When the crane comes down at 452 N 36th St, the building's top will carry the dancing couple sign that hung over the Ballroom for years, and later over Baila Bar. Holland Partner Group worked with the previous property owner to save it. The plan is to mount it at the top of the new building, visible from both directions on 36th, inside a two-story glass rooftop room the architects call the "Disco Cube," Fremont Neighbor reported after the developer presented the design in May.
At the same Fremont Neighborhood Council meeting, the room got its biggest reaction from that sign. For anyone who lives within a few blocks of the crane, it also gives the clearest picture of how this rebuild is going. The apartment counts, heights and schedules on N. 36th Street are locked in. The street level is not. That means the storefronts, the mural, the sidewalks and the trees that replace the old ones, and neighbors have already changed parts of it.
A family-held block, emptied slowly
The Ballroom block didn't close all at once. It emptied over a couple of years. Fremont Neighbor's February rundown noted that Roxy's, the Back Door and Norm's had been gone for a while before Baila Bar closed. Caffe Ladro was the last tenant out. Baila Bar held its final dance on Feb. 7, and its team moved on to work with Rheinhaus Seattle on Capitol Hill. Caffe Ladro served its last coffee at 452 N 36th St on March 31, after 26 years on the block.
The buildings had longer histories than most of their tenants. Citing the Fremont Neighborhood Council, Fremont Neighbor reports that the Ballroom started out as a baby-diaper laundry. The Art Deco building Roxy's last occupied was built as a Safeway and later used to train grocery checkers. The block stayed in one family for generations, and a family member still owns the Nectar Lounge next door.
Demolition started July 6. The sign is the one piece of the old block that will return.
Three sites, three different clocks
The three big projects in the area are at very different stages. The block where the crane went up is furthest along.
| Site | Developer | What's planned | Where it stands in late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 452–462 N 36th St, the Ballroom block | Holland Partner Group, acting as its own general contractor | Seven stories, 178 homes, about 5,700 sq ft of street-level retail | Tower crane went up Oct. 3; construction scheduled into spring 2028 |
| 508 N 36th St, the former Harvey Funeral Home site, now called the Frank | Prometheus Real Estate Group, with Exxel Pacific as general contractor | Seven stories, 169 units, ground-floor retail | Funeral home demolished April 15; phased permit issued June 12; street trees removed starting Sept. 14 |
| 3670 Woodland Park Ave N | Wraps around the Shannon & Wilson landmark | 162 apartments plus 8 townhomes | Design approved in spring 2026; no construction start reported |
Northwest Tower Crane Service raised the crane over the Ballroom block on Oct. 3, according to Fremont Neighbor. Holland's October construction update says all 198 auger-cast piles are in, soldier pile installation is finished, and mass excavation is 70% complete.
Next door at the Frank, the city's Shaping Seattle permit record lists the phased permit as issued on June 12, 2026. The Woodland Park project is a block away and one step further back. The Puget Sound Business Journal reported in May that the city approved it: an eight-story apartment building and a four-story townhome complex around the Shannon & Wilson building, which stays in place.
What 178 homes look like at the Ballroom block
From the design Holland presented in May, as reported by Fremont Neighbor, here is what Weber Thompson, a Fremont-based architecture firm, designed:
- 5 studios, 66 open one-bedrooms, 78 one-bedrooms and 29 two-bedrooms
- An average unit size of 649 square feet
- About 40 affordable units
- 90 vehicle stalls and 189 bicycle stalls
- Two building sections facing 36th, split by a courtyard, with the facade set back in spots to leave room for outdoor cafe tables
Holland's development director told the meeting the team included larger units than many new Seattle buildings to attract families. Retail wasn't required on this site, and Holland included it anyway. That decision is why the storefronts, more than the unit count, are where neighbors still have a say.
The trees went the other way
Next door at 508 N 36th St, neighbors pushed to keep the street trees, and SDOT decided against them. The six trees beside the old funeral home, known locally as the Solstice Trees, are coming down. SDOT upheld its removal approval on Sept. 11 after a Director's Review. That review started with a formal challenge from Tree Action Seattle and public comments from neighbors, and it took more than two months. Fremont Neighbor reported that crews cut two red maples on Sept. 14.
SDOT's written decision explained why:
"Their survivability remains uncertain since these trees would undergo serious and prolonged stress, which could result in the loss of these trees shortly after construction is completed."
The removal covers three red maples on N 36th Street, two incense cedars on Evanston Avenue N and one ash on Dayton Avenue N. The replacement plan matters for anyone who walks these blocks every day: 14 new trees with understory plantings and an automated irrigation system along N 36th, Evanston and Dayton. New ADA-compliant ramps, sidewalks, bike racks and upgraded planting strips are also part of the plan.
The storefronts are still undecided
Holland's ground floor can hold up to five separate storefronts, or fewer, larger spaces. In a live poll at the May meeting, a pharmacy was the most popular choice. The development director said that input will directly shape the company's outreach to retail brokers. As an example, he pointed to Holland's Ballard project, where community feedback led to signing Exit 5 Korean Barbecue.
Caffe Ladro could be the most familiar comeback. Ladro is already a tenant in Holland's Ballard building, and the company said it would work to bring the coffee shop back to this block too. For now that's a stated goal. No lease has been announced.
The east facade is also open. It will carry a large mural facing the street, and the architects asked for theme ideas at the meeting. Suggestions included Duwamish tribal art, nature scenes, Solstice imagery and the Fremont Troll. One request that came up again and again wasn't a mural theme at all: a public restroom. Holland gave neighbors a direct line to the project team at [email protected].
Living next to it until spring 2028
Construction on the Ballroom block is scheduled into spring 2028. Holland's own page gives a March 2028 finish, and its neighborhood presentation said April. These weekday restrictions run through October, according to Holland's construction update:
- No parking from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the west side of N Dayton Ave between N 36th St and N 39th St.
- No parking from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both sides of N Francis Ave, only along the site boundary.
Construction parking was one of the sharpest concerns at the May meeting. Holland said it would set up off-site parking, carpooling and shuttles for workers, and committed to follow up with more details.
A separate change is planned nearby as part of SDOT's Route 40 Transit-Plus project. SDOT doesn't tie it to either development. At Fremont Ave N and N 36th St, the plan removes the dedicated northbound left-turn lane to make room for more loading and parking space and for southbound bikes. The city says that work could begin this fall. A new westbound bus stop between Greenwood Ave N and Phinney Ave N was scheduled to start construction Sept. 14 and take about two weeks. Anyone who wants to check permits on a specific address nearby can use the city's Shaping Seattle map.
When the crane comes down, Fremont will have hundreds of new households within a block of N. 36th Street, a rooftop sign many neighbors will recognize, and a row of storefronts whose tenants are still undecided. If you own near the 36th Street corridor and want to know how this construction, and what fills those ground floors, could affect your home's value over the next few years, Ken Graff tracks these blocks closely. Get Your Free Home Valuation and we'll show you how it plays out on your street.
