DEVELOPMENT: ~200-apartment Harbor Avenue SW project still moving forward, provided one key thing happens

| Development | West Seattle news

(WSB photo)

It’s been two years since we last mentioned the latest in a long line of proposals for 3257 Harbor Avenue SW [map] – which in turn was half a year after we first noticed it, and detailed the site’s history.

The developer behind that proposal, Bode, is still pursuing it, we’ve learned. We got more information on the current status of the project in an email exchange with Bode rep Rae Hendricks. Bode already has two apartment complexes in West Seattle, at 2222 SW Barton and 3050 SW Avalon Way, so this would be their third. Hendricks says the Harbor Avenue project turns on whether the city will grant a “street vacation for what is technically part of SW City View, “an undeveloped right-of-way that divides the site. This site is likely only feasible after vacating this street. … We have received positive community feedback and are optimistic about the request being granted.” (Street vacations, as you know if you remember coverage of some past West Seattle projects, ultimately require City Council approval.)

As for the current overview of what Bode is proposing: “We are expecting about 200 units total, with a mix of studios, 1-bed, and 2-bed types. This is still in flux as we work through the design and permitting processes. We do not have any off-street parking as of now, but we are aiming to support both cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure around the site. The project has a private bike storage space with ample bike parking spaces, as well as a public repair station, temporary bike parking, and water fountains for the community to utilize. We are also proposing to widen the sidewalk on SW Harbor Ave along the property to about double what it is now.”

If the street vacation is approved, Hendricks told WSB, “then we will move forward into building permitting” and construction would likely follow in a year to a year and a half.

With so many other projects on hold, we asked, why is this company able to keep building? Hendricks replied, “Living Bode is in a unique position because we are a vertically integrated firm that can mitigate cost through the entire process of developing, designing, building, and post-construction ownership. We also are working with enabling capital providers such as Amazon to help mitigate some of the risks in the current market.”

The company has more than 20 properties, according to its website. You can check in on the process for this one here.

Erik July 1, 2026 (1:42 pm)

Good luck finding tenants with 200 freaking units and no offstreet parking. I cant imagine why they think this is going to be profitable for them. Absolutely berserk.

Jake July 2, 2026 (12:30 pm)

It’s right next to ample amounts of transit… not everyone needs cars, and these places do fill up quick, so not sure why the straw man complaint…. this is how dense cities operate.
- Ferns July 3, 2026 (4:09 am)
  
  In a rainy, hilly climate like Seattle – most commuters NEED cars. Harbor ave isn’t exactly walkable even for the childless, able-bodied. Parking is necessary for a large apartment building.

wander July 1, 2026 (2:21 pm)

200 units without off-street parking will be a nightmare! That section already has a great deal of parking pressure. There has to be a reality check on what not having a garage has on the community!

SoLongDelridge July 3, 2026 (1:58 am)

200 units with off-street parking will be a nightmare! That area has a great deal of traffic pressure. There has to be a reality check on what encouraging vehicle ownership has on the community.

NoMad Sci Guy July 1, 2026 (3:05 pm)

That’s walking distance to the C line. It won’t be that hard to find 200 people who strictly use the bus. As long as it’s a hair cheaper than the places at 35th and Avalon it should be fine.

Bill#1 July 2, 2026 (1:58 am)

“It won’t be that hard to find 200 people who strictly use the bus.”When?, and for how many months and years?, AND IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER, have you ever “strictly used the bus”? — to nearest ‘C’ line stop a third of a mile and across very busy streets at rush hours and/or carrying groceries and/or other purchases?
- Foop July 2, 2026 (10:08 pm)
  
  1/3 of a mile?! On my own two feet? The horror!seriously 1/3 of mile is like 7 minute walk, many folks can live with that, it’s quite normal in other places with decent transit.
Harbor Neighbor July 2, 2026 (9:35 am)

If these were studios and one beds, I would be inclined to agree with you, but they’re filing paperwork suggests they will be mostly two beds and they’ve mentioned multiple times that they will be targeting “young families.” I do not know a single family in West Seattle that doesn’t drive or own a car.

North Admiral Neighbor July 1, 2026 (3:54 pm)

The neighborhood behind these new units have plenty of street parking that the tenants can use and Harbor Ave’s street parking usually has plenty of open spots, no off-street parking was a good call especially with the close proximity to the RapidRide stop. We need to prioritize building more units for people to live in, not for cars to reside.

Jim July 1, 2026 (6:54 pm)

You can’t park on harbor avenue overnight
- Bill#1 July 2, 2026 (2:14 am)
  
  They’ll be able to get that changed – then there will be more targets for drive by shooters, bike thefts, car break-ins and condo/apt lobby mail box break-ins and package thefts (as detailed almost daily in WSB)!
ITotallyAgreeWithYou July 1, 2026 (10:45 pm)

@North Admiral Neighbor- to my knowledge, people don’t park their cars in apartment units. We have the capability of providing both parking and however many apartments a developer wants to build.
Erik July 2, 2026 (12:51 am)

Or we could stop burying our heads in the sand and admit that we need car storage just as much as we need rental units. If public transit were going to be the panacea that some people think it is it would have turned out that way in the decades that came before 🙄
- Foop July 2, 2026 (10:32 am)
  
  Are you looking for a new apartment to rent? We get it, this unit won’t be for you and your needs. Next!
- Urbanista July 2, 2026 (3:30 pm)
  
  We are here just because we have been burying our heads in the sand for the last fifty years after rejecting mass transit. And that was when most homeowners did not own more than one vehicle and before we used our garages for life style storage. What would Erik suggest?Panacea? What is proven from Seattle history is that required car storage has not solved any problem. We have more cars per household and no possibility for new roads.
- Jee July 2, 2026 (5:40 pm)
  
  Erik, perhaps you’ve noticed that public transit is in fact how most people get around in many of the world’s most successful cities. Transit and walkability work best in a dense city. Building more garages and wider streets full of car parking directly makes cities less dense, less suitable for transit, and generally worse to live in. What you’re advocating for is the equivalent of dumping all your sewage in the Sound, then arguing that since nobody goes to the beach we might as well keep dumping.
Mark M July 2, 2026 (8:32 am)

I respectfully and strongly disagree. There is very minimal street parking in the neighborhood behind these units. The streets are quite narrow and spots are already filled by homeowners or those living at Harbor Flats. In particular, by the evening it is jam packed. Have you driven through the neighborhood recently?
- Jake July 2, 2026 (12:31 pm)
  
  Have you? There’s so much parking for the few people who have cars. And home owners back there do not own the streets.
  - Scarlett July 3, 2026 (7:03 am)
    
    Another authoritarian psuedo-progressive who wants to dictate who can and who can’t live in West Seattle. If you need a car, sorry, you need to move along. You phonies out yourselves everytime you touch a keyboard.
    - bill July 11, 2026 (1:55 pm)
      
      Oh dear me, Scarlett. Isn’t building a society that mandates car ownership its own type of authoritarianism? How is giving people a choice of not spending gobs of money to run a car a bad thing?
  - Jane July 11, 2026 (10:31 am)
    
    There is absolutely not enough parking on the residential streets behind the building. In fact, when Harbor Flats was built, the city removed a section of on-street parking by installing “No Parking” signs, eliminating several spaces that residents previously relied on.Those streets are already full most of the time. Based on what I see every day, I don’t believe they can absorb the additional parking demand from a 200-unit apartment building without off-street parking.

Phil July 1, 2026 (10:28 pm)

The 2222 SW Barton apartment building still has the fenced off open pit after a few years of the building being “complete”, curious if that has any effect on starting a new project?

Harbor Neighbor July 2, 2026 (9:31 am)

If you’ve ever been in the neighborhood behind this site (where I live), you’ll see that there is absolutely zero parking left on the street since Harbor Flats opened up. As is, the garbage trucks can hardly make it through every week and there are constantly homeowners moving their cars to try and accommodate them. Having no parking at this building with no overnight parking on Harbor allowed is going to be an absolute disaster; I’m wondering what permit planner at City of Seattle was paid off to allow this to move forward.

Jane July 11, 2026 (10:35 am)

As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I can confirm this has been my experience too. The streets are already full, and adding a large apartment building without adequate parking will only put more pressure on an already limited situation.

Scarlett July 11, 2026 (1:41 pm)

Hate to break it to some of you, but some of don’t live in Tolkien’s bucolic magical “shire” with Sam and Fredo and Gandolph. We need cars for, you know, getting around. Cars need places to live, like parking garages. Doesn’t mean that every complex needs a parking garage, but this trend will begin to force out anyone who doesn’t fit a certain profile. The subtext in a lot of this is class warfare, even if unintentional and though it might horrify some that I’m using that description. But beyond a certain age, it requires a certain level of affluence, disposable money and time, health (money means access to good healthcare), to rely solely on a bicycle to get around. Sorry, but I like to speak plainly and I like it when others do too, without that subroutine that seems to be running beneath every conversation I have with people here.

bill July 11, 2026 (1:52 pm)

Pretty hilarious how the prospect of no car storage deranges those who only view the world from behind their windshields while stuck in traffic or circling for parking. Not building parking reduces construction costs and will make units more affordable. Or will increase the building’s profitability, which will help the company finance more construction (we need more housing, yes?). For residents, not being required to own and maintain a car will make buying a nice ebike and good all-weather clothing a no-brainer. For the non-resident motorheads, not having another 200 or so cars on the road will be all good!

Sorry, comment time is over.