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Good morning. Issue three of the Central Seattle Dispatch: five minutes on what moved in Central Seattle this week, one item for your own neighborhood, a one-click poll, the market in three numbers, and one practical thing for the house.
Central Seattle this week
The budget's final council vote is set for Friday, November 20, at 1 PM. After this week's amendment sessions, the chair's balancing package is published November 3 and presented November 4. The public hearing is November 5 (remote comment from 1 PM, in person from 5 PM), and committee votes fall on November 13, 16 and 19. The council notes the schedule can change. City Council
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3; drop boxes close at 8 PM. Vote centers are open 8:30 AM to 8 PM that day. King County Elections in Renton is also open Saturday, October 31, 10 AM to 4 PM, and Monday, November 2, 8:30 AM to 6 PM. King County Elections
Clocks fall back one hour at 2 AM Sunday, November 1. Transit stays put: Metro's fall schedules, in effect since August 29, run through March 26, 2027, and Sound Transit's planned-work list shows nothing on the 1 Line through November 22. NIST · Metro
You can ask the city for a curbside EV charger near your home. City Light and SDOT take applications for 12 months from this October, toward up to 200 public Level 2 curbside chargers. They start choosing sites in January, 40 to 50 at a time; installs begin in fall 2027, and all are due in service by 2030. Each site needs the right power source. City Light
SR 520's in-water piledriving season runs through April 30, 2027. WSDOT's third season started September 1, with intermittent piledriving across the project area, typically 8 AM to 5 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 5 PM on weekends. Noise or vibration problems go to the 24-hour line, 206-319-4520. WSDOT
Your neighborhood
Capitol Hill. Volunteer Park, 1247 15th Avenue E, marks 15 years as a Seattle landmark on Monday, November 2; the Landmarks Preservation Board designated it on November 2, 2011. The Olmsted Brothers drew its formal plans between 1904 and 1909, and the drives, lily ponds, music pavilion and conservatory were finished by 1912. The park is open 6 AM to 10 PM, the water tower 10 AM to dusk. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 18 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.04M (range $170K to $2.48M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 15 days.
Eastlake. RapidRide J Line crews may start a new sidewalk at the southwest corner of E Lynn St and Eastlake Avenue E as early as Monday, November 2. Driveway paving continues, mostly on the east side between E Louisa St and E Lynn St, and the retaining wall between E Allison St and Harvard Avenue E is close to done. The project's online open house is Thursday, November 5, 2 to 3 PM. SDOT
Sold near you: 13 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.60M (range $800K to $3.05M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 18 days.
Montlake. (evergreen) The Montlake Branch library, 2401 24th Avenue E, opened its current building on August 12, 2006. It is open 10 AM to 6 PM every day but Thursday, when hours run noon to 8 PM, and the book return on the E McGraw St side takes books around the clock. Seattle Public Library
Sold near you: 6 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.37M (range $1.23M to $2.23M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Madison Park. (evergreen) Madison Park North Beach, 2300 43rd Avenue E at E Lynn St, sits one block north of the swim beach: a long, narrow strip of grass sloping down to Lake Washington, with a swing set and benches. A rock seawall lines the shore, so it is a place to sit and look, not to swim or launch a boat. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 13 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.35M (range $175K to $7.95M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Washington Park. (evergreen) Washington Park Playfield, 1017 Lake Washington Boulevard E, inside the Arboretum, has lighted soccer, baseball and softball fields with bleachers. Reservations go through Athletic Fields Scheduling at [email protected], and if the lights stay on after hours, the shutoff line is 1-855-330-8400. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 14 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.86M (range $475K to $7.95M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Harrison / Denny-Blaine. (evergreen) Lakeview Park, 340 37th Avenue E, is the lookout where Lake Washington Boulevard E starts its switchback descent to the lake: peonies against a stone wall and a view of the lake and the Cascades. Beside the lookout, a trail drops to the next boulevard loop under a coastal redwood. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 15 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.95M (range $789K to $11.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 12 days.
Madrona. The Madrona Park Beach play area renovation is back on the city's list: Seattle Parks updated the project on October 20, with construction now set for 2027 to 2028 and $550,000 from the Park District's major maintenance fund. The plan is a natural play area of sand, water, driftwood, rocks and plantings, with better ADA access. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 18 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.24M (range $568K to $2.58M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 22 days.
Leschi. An update on the Leschi South Marina rebuild at 100 Lakeside Avenue S: street parking on Lakeside Avenue S south of Yesler Way is now limited to 2 hours, a change made at the community's request. About 200 spaces for the public, marina tenants and park users stay open through early November, weather permitting; the southbound bus stop has moved mid-block. Night-work dates are still to be posted. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 5 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.23M (range $999K to $2.11M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 26 days.
Central District. (evergreen) Homer Harris Park, 2401 E Howell St, has a Unity Plaza gathering place, artwork, picnic tables, grills and lawn, with views to Lake Washington and the Cascades. It is named for Dr. Homer Harris (1916–2007), a Seattle athlete and physician, and its artwork marks highlights of his life. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 20 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $860K (range $290K to $1.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 12 days.
This week's poll
Which walk is yours once the leaves turn? One click counts.
Lake Washington Boulevard along the shore
The market in 60 seconds
Across Central Seattle ZIPs 98102, 98112 and 98122, the median home sold for $1.13M over the last 30 days (65 closings; single-family alone $1.40M). The median home took 45 days from listing to closing, and there are 6.1 months of inventory on the market, up from 5.4 a week ago.
That tips the edition into buyer territory: under three months favors sellers, above six favors buyers. Single-family homes are tighter, at 4.2 months, and 11% of homes closed above asking.
One useful thing: $50 off a smart thermostat for baseboard heat
If your home is heated by electric baseboards, wall fan heaters, hydronic baseboards or ceiling radiant heat on a line-voltage thermostat, Seattle City Light takes $50 off each smart thermostat, up to five per customer, through December 31, 2026, while funding lasts. The rebate is instant, but only on thermostats bought online through the retailer's own website linked from City Light's page. Gas-heated homes look to Puget Sound Energy instead. City Light
Reader asked
A reader asked where to find a solid blues bar in or near Central Seattle, ideally a full band in a seated room. Two calendars to watch. Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, 2033 6th Avenue, is the seated room: every guest gets an assigned seat, and the Taj Mahal Quartet plays November 19 to 29, nightly at 7:30 PM with a second set Saturdays at 9:30 PM. Jazz Alley The Salmon Bay Eagles, 5216 20th Avenue NW in Ballard, book blues in their Social Room: Salmon Dan's blues jam tonight, October 29, and Tony Lease's blues and blues-rock set Friday, October 30, both at 8 PM. Some Eagles nights are members only, so call 206-783-7791 before you go. Salmon Bay Eagles Know a neighbor asking the same thing? Forward this; they can subscribe at centralseattledispatch.com.
Your turn. Which business on Broadway, 15th, Madison, 23rd or 34th would you most hate to see go, and why? Hit reply; a person reads every one, and the best answers run in a future issue.
That's the week. Reply with anything you want tracked in Central Seattle. Next Thursday, November 5: what the budget chair's balancing package, published November 3, changes.
Curious what your place would sell for right now? Reply with your address and we'll send what homes like yours have sold for nearby.
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