The City of Seattle is taking significant steps to fill empty storefronts and support businesses looking for new commercial space. A new law, CB 121047, is changing the City’s building code, specifically how “substantial alterations” are handled. This reduces the time, cost, and complexity for small businesses looking to open or move into spaces that have had long-term vacancy. This reform addresses long-standing barriers that have kept many commercial properties vacant. These changes aim to turn “For Lease” signs into “Grand Opening” banners across Seattle.
For property owners, the updates to the City’s substantial alteration laws are a welcome change. It’s designed to reduce financial burdens and make it easier to fill vacant commercial spaces. These updates directly address the regulatory hurdles that have made leasing smaller and long-vacant properties a challenge, creating new opportunities to increase occupancy and profitability.
Revitalizing your vacant properties
Under the old code, if your property was vacant for two years, leasing to a new tenant – regardless of their business type – could potentially trigger a substantial alteration review. This could require you, the property owner or the prospective tenant, to finance or oversee expensive, building-wide upgrades just to secure a new lease. As a result, long-vacant spaces became financially unattractive for both you and potential tenants, contributing to prolonged vacancies in many business districts.
Now, with this rule removed, your long-vacant properties are instantly more marketable. You can attract tenants without worrying about an expensive and time-consuming permitting process. This change allows you to position your property competitively, focusing lease negotiations on the space itself rather than debating who will cover the cost of potential City-mandated upgrades. It simplifies the leasing process, reduces your financial risk, and accelerates the timeline for turning a vacant space into a revenue-generating asset.
Attracting a wider pool of tenants
The new exemption for spaces under 7,000 square feet is another game-changer, removing a major barrier for small businesses. By exempting these smaller spaces from substantial alteration reviews, the City has made your properties far more appealing to this large and vital tenant pool.
Entrepreneurs can now consider your available storefronts with greater confidence, knowing they won’t be surprised by six-figure upgrade requirements. This simplifies tenant improvements and opens your space to a broader range of businesses, like bakeries, boutiques, cafes, and professional services. For you as a landlord, this means a faster leasing cycle, lower tenant turnover, and a more stable return on your investment. By making it easier for small businesses to move in, these updates help you fill your portfolio and contribute to creating a more thriving and active streetscape.
Find out more details about the changes in part 1, and what this means for small businesses in part 2.