SOUTH LAKE UNION
No other area of Seattle has reinvented itself over and over again than South Lake Union. First a home to heavy industrial complexes – including a lumber mill – and then a mix of auto assembly plant, large laundry services and boat crafters, South Lake Union is now establishing itself as a world-renowned technology and research center.
Mercer Street, the major east-west corridor in South Lake Union, is named for white settler Thomas Mercer. Lake Union itself is home to seaplanes, luxury yachts and floating homes.
The boundaries for South Lake Union? It depends on who you ask. Mercer Street, home to Google and Allen Institute for Brain Science, was long considered the southern boundary, but now many people would include an area between Mercer and Denny Way to the south, where the expanding high-tech footprint of Amazon, Facebook and Apple have planted their flags. Loosely speaking, South Lake Union includes southern portions of Eastlake Avenue, Westlake Avenue and Dexter Avenue. The boundary is growing in all directions as Big Tech adds more buildings surrounding the southern half of the lake.
Amazon’s main headquarters and its famous Spheres are loosely considered part of South Lake Union, straddling Belltown to the west, downtown to the south and Denny Triangle to the east. Several biotech and science groups are in the area, including Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (locally known as “Fred Hutch”) and Vue Research Center, local home to NanoString Technologies.
The lakefront features the Museum of History and Industry, the Center for Wooden Boats, South Lake Union Park and a city-run streetcar that connects employees, tourists and residents from the lake to downtown Seattle.
The area features mostly apartments. It has a handful of condos, including:
- 2200 Westlake, comprising 260 units in three buildings around the Pan Pacific Hotel, at Westlake Avenue between Denny Way and Lenora Street
- Enso, a gleaming 19-story tower in the heart of South Lake Union, at 820 Blanchard Street
- Marselle, a 132-unit condo built in 2009 in the southwest corner of South Lake Union.
- Veer Lofts, LEED Silver Certified loft condos, 70% owner occupancy, 100 units, at 401 9th Avenue North
Find your home here.
LOCAL RESOURCES
South Lake Union
- Top area restaurants (Yelp.com)
- Top area drinking establishments (Yelp.com)
- Top destinations (Tripadvisor.com)
- Keeping in the know: The Evergrey, Nextdoor, Patch
- Schools: Seattle Public Schools and School Address Lookup Tool (2019-20 school year), Greatschools.org, Schooldigger.com)
- Public Schools for South Lake Union: Lowell Elementary, Meany Middle, Garfield High
- Public Transportation: Seattle/King County Metro, Link light rail and Sounder train, Seattle Streetcar, Sound Transit
- Hospitals: Harborview Medical Center (the only Level 1 trauma center in Washington State), Seattle Children’s, Swedish Medical Center – Ballard, Swedish Medical Center – First Hill, Swedish – Cherry Hill, University of Washington Medical Center, Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care
- Pharmacies (Yelp.com)
- Dry Cleaners (Yelp.com)
- Tailor/Alterations (Yelp.com)
- Barbers (Yelp.com)
- Hair Stylists (Yelp.com)
- Spa/Massage (Yelp.com)
- Veterinarians (Yelp.com)
- Doggie Day Care (Yelp.com)