Harvey Funeral Home - latest news

It’s been a couple of years since the public outreach on redevelopment of the Harvey Funeral Home site (508 N 36th Street). There was a lot of interest at the time and we sometimes get asked when work will begin there. Here is the latest, available from the SDCI Shaping Seattle mapping website:

A demolition permit was issued in December last year, and a first Construction permit for foundation work was issued on January 16 this year. These permits expire in June and July 2027, respectively. There are additional steps to go through before demolition can begin but those dates give an idea of a timeline.

Meanwhile One Block Over…

You may have noticed the storefront vacancies in the blockfront between Dayton and Francis. Roxy’s, the Back Door and Norm’s have been gone for a while. As noted in Fremont Neighbor Baila Bar (long known as the Ballroom) is leaving. Cafe Ladro will be moving out by the end of March. This blockfront will be redeveloped similarly to the Funeral home site, as a 7-story residential over retail building, with 185 units and 85 parking spaces proposed. They currently have a demolition permit which will expire in February of next year. You can look up permits for any property at the Shaping Seattle website, which has a convenient interactive map.

This block has an interesting history. It was a multi-generational family held property. The Ballroom was a baby-diaper laundry service. The Art Deco building most recently home to Roxy’s was built as a Safeway, then used as a checker training facility. The family also owned a fourplex behind the retail buildings, recently redeveloped as townhomes. A family member still owns the Nectar Lounge on the next block. You can find more interesting and colorful local tidbits in the book 18 Windows to the Center of the Universe by Bill Crossman.