Client
Private
Location
Pioneer Square Neighborhood
Seattle, Washington
Size
42,000 SF
Timeframe
2014-15
Located in Seattle’s Pioneer Square Historic District, the former Seattle Fire Department Headquarters was identified by the City of Seattle for potential sale, even as Fire Department staff continued to occupy portions of the building. Members of our team collaborated with a group of prospective purchasers to evaluate the property’s highest and best use, while also mapping strategies for navigating the stringent historic preservation requirements of the Pioneer Square Historic District.
The feasibility study proposed a vibrant adaptive reuse program: upper floors reimagined as apartments and offices, complete with a rooftop deck and tenant gymnasium, while the original ground-floor firetruck bays would be transformed into lively restaurants. A central wood-fired pizza oven was envisioned as both a culinary centerpiece and a symbolic gesture to the building’s original purpose as a fire station.
The study balanced respect for the historic character of the 1920s-era structure with a forward-looking vision for its continued use, creating a bridge between Seattle’s civic past and its evolving urban core. The work was completed while Mark was a founding principal at Urbanadd.
