Good morning, and welcome to the first Central Seattle Dispatch. Five minutes on what moved in Central Seattle this week, one item for your own neighborhood, the market in three numbers, and one practical thing for the house.
Central Seattle this week
The city's $9.1 billion budget gets its last public hearing November 5, and one line is a park at the Arboretum's north end. The mayor's proposed 2027–28 budget is with the council's Select Budget Committee. At the Thursday, November 5 hearing, remote comment starts at 1 PM and in-person comment at 5 PM; committee votes follow November 13, 16 and 19, and the final council vote is Friday, November 20. The capital plan gives the Arboretum North Entry project $7.0 million in 2027 and $12.2 million in 2028, $23.8 million in all, funded through a WSDOT mitigation settlement: a park on the WSDOT Peninsula, now the SR 520 field office, with Lake Washington Boulevard realigned, the trail extended to the Montlake Lid and Arboretum Creek daylighted. Most of it gets built after WSDOT finishes at the end of 2031. Council · Committee schedule · Proposed capital plan, p. 33
SR 520's westbound ramps to northbound I-5 and E Roanoke St close nightly, Monday through Thursday, two weeks running. WSDOT closes them 10 PM to 6 AM on October 19–22 and October 26–29. Westbound drivers past the Montlake Boulevard and Lake Washington Boulevard exits detour to southbound I-5, and one westbound lane between Montlake and I-5 closes too. Boyer Avenue E stays at one lane between E Roanoke St and Everett Avenue E, except Sundays, through October 23. WSDOT
No 2 Line trains between International District/Chinatown and South Bellevue this weekend. Shuttle buses replace them Saturday and Sunday, October 17–18, every 10 to 15 minutes, a stretch that includes Judkins Park station; the 1 Line through Capitol Hill station runs about every 8 minutes. After 11 PM on October 19–22 and October 31–November 1, rail milling may bring a bus bridge between Judkins Park and International District/Chinatown. Sound Transit
Your neighborhood
Capitol Hill. The Volunteer Park Conservatory, 1400 E Galer St, has a chrysanthemum display by the Sogetsu Mercer Island Branch through Sunday, October 18, and again Tuesday to Sunday, October 20–25. The Evergreen Chrysanthemum Association Show follows, Friday, October 30, 11 AM, to Sunday, November 1, 3 PM; the club's members grow about 150 cultivars. Both come with admission ($6 adults, $4 ages 6–17). The conservatory is open 10 AM to 4 PM, closed Mondays, and free on first Thursdays; the next is November 5. Calendar · Plan your visit
Sold near you: 21 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $998K (range $370K to $2.48M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Eastlake. RapidRide J Line crews are paving Eastlake Avenue E in front of driveways and pouring new driveway aprons, some of it on weekends, with sidewalk and electrical work at E Hamlin, E Roanoke, E Louisa and E Newton streets. Right turns from Fairview Avenue N onto southbound Eastlake are restricted during construction; the way around is north on Fairview Avenue E, right on E Blaine St, then right onto Eastlake. Route 70 becomes RapidRide in 2027. SDOT
Sold near you: 14 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.18M (range $390K to $3.05M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 18 days.
Montlake. The park in this week's budget item would sit on the WSDOT Peninsula at the Arboretum's north end, with Lake Washington Boulevard realigned and the trail carried to the Montlake Lid. (evergreen) The Montlake Branch library, 2401 24th Avenue E, opened in its current building August 12, 2006; it is open 10 AM to 6 PM daily, noon to 8 PM on Thursdays. Capital plan, p. 33 · Montlake Branch
Sold near you: 6 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.29M (range $825K to $1.88M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Madison Park. (evergreen) The park's lawn slopes down to a 400-foot beach on Lake Washington, with cement steps at the north end, a short sandy stretch at the south and a bathhouse with restrooms; lifeguards patrol it in summer. One block north, Madison Park North Beach, at E Lynn St and 43rd Avenue E, is a long, narrow strip of grass sloping down to the lake. Madison Park · North Beach
Sold near you: 14 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.45M (range $175K to $7.10M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Washington Park. The Arboretum's last free public tour of 2026, on autumn color, is Thursday, November 5, 11:30 AM to 1 PM; meet the docents at the Graham Visitors Center, 2300 Arboretum Drive E. The 230-acre Arboretum is open daily from dawn to 8 PM at no charge, and the visitors center is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM. UW Botanic Gardens events · Arboretum
Sold near you: 13 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.35M (range $475K to $7.10M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Harrison / Denny-Blaine. (evergreen) Denny Blaine Park on Lake Washington is open 6 AM to 10 PM. The old stone wall around its grassy beach marks the shoreline before 1917, when building the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the lake nine feet. Up the hill, the RapidRide G Line on Madison Street links Madison Valley with downtown, with buses every six minutes most of the day. Seattle Parks · RapidRide G
Sold near you: 13 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.65M (range $789K to $11.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 12 days.
Madrona. The Madrona-Sally Goldmark Branch, 1134 33rd Avenue, in a former fire station, runs evening programs as Madrona After Dark; on Tuesday, November 17, 6 to 7:30 PM, it is a sewing and mending circle. The branch is closed Fridays and on November 11 for Veterans Day. Down the hill, the beach play area at Madrona Park, 853 Lake Washington Boulevard, is set for a $550,000 renovation with sand, water, driftwood and rocks, construction in 2027–28. Library · Event · Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 16 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $926K (range $568K to $2.58M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 22 days.
Leschi. The $13.2 million rebuild of Leschi South Marina, 100 Lakeside Avenue S, started September 14: a new public dock and breakwater replace the old creosote dock, with a boat sewage pump-out station. Utility work on land runs three to four months. Some Lakeside Avenue work moves to nights, not before the end of October, with the loudest work done by 10 PM. The pier parking lot is closed; about 200 spaces remain in the park and along the street. Marine construction runs through spring 2027. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 6 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.12M (range $952K to $2.11M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 26 days.
Central District. The Douglass-Truth Branch, 2300 E Yesler Way, marks 20 years this month since it was expanded and reopened on October 14, 2006; the original library building is a city landmark. On Wednesday, October 28, 1 to 3 PM, it hosts Enterprise Nexus, a session with small-business advisors and community resources. Library · Event
Sold near you: 17 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $900K (range $290K to $3.15M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 22 days.
The market in 60 seconds
Across Central Seattle ZIPs 98102, 98112 and 98122, the median home sold for $1.17M over the last 30 days (70 closings; single-family alone $1,250,500). The median home took 51 days from listing to closing, and there are 5.7 months of inventory on the market.
That is balanced territory, toward the buyer's side: under three months favors sellers, above six favors buyers. Single-family homes are tighter, at 4.2 months, and 17% of homes closed above asking. The three ZIPs also take in part of First Hill and Squire Park.
One useful thing: November 2, not October 31
The second half of 2026 King County property tax is due Monday, November 2. The usual date is October 31; when it falls on a weekend, the deadline moves to the next business day. Mail a check postmarked by the due date to King County Treasury, 201 S. Jackson St., Suite 710, Seattle, WA 98104, or pay online (a service fee applies). Questions: 206-263-2890. King County Treasury · FAQ
That's the week. Reply with anything you want tracked in Central Seattle, and if a neighbor would read it, forward it. They can subscribe at centralseattledispatch.com. From here the Dispatch arrives Thursdays at 6 AM; next up: the second week of SR 520 ramp closures and the budget's road to the November 5 hearing.
The Central Seattle Dispatch is a RexMont Real Estate publication. Adriano Tori, Designated Broker. Reply to this email and a person reads it.