Construction Blog

Building Care construction is underway. From now until building opening in Spring 2022, there will be ongoing construction activity at the hospital campus. Seattle Children’s will publish a weekly post on this Construction Blog that outlines the work expected to occur the following week. We will also post to this blog whenever a construction activity will be especially impactful to neighbors.

From Dec. 17 to Dec. 23, construction crews are scheduled to perform the following activities:

• Install black mesh screening on the construction fence
• Place asphalt for temporary construction roads and around a relocated tree island within the site (asphalt placement is weather-dependent)
• Set up steel containment tanks for water treatment
• Remove existing stone
• Sawcut concrete footings
• Install framing support steel and a temporary dust containment wall for the Emergency Department canopy
• Form and pour concrete curbs, footings, and walkways
• Install prefabricated vestibule panels at the Forest A staff entrance
• Utilities: clearing and grubbing; install sewer and stormwater pipes; set catch basins
• Demolish existing concrete stairs and footings
• Excavate and run conduit for temporary power

While construction noise will be generated throughout the week, the noisiest work will be the demolition, which is scheduled to take place from Dec. 20 to Dec. 28. The asphalt placement is scheduled for Dec. 17 and Dec. 20 and will create some odor; please note the asphalt placement depends on the weather, so the dates listed here are subject to change.

All work will take place within standard construction hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Work will not occur on Sunday.

Please call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org with questions.

The Building Care construction site is being fenced, and construction is underway. From now until project completion, which should take approximately three years, there will be ongoing construction activity. In general, Seattle Children’s will publish a weekly post on this Construction Blog each Monday that outlines the work expected to occur the following week (for instance, the Dec. 10 blog post will outline the work to take place from Dec. 17 to Dec. 23). We will also post to this blog whenever a construction activity will be especially impactful to neighbors or needs to happen outside standard construction hours. Our goal is to keep the community informed and aware of potential impacts before they occur.

From Dec. 10 to Dec. 16, construction crews are scheduled to perform the following activities:

• Install construction fencing and gates
• Install temporary walls and prepare temporary roads within the site for asphalt (asphalt is scheduled to be placed the week of Dec. 17)
• Remove existing stones
• Demolition of existing footings and paved areas
• Demolition of steel from the old Emergency Department canopy
• Prefabricate walls and install roofing for a new vestibule at the Forest A staff entrance
• Utility work: clearing and grubbing, installing storm lines, removing existing catch basins, drilling and installing new catch basins
• Temporary power work: set a temporary power shed, excavate for a duct bank to the transformer, and potentially install two power poles (Seattle City Light)
• Excavate and grade for curbs; form and pour new curbs

The demolition will take place from Dec. 11 to Dec. 14 and will be very noisy, while most other tasks will create normal levels of construction noise. This work will also generate some dust; dust abatement measures will be used to minimize the impact. All work will take place within standard construction hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Work will not occur on Sunday.

Please call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org with questions.

On Saturday, Dec. 1, a sign crew will hang banners from eight light poles on Penny Drive within the hospital campus. A cherry picker crane or boom lift will be used for this work. One lane of Penny Drive will be blocked while the banners are placed. This work will generate minor noise between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. If you have questions, please email construction@seattlechildrens.org or call 206-987-8000.

Two large trees at the hospital campus will be relocated and replanted on Thursday, Dec. 6 to make way for Building Care construction. The trees will be hoisted from their current locations and placed in their new locations, near the corner of Sand Point Way NE and 40th Avenue NE, using a crane. This work will occur between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and will generate normal levels of construction noise. If you have questions, please call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org.

Construction crews will begin fencing off the Building Care construction site the morning of Monday, Dec. 3. The construction site will include most of the area between the hospital, 40th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way NE (as shown in the graphic below).

Crews will begin by blocking key points within the hospital campus and will then install fencing along the entire perimeter of the construction site. The site will remain fenced for approximately three years until the building is complete. All hospital programs and services will remain open throughout construction. Use the driveway on 40th Avenue NE to access the Emergency Department; otherwise, use Penny Drive to access the hospital campus.

The fencing will be installed from Dec. 3 to Dec. 17. Black mesh screening will be installed on the fence from Dec. 18 to Dec. 26. The fencing work will generate minimal noise but will be visible to neighbors. Normal construction hours apply: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org if you have questions.

On Wednesday, Nov. 28, construction crews will remove and relocate two Emergency Department (ED) signs and installing a third at the hospital campus:

• Relocate the “Emergency” sign on the canopy
• Relocate the directional sign at the ED driveway onto 40th Avenue NE
• Install a new ED sign at the northeast corner of 40th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street

This work is one of the final steps in modifying the ED entrance and drop-off in preparation for Building Care construction. Once the signs have been relocated, the new “looped” ED driveway system to 40th Avenue NE will open. Patient families will enter at the southerly driveway and exit at the northerly driveway (which is the current ED drive) while Building Care is under construction.

A truck will be used to relocate and install the signs. Parking will be temporarily restricted on the east side of 40th Avenue NE just north of NE 45th Street while the new ED sign is installed. This work will generate normal levels of construction noise within the standard weekday work window of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Please call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org if you have questions.

In the coming weeks, you may notice some exterior signs will be covered at the hospital campus. We are modifying some of our directional signs to account for navigation and parking changes occurring on campus as part of Building Care construction. The sign coverings will be removed by Dec. 3. All Seattle Children’s departments and services will continue to operate as normal. If you have questions, please email construction@seattlechildrens.org or call 206-987-8000.

Construction crews will place asphalt on Nov. 8 and Nov. 13 as part of the ongoing project to modify the Emergency Department driveway and drop-off area at the hospital campus. The asphalt placement will create some odor and normal levels of construction noise from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on those dates. This work is weather-dependent, therefore the dates are subject to change. As always, please call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org with questions.

Seattle Children’s is planning to install a new Emergency Department sign on the east side of 40th Avenue NE, just north of NE 45th Street. On Friday, Nov. 2, a construction crew will excavate for the new sign’s footings from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then, on Wednesday, Nov. 7, crews will pour the sign footings in concrete from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Parking will not be permitted on the east side of 40th Avenue just north of 45th Street during these construction periods, and the sidewalk in that area will be closed. Flaggers will help direct pedestrians around the closed portion. A vacuum truck and a concrete truck will be present. Noise from these activities will be generated during the hours noted above. The sign will be installed at a later date.

If you have questions, please call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org.

As part of the construction work taking place at the Seattle Children’s hospital campus, crews will saw cut and remove portions of existing asphalt and curbs so they can install stormwater pipes and a manhole. The work area will be within the construction fence and will occur from Friday, Nov. 2 to Monday, Nov. 5. Noise from these and the other ongoing activities will occur from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3. If you have questions, please call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org.