A Police Station That Never Came: Seattle Fences Off Long-Vacant Aurora Property

  

 

SEATTLE — More than a decade after Seattle purchased property at North 130th Street and Aurora Avenue North for a new police station, the planned precinct has yet to be built. Now, the city-owned property is once again drawing attention as fencing is being installed around the site.

The property was acquired by the City of Seattle beginning in 2013 specifically for the construction of a new North Precinct police station. On Dec. 16, 2013, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved legislation authorizing the city to acquire parcels at 12800 Aurora Ave. N. and 1155 N. 130th St. for municipal purposes, including construction of a new North Precinct station

At the time, the project was intended to replace Seattle's aging North Precinct facility on College Way North. City documents described the existing station as severely overcrowded, with substantially more personnel than the building was originally designed to accommodate. The city moved ahead with planning. By 2015, Seattle announced that it had completed acquisition of the property and described the Aurora and 130th site as the future home of the North Precinct Police Station. The project, however, became increasingly expensive and politically controversial.

A 2015 city capital-improvement document put the project's total funding at approximately $88.5 million at that stage. By 2016, city estimates had grown dramatically. A Seattle City Council ordinance described the multi-year project as having an estimated cost of $160 million. 

Now in 2026 even with the North Aurora area suffering a crime epidemic the city has not prioritized the project nor decided to sell the property to help close the city's massive budget deficit. The estimated $45,000 spent on fencing is the latest spending boondoggle on the site on top of the $4.5 million on the tiny homes located on the east end of the parcel. 

It's not clear when or if ever the city will move forward with replacing the outdated North precinct but with the ever decreasing city revenues and increasing expenditures it seems unlikely it will even be built.