Good morning. Issue two of the 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
The Beacon Avenue South survey closes October 31, and the online meeting is next Thursday, October 29, 6 to 7 PM. SDOT is in preliminary design for Beacon Avenue South from South Spokane Street to 39th Avenue South, including bike connections to the protected lanes on South Columbian Way and South Myrtle Street. The meeting is on Zoom. SDOT blog · Survey
Jefferson, Rainier and Van Asselt community centers are in line to replace their fossil-fuel equipment and go fully electric. Seattle Parks' package, about $13 million, also covers the Genesee maintenance headquarters and a new roof at Van Asselt. The schedule moved: design now runs to summer 2027 and construction from summer 2027 to fall 2028. Parks notes which buildings go to construction may still change with final costs. Seattle Parks
The Columbia City Farmers Market closes its season next Wednesday, October 28. It runs 3 to 7 PM at 37th Avenue South and South Edmunds Street, one block from the light rail station. Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets
Elevator 2 at Beacon Hill station is still out, a week after the October 14 outage. Sound Transit lists it as unavailable until further notice; the station's other elevators are in service. Sound Transit
Kubota Garden's maple tree sale is this Saturday, October 24, 9 AM to 1 PM. Pickup is drive-through at 9817 55th Avenue South. The last free fall color tours run at 10 AM on October 24, 25, 31 and November 1, registration required. Kubota Garden
Your neighborhood
Columbia City. (evergreen) Columbia Park sits on Rainier Avenue South beside the Columbia branch of the Seattle Public Library: open grass and two large maple trees between the street and the library. The park was annexed to the city in 1907. The farmers market a block away has one Wednesday left, October 28. Columbia Park
Sold near you: 20 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $836K (range $412K to $1.46M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 18 days.
Hillman City. (evergreen) Follow the Genesee green connector from Rainier Avenue South to the lake and you reach Stan Sayres Memorial Park, known as the Sayres Pits for the Seafair hydroplane races, a mile south of the I-90 bridge. It is home to the Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center and has four wide launch lanes at 3800 Lake Washington Boulevard South; on clear days Mount Rainier, Glacier Peak and Mount Baker are in view. Stan Sayres · Genesee Park
Sold near you: 10 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $650K (range $524K to $1.30M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 33 days.
Seward Park. (evergreen) The city bought Bailey Peninsula in 1911 for $322,000 and named it for William H. Seward, the Secretary of State behind the 1867 Alaska purchase. The meadow leading to the swimming beach appeared in 1917, when the Ship Canal lowered Lake Washington. The bathhouse followed in 1927, the fish rearing ponds in 1935 and the amphitheater on the south hillside in 1953. Seward Park
Sold near you: 5 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. (evergreen) Colman Park runs down to the lake just south of the old Lake Washington Floating Bridge. Its beach sits beside Mount Baker Beach, with grass, large drooping willows and picnic tables, and an open lawn to the north for a ball game. Colman Park
Sold near you: 9 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. (evergreen) Pritchard Island Beach sits north of Beer Sheva Park, with tall cottonwoods and a view of Seward Park to the north and Mercer Island to the east. Just south, a gravel path from the parking lot winds through more than four acres of Pritchard Wetland, planted only with species native to western Washington wetlands; watch for herons and muskrats in Pritchard Pond. Pritchard Island Beach
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. Graham Street station, the planned street-level 1 Line stop near MLK Jr. Way South and South Graham Street, between Columbia City and Othello stations, is now fully funded through planning, design and construction under the updated system plan. Next step: preliminary engineering and the environmental documents, which Sound Transit expects to publish in early 2027. Sound Transit
Sold near you: 11 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $600K (range $417K to $1.30M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 27 days.
Beacon Hill. Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 South Myrtle Street, is one of the three valley centers in the electrification package, and the only one also getting a new roof. The 2007 renovation more than doubled the building; outside are a wading pool, a play area, a covered picnic area and outdoor fitness equipment. Beacon Avenue's online meeting is October 29, 6 to 7 PM. Van Asselt · Electrification
Sold near you: 6 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $793K (range $670K to $1.05M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 28 days.
North Beacon Hill. (evergreen) Jefferson Park is the sixth largest park in the city, with views of the Duwamish River, downtown and the Olympics from an Olmsted-inspired path system on the covered reservoirs. It holds the Bill Wright Golf Complex, renamed in 2024 for the golfer who learned the game there and won the 1959 US Amateur Public Links Championship, plus the lawn bowling greens, a skatepark and Beacon Mountain. The lawn bowling clubhouse closes on weekends into early November for water-pipe work. Jefferson Park
Sold near you: 9 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $699K (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 $855K over the last 30 days (72 closings; single-family alone $860K). The median home took 41 days from listing to closing, and there are 5.7 months of inventory on the market, down from 6.2 a week ago.
That moves the area back under the six-month line where the market leans toward buyers; under three months favors sellers. Single-family homes alone are tighter, at 3.7 months, and 19% of homes closed above asking.
One useful thing: clear the drain, not the street
Leaves on a storm grate back water up onto the street and toward basements once the November rain starts. Seattle Public Utilities asks you to clear only the top of the grate, standing on the curb, with a rake or broom, never bare hands and never on a major arterial. Leaves go in the yard waste cart or paper bags; in November SPU collects 10 extra bags free. Still plugged? Call (206) 386-1800. Adopt a drain near you, and SPU lends rakes and leaf claws. Adopt a Storm Drain
That's the week. Reply with anything you want tracked in the Rainier Valley or on Beacon Hill. Next Thursday: Lake Washington Boulevard South heading into winter, and what goes in the yard and food waste cart.
The Rainier Valley Dispatch is a RexMont Real Estate publication. Adriano Tori, Designated Broker. Reply to this email and a person reads it.
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