Virginia CalvinVirginia Calvin

By Virginia

I have a new listing that just came on the market this week. It’s located in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood, and get this – it’s a solid 1922 home now on the market for the first time in 70 years. 70 years! OK, it IS a fixer. 

This lovely home still retains many of the original features. It will take some work for the right owner to get it where you want it to be, but oh, what a house! It also includes a two-bedroom basement kitchenette apartment.

5 Things to Love About Seattle's Montlake Neighborhood | Virginia Calvin | Seattle Real Estate

 

Contact me if you’d like more info on this listing.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Montlake lately getting this listing ready for sale. It has got me thinking about what a great neighborhood Montlake is; it could not be more convenient! You can easily take advantage of the UW light rail station to get to many places in the city, OR just pop across the bridge if you’re commuting to the East side. There aren’t many places in Seattle that can make a claim like that.

And it’s also got just the right combination of quiet tree-lined streets, beautiful charming homes built before 1940, lake views, parks, and proximity to all the resources and restaurants clustered around the University of Washington.

Of course, prices reflect this: the median price of homes sold in the last 6 months was $1,095,000. About 60% of them sold for more than list price, the other 40% below or at list price (the net effect was that overall, selling price was about 3% above list price).

So, in keeping with my recent series on things to love about various Seattle neighborhoods (like North Beacon Hill and Mount Baker), I wanted to put together another post along the same lines, this time about Montlake.

Here are 5 things to love about Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood:

Proximity to UW Light Rail Station

First, we’ve got the light rail station at the University of Washington. From there you can easily get to Capitol Hill in 3 mins, Pioneer Square in 11 mins, and the Sea-Tac Airport in 43 mins – all without hanging out in traffic on I-5 or having to pay for parking. See Sound Transit for Link commute times. Pretty amazing, right?

University of Washington

Next we have proximity to the University of Washington. Of course, if you’re a graduate student or you work at the UW, proximity to the UW is great. But even if you’re not in school (or working at the school), it’s wonderful to be nearby for the many resources the campus has to offer that are open to the general public. These include excellent libraries, the Burke Museum and the Henry Art Gallery, Husky football games and other athletic evens (like the huge crew races on Lake Union that often end by going through the Montlake Cut). Or even just appreciating the fall leaves, which turned the University Washington campus into one of the most beautiful in the region. And don’t forget all the great restaurants clustered around UW area!

Easy Eastside commute

From Montlake you can easily hop on Hwy 520 and get to places like Microsoft’s Redmond campus in about 15 minutes, without having to waste time on I-5. This is a huge plus for anyone who’s commuting to the Eastside for work.

Charming pre-1940’s homes, plus lake views

When I was reading up on Montlake history before writing this post, I discovered this little gem:

“House construction proceeded vigorously during the second and third decades (1910-30) of Montlake/Interlaken–most of them better homes. Restrictive covenants required by Boyer, for example, stated that homes constructed east of 24th Avenue must cost not less than $3,000 and buildings west of 24th not less than $5,000–prices substantially above those for typical Seattle homes at the time.” — from Montlake: One of Seattle’s Treasures by Eugene Smith

This intentional investment in the early Montlake homes means that, if you’re looking for a classic, well-built home from the early 20th century, Montlake is a great neighborhood to start looking.

Beautiful parks + the Washington Park Arboretum

I have been volunteering at the Washington Park Arboretum for years now, and it has been so great to spend time in this beautiful place each week and get to know other people who are volunteering there. Living in Montlake, you would be perfectly situated to take advantage of this awesome park, which includes a Japanese Garden, Winter Garden, and Woodland Garden. There are also a lot of other parks in the area such as the Montlake Playfield and Interlaken Park.

Check out the other posts in this series

This post is part of my current series on the things I love about various Seattle neighborhoods. Check out some of the other posts in the series:

8 Things to Love About Seattle’s North Beacon Hill

5 Things to Love About Seattle’s Mount Baker Neighborhood

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Things to Love About Seattle’s Montlake Neighborhood