Seattle, WA | multifamily residential mixed-use | 8,000 sf retail | 96 apartments | 104,000 sf

East Howe Steps is a four-story mixed-use development with two “towers” organized around a central public plaza and three interior courtyards. At street level, small-scale service and restaurant spaces activate the public plaza and street edges, while the interior courtyards serve as semi-private outdoor rooms for the apartment residents. The parking extends beneath a vacated portion of East Howe Street, connecting the buildings below-grade.

The heart of the project is the public plaza aligned with the Howe Street Steps—the longest urban staircase in Seattle and a popular local pedestrian route. In recommending approval of the street vacation, the City noted, “It is rare to find a project with such a minor impact being able to provide a public benefit that will have such a positive impact on the surrounding community...The size and impacts of the vacation are modest, but the resulting project and the public benefits provided will implement a long-standing vision for the site.”

City of Seattle People’s Choice Award Finalist, 2017