Sound Transit Asks Redmond For Input On Overlake Plans

REDMOND, WA — Redmond residents are invited to weigh in on how Sound Transit should develop extra land around the new Overlake Village light rail station, which is slated to open in 2023 with the completion of the East Link. Officials estimate the surplus land is roughly the size of two football fields. While work continues to complete the Link extension, the parcels are being used to house mobile offices and construction equipment.

Once the East Link is completed and running, adding 14 miles of track across 10 new stations between Seattle and Redmond, Sound Transit plans to provide the unused land around Overlake for "transit-oriented development." Community input can help inform what that ultimately looks like.

"Sound Transit is working with the City of Redmond to plan for the future TOD, which could provide hundreds of housing units to support the city's growing population," officials wrote Tuesday. "The development could also include commercial, retail, or community space to help create a vibrant neighborhood with easy access to transit and the regional access to jobs, services and education it provides."

Sound Transit is supporting similar developments around the recently completed light rail base in Bellevue, and a partnership with Amazon will help fund 1,200 affordable housing neighboring new light rail stations across Puget Sound. Three new stations open in North Seattle later this year, followed by the Tacoma Link's Hilltop expansion in 2022, and the East Link in 2023. In 2024, service will extend further into Downtown Redmond, and new stations will open in Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Federal Way.

Redmond residents can submit feedback about Overlake Village plans via an online survey until July 12. More details on the East Link and other transit-focused developments are available on the Sound Transit website.