Lake City Community Center Redevelopment

Location

Lake City Community Center, 12531 28th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125

Schedule

Planning and Design: 2024-2026
Construction: 2027-2028

Budget

The total project budget is $ 40.5 million. Funding sources include:

• LTGO Bond Fund - $28 Million
• Real Estate Excise Tax I - $3,875,000
• Real Estate Excise Tax II - $6,226,000
• Grant from Washington State - $2,445,000

Project Description

The Lake City Community Center has been an integral part of Lake City’s neighborhood history, serving as a hub for community activities and bringing together people of all ages and cultures. In 2023, a fire destroyed a major portion of the building, and the community center was demolished. 

In 2024, Seattle Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the Department of Neighborhoods, conducted a building needs assessment to better understand the community’s priorities for the new center. In 2025, the city selected Mercy Housing to lead the redevelopment, which will include 113 affordable rental homes on the upper floors and a new community center at street level. This innovative design will be the first of its kind for the City of Seattle by combining affordable housing, essential services, and shared community spaces to create a welcoming place where residents can live, gather, and thrive. Seattle Parks and Recreation, along with the Office of Housing and the Department of Neighborhoods, will continue to gather community input through public meetings to ensure the new community center meets both current and future needs of the Lake City community.  

For more information on the housing component, please visit the Lake City Community Center and Affordable Housing Co-Location Redevelopment project page.

SPR is collaborating with the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) to conduct an inclusive public outreach and collate all the input to inform the design process for the community center component of the project.

Community Participation

Please join us at the events below to meet the design team and provide your feedback to help shape the future of your neighborhood’s community space. 

• Tabling at Albert Davis Park during Lake City Farmers’ Market -  August 14, 21, and 28 from 3-7 p.m. 
• Ice Cream Social Open House - August 15 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Akin Building, 12360 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98125.

You can also provide input through our online survey. Click on the links below to find the survey in your preferred language: 

Summer 2025 Meetings

• Project Design Video Presentation
• One Pager - English, Amharic - አማርኛ; Traditional Chinese - 中國語文; Somali - Af-Soomaali; Spanish - Español; Tigrinya - ትግሪኛ; Vietnamese - Tiếng Việt; Ukrainian - українська; Russian - Pусский; Oromo
• Mailer/ Poster - English; Amharic - አማርኛ; Traditional Chinese - 中國語文; Somali - Af-Soomaali; Spanish - Español; Tigrinya - ትግሪኛ; Vietnamese - Tiếng Việt; Ukrainian - українська; Russian - Pусский

Project Documents:

• Project Sign - English, Amharic - አማርኛ; Traditional Chinese - 中國語文; Korean - 한국어; Somali - Af-Soomaali; Spanish - Español;Tagalog; 
• Lake City Community Center Needs Assessment

Project Advisory Team

We held our first Project Advisory Team (PAT) meeting on June 17 and the second on July 22, 2025. We heard many important concerns and comments from the team and are working towards incorporating the feedback received to make the engagement process more meaningful for the community. If you are interested in viewing the recordings/meeting minutes of past meetings, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  

The Advisory Team serves as a sounding board for the design team and acts as a bridge between the design team and the Lake City neighborhood communities in relaying information related to the outreach efforts. The PAT is advisory to SPR and helps with the engagement process in a way that ensures all community voices are heard.  

Please stay tuned to this page for upcoming engagement efforts and to participate.