The empty office building at 201 Queen Anne Ave. N. that has sat vacant since the pandemic is about to become someone's apartment.
Stream Real Estate will open 74 units in the converted 1980s office building later in August, making it one of Seattle's first completed office-to-housing conversions since remote work hollowed out the city's commercial real estate market.
Rents start at $1,695 for studios and climb to $4,545 for two-bedroom units with Elliott Bay views.
Developer Marc Angelillo told the Seattle Times that city tax incentives saved the project more than $2 million. Those breaks, an exemption from Mandatory Housing Affordability fees and a construction sales tax deferral, are the core of Seattle's toolkit for coaxing developers to turn dead office space into housing.
Stream bought the four-story building for $7 million in 2023, nearly $1 million less than it last sold for almost two decades earlier. The building had been vacant 18 months at the time of purchase; its last tenants included the Climate Pledge Arena contractor, an employer benefit administrator, and a law office.
Why this building worked
Not every empty office converts easily. Architect Jill Burdeen of Board & Vellum previously called 201 Queen Anne Ave. N. a "unicorn for a conversion project," as KING 5 reported.
The building's shallow floor plate kept apartments close to windows. Its reinforced concrete lacked post-tension cables, making it straightforward to drill for plumbing and electrical systems.
The finished units lean into their office-building bones. Exposed viscous dampers (earthquake-safety crossbars) run through some apartments. Pipes and ductwork sit visible on 12.5-foot ceilings. "Brooklyn lofty vibe," Angelillo called it. A newly added fifth floor offers more traditional layouts and sweeping views.
The numbers for Queen Anne
Eight of the 74 units are priced for people earning 80% or less of area median income ($92,000 for a single person). As of Saturday, August 1, between 15% and 20% of units were pre-leased.
The project matters beyond one building. Downtown Seattle's office vacancy hit 35.4% in the second quarter of 2026, the highest of any major U.S. downtown, according to CBRE data reported by the Seattle Times. Since 2020, downtown office properties have lost $15 billion in value and generate $128 million less in annual property taxes, per King County assessor data.
Researchers identified more than 90 Seattle office buildings as physically feasible for conversion. Only a handful are moving forward. Three more projects sit in the city's permitting pipeline, including the former Zulily headquarters at 2601 Elliott Ave. in Belltown, which alone would add 260 units.
A smaller Ballard conversion at 5621 22nd Ave. NW, the former Gravity Payments office, proposes 23 units and is undergoing technical corrections with the city, according to Seattle's Office of Planning and Community Development.
Stream considered converting another office building on the same block but passed because its curtain-wall windows would need full replacement. "I mean, we could do it, but it would be astronomically expensive," Angelillo said.
The city projects its conversion incentive program could generate 1,000 to 2,000 new housing units over seven years. OPCD said it could not yet estimate the total foregone fee and tax revenue from the program — a figure worth tracking as more projects seek the same breaks.
