Sound Transit unveils short list of potential developers for Capitol Hill sites

Sound Transit has selected eight developers that will be invited to submit proposals for a new development above the Capitol Hill light-rail station in Seattle, which is scheduled to open in 2016.

The firms were chosen from a request for qualifications to develop four sites above the station on Broadway Avenue between East John and Denny streets, Sound Transit officials said in a press release.

The firms that will be invited to submit development proposals are Capitol Hill Housing & Johnathan Rose Co., Gerdling Edlen, Lowe Enterprise Real Estate Group, MacFarlane Partners, Security Properties, The Wolff Company L.L.C., Bellwether Housing and Lennar Multifamily Communities L.L.C.

Proposals for the sites will be due in September. Sound Transit expects to select winning proposals in October. Construction could begin in 2016 after the station opens.

A minimum of 397 apartments could be built on the sites, with at least 36 percent reserved for below market-rate affordable housing. The new developments will also feature ground-level retail and a public plaza which could be the home for the Broadway Farmer's Market.

The Capitol Hill Station is part of the $1.8 billion University Link light-rail extension project that will extend light rail 3.1 miles from downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington. The line is entirely underground. Sound Transit expects more than 14,000 daily boardings at the Capitol Hill station by 2030, officials said.