42 Columbia City units open right next to station

A temporary certificate of occupancy has arrived for Platform 31. If that name is new to you, it’s the small 42-unit apartment project that’s been rising at Columbia City Station, directly east of the tracks.

The project occupies a triangular parcel at 4734 31st Ave. S., but it mostly fronts on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.

Sound Real Estate Development is the developer. General contractor Blindheim began work there in the fall of 2024. The architect was SHW. It’s a mostly Type V-A wood project, totaling a compact 12,617 square feet, with no parking. Passing by on the train, it’s easy to mistake for a townhouse development.

The leasing website has been live for many weeks in advance of the TCO. Units are SEDUs. They run from about 250 to 300 square feet and have lofts. Others are on the daylight-basement level.

Rents are listed in a range from $1,300 to $1,500 per month. The low end likely corresponds to the 10 or 11 units covered by the city’s multifamily property tax exemption program, to be more affordable.

Amenities include two bike storage areas with 42 stalls, a gym, Amazon package locker and outdoor dog area.

The Platform 31 team also included Terrane, surveyor; Davido Consulting Group, civil engineer; Root of Design, landscape architect; Swenson Say Faget, structural engineer; PanGeo, geotechnical engineer; HV Engineering, plumbing; Emerald Aire, mechanical; Solarc Energy Group, energy modeling; Evergreen Certified, green building consultant; Layton Tree Consulting; Blackout Design Services, electrical; Kimley-Horn, traffic consultant; and Global Federal Credit Union, the construction lender.

A few steps away, on the west side of the station, the same Sound-Blindheim-SHW trio previously completed the 89-unit Columbia City Studios. A very similar TOD project, it wrapped last summer. Both are about a seven-minute walk east to the PCC and Columbia City shopping strip.