Good morning, and welcome to the first Rainier Valley Dispatch. Five minutes on what moved in the Rainier Valley and on Beacon Hill this week, one item for your own neighborhood, the market in three numbers, and one practical thing for the house.
The valley this week
SDOT has started designing Beacon Avenue South from South Spokane Street to 39th Avenue South, and the first chance to weigh in is today. The plan covers repaving and street changes for people walking, biking, driving and riding the bus, and extends bike lanes from South Spokane Street to the protected lanes on South Columbian Way and South Myrtle Street. SDOT measured an average driving speed of 34 mph on a street posted at 25. Design runs through fall 2027; construction starts in 2028. Today an information table is in the median pathway near South Myrtle Street, 11 AM to 1 PM. The open house is Monday, October 19, and an online meeting follows Thursday, October 29, 6 to 7 PM. The survey is open through October 31. SDOT blog · Survey
One elevator at Beacon Hill station has been out since Wednesday, with no return date. Sound Transit lists elevator 2 as unavailable after an unscheduled outage that began at 5:24 AM on October 14; riders use the station's other elevators. Sound Transit
The Columbia City Farmers Market has two Wednesdays left: October 21 and October 28. It runs 3 to 7 PM at 37th Avenue South and South Edmunds Street, just off Rainier Avenue South, and closes the season on the 28th. Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets
Kubota Garden's free fall color tours start at 10 AM today. Six guided walks, October 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 and November 1, each about two hours over 1.5 miles of gravel paths; registration is required and each tour takes 40 people. The maple tree sale is Saturday, October 24, 9 AM to 1 PM, with drive-through pickup, at 9817 55th Avenue South. Kubota Garden
Your neighborhood
Columbia City. The play area beside Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Avenue South, has been closed since construction began August 17. The rebuild adds swings, towers with slides, a play canoe and a sand area, is planned to keep every existing tree; it is due to reopen in early 2027; a pedestrian detour runs around the site until then. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 18 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $798K (range $412K to $1.46M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Hillman City. (evergreen) Genesee Park and Playfield, 4316 South Genesee Street, is two parks split by the street: a five-block meadow with a reservable picnic shelter to the north, and to the south a 2.5-acre off-leash area, two synthetic turf fields and a restroom Parks plans to replace. It sits in the middle of a 1.1-mile green connector from Columbia City to Lake Washington. Down the hill, the restriping and flex posts at Lake Washington Boulevard South and South Orcas Street are finished. Genesee Park · Boulevard project
Sold near you: 11 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $635K (range $524K to $1.30M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 33 days.
Seward Park. Three swing gates are going in on Lake Washington Boulevard South, at Mount Baker Beach, South Horton Street and 43rd Avenue South, for closing the road during Bicycle Weekends. Parks expects them finished this fall, in time for the 2027 season. (evergreen) The park itself is 300 acres with old-growth forest and a 2.4-mile shoreline path, open 6 AM to 10 PM. Boulevard project · Seward Park
Sold near you: 3 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $950K (range $412K to $1.45M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 29 days.
Mount Baker. The Mount Baker Beach bathhouse is back in service in its south wing, restrooms included, after the July 23, 2025 fire destroyed the breezeway and north wing. It reopened before Memorial Day and came off generator power July 2. (evergreen) Mount Baker Park, 2521 Lake Park Drive South, is a ravine boulevard with a wide path under maples, mountain ash and chestnut trees running down to Colman Park and the beach. Bathhouse · Mount Baker Park
Sold near you: 11 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.33M (range $475K to $2.19M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 21 days.
Rainier Beach. The new skatepark at Rainier Beach Playfield, 4707 South Cloverdale Street, opened September 21, with street and transition terrain and a mural by Myron Curry; it was paid for with $850,000 from the King County Parks Levy. Next Saturday, October 24, Rainier Beach Community Center, 8825 Rainier Avenue South, holds its Harvest Fest from 2 to 5 PM, for ages 5 to 18. Skatepark · Fall events
Sold near you: 4 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $670K (range $580K to $775K); the fastest went from listing to closing in 57 days.
Brighton. Othello Playground, 4351 South Othello Street, is getting a fenced off-leash area in the lawn at its southwest corner, with seating and a planted stormwater area. Parks plans to bid the work in late 2026, build from late 2026 into early 2027 and open it in fall 2027. (evergreen) Brighton Playfield, 6000 39th Avenue South, was bought by the city in 1913 and is named for the original town site, Brighton Beach, after the English seaport. Off-leash area · Brighton Playfield
Sold near you: 10 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $573K (range $417K to $1.30M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 27 days.
Beacon Hill. The Beacon Avenue South open house is here: Monday, October 19, 4 to 6:30 PM, at Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 South Myrtle Street, with interpretation available. The south segment runs from South Myrtle Street to 39th Avenue South, and today's information table is in the median pathway near the Myrtle intersection, 11 AM to 1 PM. Central segment · South segment
Sold near you: 5 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $860K (range $670K to $1.00M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 28 days.
North Beacon Hill. The Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club building closes for three weekends between mid-October and early November while Parks replaces water pipe to fix discolored water, possibly with a new booster pump, water heater and filter. Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South, holds a free Halloween carnival Saturday, October 24, 1 to 4:30 PM. Lawn bowling building · Fall events
Sold near you: 9 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $800K (range $505K to $1.63M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 21 days.
The market in 60 seconds
Across Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill ZIPs 98118, 98144 and 98108 (Seattle addresses), the median home sold for $800K over the last 30 days (69 closings; single-family alone $808K). The median home took 42 days from listing to closing, and there are 6.2 months of inventory on the market.
That sits just past the line where the market leans toward buyers: under three months favors sellers, above six favors buyers. Single-family homes alone are tighter, at 4.0 months, and 17% of homes closed above asking. These ZIPs also take in parts of Judkins Park, Leschi and Georgetown.
One useful thing: November 2, not October 31
The second half of 2026 King County property tax is due Monday, November 2. The usual date is October 31; when it falls on a weekend, the deadline moves to the next business day. Mail a check postmarked by the due date to King County Treasury, 201 S. Jackson St., Suite 710, Seattle, WA 98104, with your account number on it, or pay online (a service fee applies). Questions: 206-263-2890. King County Treasury
That's the week. Reply with anything you want tracked in the Rainier Valley or on Beacon Hill, and if a neighbor would read it, forward it. They can subscribe at rainiervalleydispatch.com. From here the Dispatch arrives Thursdays at 6 AM; next up: what the Beacon Avenue open house showed, and the city budget items that land on a valley street or park.
The Rainier Valley Dispatch is a RexMont Real Estate publication. Adriano Tori, Designated Broker. Reply to this email and a person reads it.