Seattle On Record Pace with $3.5B in CRE Construction

Downtown Seattle currently has 65 major commercial real estate construction projects underway, totaling $3.5 billion. The activity beats the metro’s former record of 50 in 2014, and sets a new record since tracking began in 2005.

Much of the development – approximately two-thirds – is in the residential sector. The building boom also includes almost 6 million square feet of commercial office space. This represents twice the amount built three years ago, but is still slightly less than last year’s new inventory. Part of the activity is due to Amazon, as well as Facebook and Google.

Hotel construction is also on the rise; 3,000 rooms are scheduled to open within the next two years. The area received only 700 new rooms over the past five years.