The building at 201 Queen Anne Ave. N. that sat dark for four years is now accepting tenants.
Stream Real Estate's "Rejuvenate" project welcomed its first residents the week of Aug. 13, making the converted 1980s office building Seattle's first major office-to-residential conversion since the pandemic emptied the city's commercial towers. Studios start at $1,695. Two-bedrooms with Elliott Bay views top out at $4,545. About 20% of the 74 units were already leased before move-in day, according to KING5.
As we reported Aug. 3, Stream purchased the four-story building for $7 million in 2023 after it had been vacant for 18 months. The conversion added a brand-new fifth floor and preserved industrial details: 12.5-foot ceilings with exposed pipes and ductwork, plus exposed earthquake-safety crossbars called viscous dampers. Architect Jill Burdeen of Board & Vellum previously called the building a "unicorn for a conversion project" because its shallow floor plate kept every apartment close to windows.
Eight of the 74 units are priced for people earning 80% or less of area median income ($92,000 for a single person in 2026). City tax incentives, including an exemption from Mandatory Housing Affordability fees and a construction sales tax deferral, saved the developer more than $2 million, according to developer Marc Angelillo in a Seattle Times report.
What it means for Queen Anne Ave
A building that contributed zero foot traffic for years now holds 74 households steps from the ground-floor shops and restaurants along Queen Anne Ave. N.
"We believe in Seattle. This is where people want to be," Angelillo said at the opening. "But it has to be the right spaces and the right places."
The city's conversion pipeline
Rico Quirindongo, director of the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development, said the city has five conversion projects in the works totaling 400 apartments. The OPCD program page lists the pipeline:
- 2601 Elliott Ave. (Belltown): 260 units in the former Zulily/RealNetworks headquarters, conditionally approved.
- 2019 Boren Ave. (the Ivey on Boren): 44 loft-style units, in inspection phase.
- 5621 22nd Ave. NW (Ballard): 23 units in the former Gravity Payments office, undergoing technical corrections.
The policy tools enabling these projects include expedited design reviews and loosened zoning requirements. The city's conversion incentive program is projected to generate 1,000 to 2,000 new housing units over seven years.
The backdrop is stark. CBRE reported downtown Seattle's office vacancy hit 35.4% in the second quarter of 2026. Since 2020, downtown office properties have lost $15 billion in value and generate $128 million less in annual property taxes, according to King County assessor data.
Not every vacant office can follow the Rejuvenate model. Angelillo told the Seattle Times on Aug. 1 that Stream considered converting another building on the same block but ruled it out because its curtain-wall windows would need full replacement. "I mean, we could do it," he said, "but it would be astronomically expensive."
The Ballard conversion at 5621 22nd Ave. NW, proposing 23 apartments in the former Gravity Payments space, remains in technical corrections with no confirmed resubmittal date.
