Seattle's Central Waterfront Plan
Project Background

On this page:

Background
The urgent need to replace or rebuild the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and that project’s potential as a catalyst for major changes along its route, have sparked interest in the future of Seattle's central waterfront. Waterfront development has not been addressed through a comprehensive planning process in over 15 years.

The purpose of Seattle’s Central Waterfront Plan is to define a community vision for the future of this important community resource--a vision that realizes the area’s role as the city’s “front porch--and to develop an implementation program that will turn the vision into reality. More than a public improvement plan, this effort focuses on potential new public and private uses and functions for waterfront shoreline areas and adjacent upland areas.

Project Timeline
The City of Seattle's Central Waterfront planning effort is a three-year process that began in 2003. Details may be viewed on the project timeline.

Planning Area
The planning area roughly encompasses the corridor between the Elliott Bay shoreline and 1st Avenue, extending from Myrtle Edwards Park on the north to S. Atlantic Street on the south. These boundaries expand the area covered in the City’s former waterfront plan, the 1987 Harborfront Public Improvement Plan, by including T-46, the container terminal operated by the Port of Seattle, to the south and by addressing upland areas to the east.

Principles
In April 2004 the Seattle City Council adopted, by resolution, the Principles for Development of a Central Waterfront Plan. The Principles will guide the City of Seattle’s planning for the Central Waterfront.

Background Report
DPD staff has completed a Background Report that summarizes existing conditions and issues that need to be considered in developing the Central Waterfront Plan. Chapters for the Background Report may be viewed at the following links:

Graphic Analysis
Diagrammatic maps describing current conditions along the Central Waterfront were developed for Forum 2. The maps may be viewed at the following links:

"Unbuilt Seattle"
The Seattle waterfront has a rich history of large-scale urban design visions, most of which were never built. The pictorial collection of unbuilt visions for Seattle's central waterfront may be viewed below:

Joint Commission Report
The Seattle Design Commission and the Seattle Planning Commission sponsored two public forums on the Central Waterfront in the summer and fall of 2003. The Joint Commission Report briefly summaries these forums, as well as key themes from the interactive sessions held at these events.

For additional information on Central Waterfront Forums 1 and 2 see Waterfront events held to date.

Parking Strategy
The Waterfront Parking Strategy evaluates waterfront parking conditions and recommends strategies for improving parking and access to major waterfront and upland uses such as the Aquarium, cruise ships, the Olympic Sculpture Park and the Pike Place Market. View the complete parking strategy (2MB), or view the individual elements below:

Milestones
An overview of Central Waterfront milestones from the late 19th century to present.

Getting More Information
For additional information on Seattle’s Central Waterfront Plan, visit the other pages on this site. If you have questions, please write to Central Waterfront staff at waterfrontplan@seattle.gov.

Creating the Draft Concept Plan

The Draft Concept Layers (1.9 MB PDF) and Summer Update brochure (24 MB) were building blocks for creating the Draft Concept Plan.

Concept Alternatives

The following three draft concept alternatives were developed by the City central waterfront interdepartmental team in the summer of 2004. These concept alternatives were based on the visions and recommendations proposed by the 22 teams that participated in the February, 2004 Visioning Charrette. City planners have used these concept alternatives as a planning tool in developing the Central Waterfront Concept Plan.

Last Updated: June 18, 2008