The City of SeaTac is committed to working with all property owners and developers to assist in making the development process as seamless and expeditious as possible. The City is proactively working to stimulate development in several key areas to help stimulate development citywide. For more information, contact the City of SeaTac’s Economic Development Program at 206.973.4843 or e-mail ayeremeyev@CityofSeaTac.com. 

The City of SeaTac has been working with developers, residents and business owners to plan and implement mixed-use development nodes near the stations.  Please follow the link below to see the current vision for Downtown SeaTac.

 Industry Voice

“Good things are happening in the City of SeaTac. We feel that the City is dynamic, they are trying to grow, they are putting in the right programs in place, we think this could benefit other organizations. So I would encourage them to come, and sit down and talk with the City of SeaTac. They are extremely accommodating and they want nothing more than to bring good business to the region and that’s our intent and why we chose to move to the City of SeaTac.”

Mark Siegel, President, Advanced Broadcast Solutions

Station Areas

Outside of Seattle and Tacoma, the City of SeaTac is the only city that is served by more than one Link light rail station. Construction of these three stations will create significant opportunities for the City of SeaTac by opening connections both to and from the Seattle area. These new stations have already provided the catalyst for new development and redevelopment. As such, the City sees this as a prime opportunity to encourage redevelopment of the areas surrounding the stations to achieve goals set forth in both the City’s Station Area Action Plans, Comprehensive Plan and City Center Plan. These plans envision lively commercial and residential districts that provide attractive, walkable neighborhoods and include a variety of shops, services and places to gather.

Follow this link to the 1999 City Center Plan

SeaTac/Airport Station Area (at International Boulevard. and S. 176th Street)

The SeaTac/Airport Station Area will include a mix of commercial, residential and civic uses that both support and encourage high-capacity transit use. The City of SeaTac envisions the SeaTac/Airport Station Area as a true city center, including a vibrant entertainment district with a variety of entertainment venues, restaurants, shops, parks and plazas where residents and visitors will find attractive and inviting places to live, work and play.  This 82 acres is a short pedestrian bridge walk from Sea-Tac International Airport and the terminus station of Sound Transit’s Airport Link light rail service, which began service to downtown Seattle in December 2009.  SeaTac is actively pursuing redevelopment of this station area. Follow this link to the SeaTac/Airport Station Area Plan

Tukwila International Boulevard Station Area (at International Boulevard and S. 154th Street)

The South 154th Street Station Area will be a vibrant, mixed-use residential neighborhood that connects people of various backgrounds. The station area will be pedestrian-oriented, visually pleasing, easily accessible and integrated with high-capacity transit. The City of SeaTac envisions the South 154th Street Station Area to be a regional example of transit-oriented development that generates and encourages transit use. The station area will accommodate future growth by providing high-quality residential and mixed-use developments with good access to employment centers. These attributes create a good place for families, an interesting place for visitors, a profitable place for businesses and a special gathering place to celebrate cultural diversity.

Sound Transit’s light rail began service from this station to downtown Seattle in July 2009 and to the Sea-Tac International Airport in July 2009. The City of SeaTac is actively pursuing private investment and redevelopment of this station area by a comprehensive implementation strategy that will require significant public investment

Follow this link to the 154th Street Station Area Plan

Angle Lake Station Area (at 200th St. and 28th Ave S)

The city’s newest station opened in late 2016 and has already provided the impetus for several new residential and commercial projects, and has other significantly-sized  parcels ready for large-scale development.

Follow this link to the Angle Lake Station Area Plan

New Economic Strategic Triangle Study

The New Economic Strategy Triangle (NEST) is a partnership among the cities of Burien, Des Moines and SeaTac, along with the Port of Seattle and the Puget Sound Economic Development District that has identified and analyzed eight underutilized properties located near Sea-Tac International Airport for future development. SeaTac’s Economic Development Program will monitor and encourage development of port-owned parcels within SeaTac boundaries that have been identified as opportunities in the NEST study.  The sites have been earmarked for off-airport industrial uses and could be employment, retail sales tax and leasehold excise tax generators for SeaTac.  The City will monitor development plans for the Des Moines Creek Business Park (in Des Moines) as it serves as a model for other NEST sites such as the 55-acre parcel.

The City will continue to assist developers of new single family housing in appropriately zoned areas and seek multi-family development opportunities, particularly in the city center boundaries.

Current Projects

To view our current private construction project locations,  click Development Pipeline Map.

Land Use

City-Specific Resources

Multi Family Tax Exemption

To access the Multi-Family Property Tax Exemption webpage, click here. 

Multi Family Tax Exemption- Developers can qualify for an 8-12 year tax exemption for new development in residential targeted areas. Eligible projects must meet the following requirements:

• Housing units must be located within the designated boundaries of the South 154th Street Station Area.
• Projects must include at least 20 dwelling units.
• Construction must be completed within three years of application approval.
• Other eligibility requirements and application instructions are included in the ordinance.

Supplemental Resources

A variety of other resources may be appropriate for consideration on a case-by-case basis. Most, though not all of these resources, are not directly subject to control by the City but require authorization from other regional, state or federal agencies. As determined to be mutually beneficial, the City may provide technical assistance or advocacy for resources deemed applicable to the project being proposed.

A summary of the supplemental incentives that may be considered is as follows:

Public-Private Partnership

Strategic Investments—Includes potential consideration of City purchase, assemblage and permitting of large parcels or assemblages of property. May also include joint development around the SeaTac City Center/Airport light rail station, located at International Boulevard and approximately S. 176th Street.

Outside the Box Funding—Predicated on unique or “one-of-a-kind” opportunities that may be available through the state’s Pacific Gateways Competitiveness Initiative, tribal land exchange or designation as a project of statewide significance.

Community Renewal

Community Renewal Agency—Recent legislation provides broad powers for the City to improve a specific area through a wide range of financing mechanisms. This mechanism requires designation of a specified geographic portion of a City as a Community Renewal Area. Also available for discussion is potential future applicability of federal New Markets Tax Credits.

LID / PBIA—Local Improvement District (LID) and Parking and Business Improvement Area (PBIA) provide two options for addressing the parking situation through business or land owner assessments.

TIF / PDA / PFD—Tax Increment (or Community Redevelopment) Financing and Public Development Authorities (PDAs) allow municipalities to re-invest a portion of tax revenues into a carefully defined geographic area or individual project. Public Facilities Districts (PFDs) represent another vehicle with tax revenue authority for some economic development activities.

State and Federal Programs

High Tech—The state of Washington offers numerous tax exemptions for high-tech companies. Because these programs are oriented to distressed areas of the state, applicability to SeaTac may be limited.

Transportation—Transportation-related grants and loans may offer some strategic advantages, especially for larger project applications.

Warehouse / Aerospace—The state of Washington has created a variety of tax incentives with direct benefits for the aerospace industry and warehousing.

Public Use and Purpose

Examples of applications of local government funds in conjunction with public-private development from other projects in the state of Washington include:

• On- and off-site infrastructure
• Public parking facilities (including arrangements such as City ownership, long-term City lease with option to purchase and City turnkey purchase with private repurchase option)
• Dedicated park, plaza, event and open space uses
• Site acquisition and preparation (for the public use portion of the property), with sales and lease-back provisions
• Air rights development

For a more detailed description of these incentives, contact City of SeaTac, Economic Development Division.

Permit Streamlining

Development permitting is located on the third floor of City Hall with review staff and departments co-located for efficient service to development clients.

Our permitting system currently provides these popular attributes:

The City is always evaluating and implementing improvements to deliver permits more quickly and with greater predictability for developers and builders, in an effort to offer the personal service and direct access to highly qualified technical staff.

Examples of some of these improvements include:

Questions?  Please contact the Building Division at 206.973.4750, or visit their website.

Permit Lookup

Find information about your permits by visiting the Permit Lookup Page.

Real Estate/Development

 

To view our current private construction project locations, click the Development Pipeline Map.