the central city. CHS reported here on preparations to open the 82-unit Arbory development and the neighborhood’s new PCC grocery market on E Madison later this year after a decade of planning and community pushback.

As for when the Tanager Apartments might see more new development begin to dig in to join it, industry watchers say economic factors still point to a slowdown. There are only a few small signs of a possible thaw including newly filed paperwork for the long-planned redevelopment on properties currently home to several office buildings including the old Coldwell Banker building along E Olive Way. Those new E Olive Way permits only involve demolition which could also simply mean another hole along a Capitol Hill block waiting for better economic days before new homes are created.

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