U District station

The area surrounding U District station is a walkable neighborhood primarily consisting of commercial space and multi-family residential housing. Within a 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) of the station is one of the densest concentrations of housing and jobs in the region, with nearly 15,000 jobs and over 21,000 residents counted in 2013.[5]

The station is designed to support up to 240 feet (73 m) of transit-oriented development on top of the entrances and station box.[6] The city of Seattle began developing a comprehensive rezoning of the neighborhood to allow for taller buildings in 2013, proposing a maximum height limit of 340 feet (100 m) along NE 45th Street and 85 feet (26 m) in other parts of the neighborhood.[7][8] The rezoning proposal ran into opposition from locals who filed an appeal to halt planning, citing a need for affordable housing and open space.[9] A revised plan unveiled in September 2016 by Mayor Ed Murray requires new developments in the neighborhood to include rent-restricted affordable housing or pay a fine.[10][11] The rezone was approved in March 2017, taking effect shortly thereafter, allowing a maximum height of 320 feet (98 m) for residential use and 160 feet (49 m) for offices.[12] As of 2021, there are 20 high-rise buildings under development in the University District, including several above 20 stories in height.[13][14]

The University of Washington showed interest in developing an office tower over the station box, whose development rights were acquired by the university in 2013.[15] Neighborhood residents and activists, including former UW professor Phil Thiel, instead proposed a public plaza on top of the station, citing the dimensions being similar to those of central squares in European cities.[16][17] The university approved a 50-year lease with the Lincoln Property Company in 2020 to develop a 12-story office tower above the station site.[18][19] Construction on the building began in 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in late 2024; five stories will be occupied by the university's administrative offices, while the rest is leased for other clients.[20]

Proposals for rapid transit service to the University District date back to the early 20th century. In 1911, Virgil Bogue proposed an extensive rapid transit system, including an underground subway from Downtown Seattle and Eastlake to Latona (the present-day University District), following 10th Avenue Northeast and intersecting an east–west line on Northeast 45th Street.[21] The proposal was rejected by voters the following year.[22] Another proposal in 1920 included a "rapid transit on surface" for Eastlake Avenue, terminating at 14th Avenue NE in the University District; the proposal's recommendation of a subway system was not acted upon by city leaders at the time.[23]

The Forward Thrust plan of the late 1960s proposed building a four-line rapid transit network using $385 million in local funding to augment a larger federal contribution. One of the proposed lines, traveling between Downtown Seattle and Lake City, included a station at 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45th Street adjacent to the Burke Museum.[24] The plan was put before voters on two occasions, in February 1968 and May 1970, and failed to gain the needed supermajority to pass.[25]

In the 1990s, the formation of a regional transit authority (RTA) spurred the planning of a modern light rail system for Seattle. In 1995, the transit authority proposed a regional light rail system to be built by 2010, including an at-grade or underground light rail line through the University District with a station near The Ave.[26] The RTA proposal was rejected by voters in March 1995, citing its $6.7 billion price. A smaller, $3.9 billion plan was approved in November 1996,[27] with the University District as its northern terminus; an extension north to Northgate via Roosevelt was deferred until additional funding could be secured.[28]

The RTA, re-branded as Sound Transit, selected a preferred route for the light rail line in 1999. The northern terminus was to be located on the east side of 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45th Street, and the line would travel south via a tunnel under Portage Bay towards Downtown Seattle and Rainier Valley, ending at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.[29] Cost over-runs and withheld funding from the federal government led Sound Transit to truncate its initial light rail line to Downtown in 2001, with the segment north to the University District to be built at a later date.[30] In 2004, Sound Transit selected a route for tunneled light rail extensions through Capitol Hill and the University District and towards Northgate, using the Montlake Cut and including a station in the vicinity of Brooklyn Avenue NE and NE 45th Street.[31]

Only the southernmost segment of the revised route, from Downtown to Husky Stadium on the south side of the university campus, was funded initially as the "University Link Extension". The northern segment to Northgate was split into a separate project, "North Link", and was included on the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure, which was put before voters in November 2007. The combined $18 billion proposal was rejected, with environmentalist groups disavowing it over the roadworks portion that sought to expand regional freeways.[32] A second, transit-only measure known as "Sound Transit 2" was approved by voters in November 2008, securing funding for a light rail extension to Northgate.[33] The North Link project was approved by the Sound Transit Board in June 2012, setting a $2.1 billion budget and expected completion date of 2021.[34]

The 15th Avenue Northeast site for the University District's station was rejected in favor of an option on Brooklyn Avenue. The placement of the Brooklyn station, either on the north or south side of NE 45th Street, was debated by the Sound Transit Board in 2004. Seattle mayor Greg Nickels favored a station on the north side, but other boardmembers sided with community and business groups who wanted a site on the south side.[35] The station site was further complicated the following year by Safeco's decision to expand its headquarters building on the west side of Brooklyn Avenue NE, impacting staging areas that were selected by Sound Transit.[36] Ultimately, Safeco moved its headquarters to a downtown building in 2006, and sold the Brooklyn building to the University of Washington,[37] and the staging areas remained available.

During the planning process, the station was referred to as "Brooklyn", after the street and historic name of the neighborhood. Sound Transit adopted the name "U District" in 2012, after input from public surveys; the abbreviation of "University" was done to avoid re-using the name alongside the University of Washington station at Husky Stadium. The agency also received public comments recommending renaming of the University Street station in Downtown Seattle, to avoid confusion with the stations at U District and University of Washington.[38][39] University Street station is planned to be renamed to Union Street/Symphony station in 2024 as part of preparations for the opening of the 2 Line.[40][41]

External video
Simulation of construction stages (Sound Transit)

Excavation in June 2015

The contract for tunneling and station construction on the project, since renamed the "Northgate Link extension", was awarded by Sound Transit to JCM Northlink LLC (a joint venture of Jay Dee, Coluccio, and Michels) for $462 million in 2013.[42] In May 2013, demolition of an existing Chase Bank branch and a university-owned property began at the future site of the station.[43] In December, a segment of Brooklyn Avenue NE was closed through the work zone as part of final preparations for the station site.[44] Construction of shoring walls and drilling of pilings in the station box was completed from April to August 2014,[45][46] leading to the start of excavation the following month.[47] By the completion of excavation the following summer, over 135,000 cubic yards (103,000 m³) of dirt was removed from the site to reach a depth of 95 feet (29 m).[48] Concrete pouring of the station box began in July 2015, to prepare for the arrival of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs).[49]

The first of the two TBMs to arrive at U District station was "Brenda" on November 6, 2015, completing the northbound tunnel from Northgate via Roosevelt station.[50] The second TBM, "Pamela", arrived later than expected on March 25, 2016, after stopping 650 feet (200 m) north of the station because of damage to the cutterhead and other parts that forced reduced speed to complete the southbound tunnel.[51][52] "Brenda", since renamed "TBM #1",[53] finished both of the remaining tunnels to University of Washington station in March 2016 and September 2016.[54]

In March 2017, the Sound Transit Board awarded a $159.8 million contract to Hoffman Construction to build U District station, including structural and architectural finishes.[55][56] Station construction began in August 2017 and is scheduled to last until 2020.[57] A design change approved in October 2018 added a set of stairs between the mezzanine and platform due to escalator issues at other stations.[58] Construction of the station was declared substantially complete in February 2021 and street access on Brooklyn Avenue was restored two months later.[59][60] Light rail service at the station began on October 2, 2021, and was celebrated with a street fair on Brooklyn Avenue along with live performances and food walk on University Way.[61][62] The opening of a bus-only lane on Northeast 43rd Street, serving a bus bay at the station's south entrance, was delayed to June 2022 due to the discovery of underground utilities during construction and supply chain issues.[63][64] Sound Transit estimates that there will be 12,000 daily boardings at the station in 2030.[2]