Seattle Chamber Music Society Gets Its Permit to Build a Concert Hall Inside a Downtown Office Tower

A concert hall is going into a downtown Seattle office tower. On Oct. 19 the city issued a building permit for the Seattle Chamber Music Society's new hall, to change part of a commercial building at 1405 Sixth Ave. from medical services to a concert hall, with a reported value of $4.4 million.

The permit is the first in our records for the project. It calls for "interior alterations for a performance hall (Seattle Chamber Music Society) at Suite 305."

From announcement to permit in three months

The society announced the plan in July. It will build a 271-seat hall inside the 44-story U.S. Bank Center at Sixth Avenue and Union Street, The Seattle Times reported. The society calls it the city's first permanent venue designed only for chamber music.

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The news reports didn't say what the space was used for before. The permit does. It's a change of use from medical services to a concert hall.

Construction is set to start this winter, and the hall is planned to open in early 2028, according to the society.

A room built around the players

The hall is laid out in a U shape, and no listener will sit more than 40 feet from the performers, according to the Times. The space also holds five rehearsal rooms, a suite for visiting artists, a music library, a room for streaming and playback, and the society's offices. A new recording label, SCMS Records, will be based there.

"This hall is being designed around chamber music itself," said John Holloway, the society's chief executive, in its announcement.

Artistic director James Ehnes told the Times the city lacks "what we're building, which is a dedicated chamber music hall."

The society has been part of Seattle's music scene since 1982. It runs a smaller center kitty-corner from the new site, on a lease that runs through 2030, and says it has outgrown it. It will keep playing Benaroya Hall and Town Hall Seattle, too.

Leasing instead of building

The society signed a 15-year lease with two five-year renewal options, Holloway told the Times. He said leasing made sense because office space is affordable right now, and the building's parking and maintenance come with it. The society plans a capital campaign this year with a likely goal of $25 million, the Times reported.

The permit's $4.4 million is the value reported to the city for this building permit. It isn't the project's full cost or a contract amount.

Holloway sees the hall as a draw for downtown. "It's the culture that's going to bring people," he told the Times.

Downtown space is filling again

Downtown Seattle posted 300,000 square feet of positive net absorption in the third quarter, its first positive quarter since the third quarter of 2021, CBRE reported Oct. 9.

Big work is wrapping up elsewhere in the city as well. A $250 million Amtrak maintenance and inspection building for the new Airo trains finished on time and $50 million under its original contract price, Construction Dive reported Oct. 27. That job put about 120 people to work in construction.

At Sixth and Union, the next step is the build-out itself, which the society says starts this winter.

See all of Seattle's latest permit numbers, updated weekly.

Sources

• The Seattle Times (Margo Vansynghel), "New downtown Seattle music venue planned for office tower" (July 14, 2026), via the Yakima Herald-Republic: yakimaherald.com
• Seattle Chamber Music Society, "SCMS Announces the Building of a New Center for Chamber Music" (July 15, 2026): seattlechambermusic.org
• CBRE, "Puget Sound Office Figures Q3 2026" (Oct. 9, 2026): cbre.com
• Construction Dive, Amtrak maintenance facility in Seattle (Oct. 27, 2026): constructiondive.com
• City of Seattle building permit 7083813-CN, issued Oct. 19, 2026.
• Photo: PinchyCC, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: commons.wikimedia.org