northwest studio

City Center Station

Turning constraint into opportunity, the project reclaims a buried creek to create a landscape that shapes new buildings for housing, care, and learning spaces.

Location

Lynnwood, Washington

Client

Withheld Pending Municipal Submissions

Project

Affordable Housing, Child-care, Education, Office, Retail, Public Space

This light-rail station mixed-use development brings together housing, healthcare, education, workforce development, and a renewed landscape in Lynnwood’s growing City Center district. The project connects residents to transit, jobs, and essential services while creating a place that is open, engaging, walkable, and rooted in its environment.

The development includes 154 affordable homes designed with families in mind. More than seventy-five percent of the apartments are two- and three-bedroom units, providing options for larger households often underserved in the area. The homes are organized into two eight-story buildings, sited to flank the headwaters of a restored, fish-bearing creek.

At the ground level, the project includes spaces that serve both residents and the broader community. The East Building includes shared amenities along with behavioral health, social services, and office space. The West Building focuses on early childhood education, with classrooms that open directly to outdoor play areas adjacent to the restored creek. A small café near the transit center introduces an active, welcoming use at the entrance to the light rail station plaza.

A pedestrian route runs through the project, linking the surrounding neighborhood to the City Center Station Promenade. This route includes a new bridge that crosses the creek at the center of the site, connecting the two buildings and supporting both walking and wheeled access. The main residential entries face one another across this crossing, improving visibility, wayfinding, and a sense of community.

The restored creek becomes the ecological and spatial center of the project. Previously piped underground, it is brought back to the surface and reshaped into a gently curving channel with varied depth and flow. Features such as small pools, riffles, and an oxbow bend slow the water, improve habitat, and reduce flooding. The surrounding landscape supports wetlands and native planting, filtering water and strengthening the local ecosystem.

The project is led by a regionally based nonprofit with long-standing experience in affordable housing, healthcare, education, and workforce development. By combining affordable housing with transit access and community services, the project reduces both housing and transportation costs for residents. It strengthens connections to opportunity across the Seattle region while supporting a more inclusive and resilient neighborhood.