Block 38 West
Current Status
Fact Sheet: English | 中文
The Department of Ecology (Ecology) is overseeing the cleanup of the Block 38 West Site (Site) in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. City Investors IX L.L.C. (City Investors IX) is the Potentially Liable Person (PLP) cleaning up the Site.
We held a comment period from November 18 to December 19, 2024, on the following documents:
- Remedial Investigation and Focused Feasibility Study (Volume 1 and Volume 2): describes contamination at the Site and evaluates and recommends a preferred cleanup action.
- Cleanup Action Plan: describes the cleanup work to address contamination at the Site.
- Consent Decree: a legal agreement between Ecology and City Investors IX, that requires City Investors IX to implement the cleanup action plan for the Site.
We received two comments and responded to them directly. No significant changes were made to the documents, and they are now final.
What Happens Next?
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General Cleanup Process
Public Participation
This plan describes how Ecology will share information with the community and how you can share information with us. Ecology will review this plan as the cleanup progresses and amend/update it as necessary.
Site Information
Site Location
The Block 38 West Site is located in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. The Site includes the Block 38 West Property, a portion of the Westlake Avenue North right of way, and a north-south-trending alley (City of Seattle public right-of-way) east of the Block 38 West Property.
Site Background
Historical operations and placement of contaminated fill at the Block 38 West Property resulted in contaminated soil and groundwater at the Site.
From October 2019 through July 2021, substantial cleanup of the Block 38 West Site was performed through interim actions (early partial cleanups) on the Block 38 West Property and east-adjacent alley. These interim actions included removal and disposal of contaminated soil and were implemented in conjunction with the redevelopment of the Block 38 West Property.
View the Interim Action Completion Report for the Block 38 West Property:
- Part 1 – Text, Figures, Tables, and Appendix A
- Part 2 – Appendix B
- Part 3 – Appendix C through Appendix K
View the Interim Action Completion Report for the Alley
These reports are also included in the Documents tab under Technical Reports at the bottom of this webpage.
Recent Redevelopment
Redevelopment of the Block 38 West Property began in late October 2019. The former structures were demolished and a multi-story mixed-use building with 12 stories above street level and 4 levels of underground parking was constructed. Construction of the new building required mass excavation across the entire Block 38 West Property to approximately 30 to 35 feet below ground level.
Contamination
- Petroleum hydrocarbons as diesel-range organics (DRO), oil-range organics (ORO), and gasoline-range organics (GRO)
- Benzene
- Naphthalenes, including 1-methylnaphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene
- Carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs), including benzo(a)pyrene
- Metals (barium and mercury)
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Documents 0
Contaminants 7
Contaminant Type | Soil |
Groundwater |
Surface Water |
Air |
Sediment |
Bedrock |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Metals - Metals - Other | RB | |||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons | RA | RB | ||||
Metals - Mercury | RB | |||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Benzene | RB | |||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Diesel | RA | RB | ||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Gasoline | RB | RB | ||||
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Other | RA | RB |
- S
- Suspected
- C
- Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
- B
- Below Cleanup Levels
- RA
- Remediated-Above
- RB
- Remediated-Below
- R
- Remediated