Concrete removal in Northgate
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Northgate was outside Seattle until 1954. When the shopping center opened there in 1950, it sat north of the city limits on 62 acres between NE 103rd and NE 111th streets. On the City's neighborhood map, the Northgate district takes in Maple Leaf, Licton Springs, Pinehurst and Haller Lake.
What sets Northgate apart for concrete work is water. Seattle Public Utilities says more than 90% of Thornton Creek flows above ground through more than 700 backyards, and the City maps the land along it as a riparian corridor. If you want a removal quoted, we pass your details to one local concrete removal company, at no cost to you.
Local facts for Northgate
- Thornton Creek through 700+ backyards
- Over 90% of Thornton Creek, more than 15 miles, flows above ground through more than 700 backyards and over 15 parks and natural areas. Source: Seattle Public Utilities, Thornton Creek Culvert Strategy
- Outside the city until 1954
- Northgate opened in 1950 on 62 acres north of what were then the city limits; Seattle annexed N 85th to N 145th in 1954. Source: HistoryLink, Northgate Shopping Mall in Seattle opens on April 21, 1950
- Mapped creek corridors and peat
- Our overlay of the City's ECA layers on the Northgate district (measured 13 October 2026): about 4.4% riparian corridor, 6.6% peat-settlement-prone, 4.4% Haller Lake landfill and methane buffer. Source: City of Seattle GIS, ECA Riparian Corridor layer (with Peat Settlement and Landfills layers)
- Grading permit in riparian corridors
- SDCI lists riparian corridors among the critical areas where work needs a grading permit and may need environmental review. Source: SDCI, Grading Permit
Near the creek, the permit rules change
SDCI defines a riparian corridor as a river, stream or body of water plus the land within 100 feet on each side. Its grading permit page lists riparian corridors, wetlands, wetland buffers and shoreline buffers among the critical areas where a grading permit, and possibly an environmental review, is needed for work. Unlike the slope rules, that line in SDCI's list carries no 25-cubic-yard threshold.
So a patio or driveway that backs onto Thornton Creek or one of its branches is a job to check with SDCI before anyone breaks it out. SDCI offers 20 minutes of free coaching for exactly these questions, and its GIS map shows whether a parcel is inside a mapped corridor.
SPU describes the watershed as covering 7,402 acres from NE 190th Street in Shoreline to NE 80th Street in Seattle, with stretches of I-5 beside the Northgate Mall area, steep ravines and residential lots.
Peat, an old landfill and a methane buffer
By our overlay of the City's critical-area maps on its Northgate district boundary, about 4.4% of the district is riparian corridor and about 6.6% is mapped peat-settlement-prone, ground SDCI describes as peat and organic soils that may settle when the area is developed or the water table is lowered.
The same overlay finds the City's Haller Lake methane landfill and its 1,000-foot methane buffer covering about 4.4% of the district between them. In abandoned landfill areas, SDCI's grading page applies the standard citywide thresholds, such as replacing 750 square feet or more of hard surface.
Getting the debris out
Northgate is close to one of the few yards inside Seattle that takes broken concrete. Pacific Topsoils' North Seattle yard is at 1212 N 107th St, and its recycling fee sheet, effective 24 August 2026, lists concrete under 2 feet in diameter and marks concrete over 2 feet as not accepted. Break pieces small before loading. Our disposal guide covers the other yards and their published rates.
The area is a mix of houses and apartments. In the City's Northgate/Maple Leaf community reporting area, 36.5% of housing units are single detached homes and 60% of households rent, per the 2020-2024 American Community Survey figures the City publishes. Light rail reached Northgate Station on October 2, 2021, which puts the district 13 minutes from downtown by train, by Sound Transit's count.
Questions about concrete removal in Northgate
What is a riparian corridor in Seattle?
SDCI defines it as a river, stream or body of water and the land within 100 feet on each side. It is one of the environmentally critical areas mapped on the City's GIS map.
Do I need a permit to remove a patio next to Thornton Creek?
Check first. SDCI's grading permit page lists riparian corridors among the areas where work needs a grading permit and may need an environmental review, with no volume threshold attached to that line. SDCI's free 20-minute coaching can confirm for your parcel.
Where near Northgate can I take broken concrete?
Pacific Topsoils' North Seattle yard at 1212 N 107th St lists concrete under 2 feet in diameter on its fee sheet effective 24 August 2026; larger pieces are not accepted. Seattle's own transfer stations do not take concrete. Phone before you load.
Near Northgate
Sources
- Seattle Public Utilities, Thornton Creek Culvert Strategy
- HistoryLink, Northgate Shopping Mall opens April 21, 1950
- SDCI, Grading Permit
- SDCI, Environmentally Critical Areas Exemptions
- Pacific Topsoils, Recycling Fees (effective 8.24.26)
- Sound Transit, Link light rail reaches Seattle's University District, Roosevelt and Northgate
- City of Seattle GIS, ECA Riparian Corridor
- City of Seattle GIS, ECA Peat Settlement Prone Area
- City of Seattle GIS, ECA Landfills (Historical)
- City of Seattle, Neighborhood ACS data
Get a price for Northgate
Send a few details and photos if you have them. We come back with a price range, then pass your details to one local concrete removal company. It costs you nothing.