A pair of high-end, historic enclaves, Officer’s Row and Montana Circle, sit in the middle of Discovery Park—vestiges from when the park was Fort Lawton. This 1916 townhome is half of Building 901. Like the rest of Montana Circle, it was built originally for non-commissioned officers in the U.S. Army. Sure, the historic significance is a big draw here: The district joined the National Register of Historic Places in the late 1970s, and the homes still sport their original Colonial Revival designs. But the real headline is the location, completely enveloped by Seattle's largest park.

While the military gave up most of the park to the city in 1972, it retained the historic military housing for quite some time. For years it remained closed off to the public. In 2015, the Navy sold these two pockets of housing to a private developer, Rise Properties, which renovated landmark buildings and put them on the market. (Let's not confuse this with the long-planned, much-stalled affordable housing project on other former Fort Lawton land.)

This townhome building has been two separate dwellings from the start. It’s one of just two Montana Circle properties with a brick exterior. Preserved vintage details include webbed fanlight windows above the door to the enclosed front porch, thick friezes, stone sills, and the original one-car garage.

Rise spent an average of $200,000 modernizing the Montana Circle buildings, but the layout is largely the same as it was before the big renovation. On the main floor, a large living room has a corner fireplace and a handsome open staircase with a banister. An adjacent sun room makes a nice formal dining area. The kitchen has been modernized, but doesn’t bleed into the other common areas. A cute little powder room off to the side is probably a newer, but very welcome, addition.

Upstairs, each of the home’s three bedrooms are unique. The smaller one is an ideal office, and another has built-in shelves with a window bench. The largest is a corner room with two closets, and the closest to a bathroom with a walk-in shower.

The basement tosses the formal air of the main floor out the window with a large, painted-brick den, complete with under-stair cubbyhole. A large, hybrid bathroom and utility room offers both a tub and extra storage space.

The home has its own back porch, patio, and small rear lawn, but the neighborhood shares some common outdoor amenities like fire pits and a playground. Of course, that's in addition to the entire 534-acre park around it with its own playgrounds, beaches, meadows, and views.

Listing Fast Facts

4406 Montana Circle West
Size: 1,914 square feet/.2 acres, 3 bedroom/2.25 bath
List Date: 5/26/2023
List Price: $1,589,000
Listing Agents: Gunnar Hadley, Windermere