Roosevelt station (Sound Transit)

Location

Roosevelt station is located on the west side of 12th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 65th Street and Northeast 67th Street, at the heart of the Roosevelt urban village in northern Seattle. It is adjacent to the Roosevelt Square shopping center and Roosevelt High School, with the immediate area constituting the commercial and retail core of the neighborhood. The station is also located near Ravenna Park and Green Lake, two of the largest parks in North Seattle.

The Roosevelt area is served by King County Metro bus service on local streets, with major routes intersecting at Roosevelt Way NE and NE 65th Street. Metro plans to operate bus rapid transit service between Northgate and Downtown Seattle on Roosevelt Way and 12th Avenue, with a stop in the vicinity of Roosevelt station. Northeast 66th Street, which will run between the station's two planned entrances, will be rebuilt as a "green street" with traffic calming pedestrian-friendly features. A set of protected bike lanes on Roosevelt Way and 12th Avenue NE between NE 65 Street and the University Bridge were built in 2016.

Transit-oriented development

The area surrounding the station consists of varied uses, including commercial and retail spaces along Roosevelt Way, 12th Avenue NE, and NE 65th Street. The largest land use is single-family homes, though multi-family residential buildings have been constructed in the 2010s in anticipation of light rail service. Within a ¹⁄₂-mile (0.80 km) radius of the station, over 8,400 residents and 3,000 jobs were counted in 2013 by the Puget Sound Regional Council. In 2016, residential real estate website Redfin named Roosevelt one of the nation's "hottest neighborhoods", citing recent growth in real estate prices and interest in local properties, and credited the future light rail station in that interest.

In January 2012, the Seattle City Council approved a rezoning of the Roosevelt neighborhood to allow for residential buildings of up to 85 feet (26 m) adjacent to the station and 40 feet (12 m) in the surrounding 40-block area. While the neighborhood was supportive of light rail construction and siting the station in the urban village, residents asked for a shorter 40 feet (12 m) height limit to preserve views of Roosevelt High School.

Several parcels used for construction staging at Roosevelt station will be opened up for transit-oriented development after station construction in completed in 2020.

History

Proposals for rapid transit service through the Roosevelt neighborhood date back to the early 20th century, when the area was near the northern city limits of Seattle. In 1911, Virgil Bogue proposed an extensive rapid transit system, including an underground subway following 10th Avenue Northeast from Northeast 85th Street south towards Latona (the present-day University District) and Downtown Seattle. The proposal was rejected by voters the following year, but subsequent plans made in 1926 proposed rapid transit service to Ravenna Park and the University District.

The Forward Thrust plan of the late 1960s proposed building a four-line rapid transit network using $385 million in local funding to augment a larger federal contribution. One of the proposed lines, traveling between Downtown Seattle and Lake City, included a station adjacent to Roosevelt High School at Brooklyn Avenue NE and NE 65th Street. The plan was put before voters on two occasions, in February 1968 and May 1970, and failed to gain the needed supermajority to pass.

In the 1990s, the formation of a regional transit authority (RTA) brought light rail planning to the Seattle region. In 1995, the transit authority proposed a regional light rail system to be built by 2010, including an at-grade or underground light rail line through Roosevelt with a station in the neighborhood. The RTA proposal was rejected by voters in March 1995, citing its $6.7 billion price. A smaller, $3.9 billion plan was approved in November 1996, only funding light rail from the University District to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport; an extension north to Northgate via Roosevelt was deferred until additional funding could be secured.

In 1997, the RTA (since re-branded as Sound Transit) began exploring alignment options for the Northgate segment, with residents voicing their opposition to at-grade or elevated alignments in favor of an underground route. Following several rounds of public hearings in 2000, the Sound Transit Board narrowed down the routing options to a tunnel under 12th Avenue and an elevated alignment along Interstate 5 to the west of Roosevelt's commercial district, each with a station at Northeast 65th Street. Further discussion on the two remaining choices in 2004 led to divides in the Sound Transit Board; community and business groups in Roosevelt favored an underground alignment, while Seattle mayor Greg Nickels supported the elevated station, which was less costly and closer to the Green Lake neighborhood. On January 28, 2005, the Sound Transit Board unanimously approved an underground alignment with a station along 12th Avenue NE between NE 65th and 67th streets, citing a smaller-than-expected difference in cost compared to the elevated option.

Funding for the Northgate extension of Link light rail, then known as "North Link", was included in the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure, which was put before voters in November 2007. The combined $18 billion proposal was rejected, with environmentalist groups disavowing it over the roadworks portion that sought to expand regional freeways. A second, transit-only measure known as "Sound Transit 2" was approved by voters in November 2008, securing funding for a light rail extension to Northgate and further north to Lynnwood.

The North Link project was approved by the Sound Transit Board in June 2012, setting a $2.1 billion budget and expected completion date of 2021. The contract for tunneling and station construction was awarded to JCM Northlink LLC (a joint venture of Jay Dee, Coluccio, and Michels) for $462 million in 2013. The majority of design work for Roosevelt station was completed in 2014 and 2015.

Demolition of a QFC supermarket on the site began in May 2012, while buildings on 12th Avenue NE, including the Standard Records building, and townhouses on NE 66th Street were also demolished later in the year. Sound Transit broke ground on the Northgate Link Extension project on August 17, 2012, at a ceremony on the future site of Roosevelt station.

Tunnel boring machines for the project were launched from the north end near Northgate station in July and November 2014. The two machines arrived at Roosevelt station in March and July 2015, respectively, completing the first 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the 3.4-mile-long (5.5 km) tunnel between Northgate and University of Washington station. Both machines continued south towards U District station, arriving in November 2015 and March 2016, respectively. Construction of Roosevelt station's floor and supporting structures is expected to begin in early 2017; the $152 million contract was awarded in November 2016 to Hoffman Construction.

During construction of cross-passages for the two tunnels south of Roosevelt in 2016, a small sinkhole formed in the front yard of a house.

Station layout

Roosevelt station will be located on the west side of 12th Avenue Northeast on two blocks between NE 65th and 67th streets, with entrances at the two cross streets. The underground station will have three accessible levels, connected by a series of stairs, escalators and elevators: the 380-foot-long (120 m) island platform, located at a depth of 80 feet (24 m); a mezzanine; and two entrances with ticket vending machines. Bicycle parking will be available at a locked cage will be located outside the station on NE 66th Street. Four emergency ventilation shafts sit above the station's entrances.

The station was designed by David Hewitt, whose firm will also work on Northgate station.

Art

Public art will be integrated into the station's design in accordance with the "STart" program, which allocates a percentage of project construction funds to art projects to be used in stations. Lead artist Christian French will coordinate the project, while R&R Studios and Luca Buvoli will create permanent art installations outside and inside the station. A Streamline Moderne facade with neon letters preserved from the Standard Records building, which was demolished for the project, will hang above the ticketing area at the south entrance. An "art plaza" will be installed at the intersection of 12th Avenue NE and NE 66th Street, anchored by a prominent outdoor sculpture.