Mercer Island's First December With a Train in Town Center

Last winter, the new station on 77th Avenue SE sat finished and empty. The Mercer Island Reporter followed an Islander who has lived here since 1972 as he walked past it, and described the building as "looking very lonely and needing a crowd of people to bring it to life."

The crowd came on March 28, 2026, when 2 Line trains started crossing the I-90 floating bridge. The Reporter's opening-day account put the first train at Mercer Island Station at 10:30 a.m. Most of the talk before opening was about traffic in both directions: Islanders riding into Seattle, and off-Islanders parking here to catch a train. In that same March story, a retired Islander who works at Barrels Wine Bar on SE 27th Street made a different prediction:

"The key is not bringing people from off island. The key is bringing people on Island to the Town Center (to take trains). So it may work in reverse of what people are thinking, and the gold mine might be all of a sudden our own residents say, 'OK, now we have a reason to go to Town Center.'"

This is the island's first holiday season with the station open, and December is a good month to test that idea. The city's calendar, a Saturday market and a row of Boyd Building storefronts all fall within the same few weeks.

What the first months of boardings show

The station is in use. An early Seattle Transit Blog look at the Crosslake Connection counted 1,723 average weekday boardings at Mercer Island in April 2026, its first full month of service.

Comparing it with other stations makes the number more useful. In an October 31 piece, The Urbanist ranked the stations served only by the 2 Line using Sound Transit's August 2026 data. Downtown Bellevue led with 2,541 daily boardings. South Bellevue had 1,924, helped by its 1,500-stall garage, and Downtown Redmond had just over 1,600. Judkins Park and Mercer Island rounded out the top five. East Main came last with 480.

So an island station with a 447-space park-and-ride is in the same range as downtown Redmond. Boardings only count people getting on a train, though. Whether Islanders stay in Town Center after they step off depends on what's open when they get there.

The December calendar

The City of Mercer Island's special events page lists four holiday dates for 2026.

Three of the four take place on weeknight evenings or a Saturday, which is when the Boyd Building storefronts are also open.

Saturday the 5th, table by table

The Chamber's roster for the Makers Market is long, so it helps to know it before you walk in. Here is a sample of what's on the list:

• Food and coffee: Mochi & CO and Unity Coffee Shop are the market's listed food and coffee vendors.
• Things to eat later: Three Forks BBQ, Patisserie De Zee, Bread and Cake Bakery, Twistie Bakes, Namjai Kitchen, Seattle & Saigon, Silk Plus Tea and Island Treats.
• Something to pour: Klickitat Canyon Winery and Drink Contrivance.
• Made by hand: Hand Slow Pottery, NRCeramics, Little Friend Ceramics, Jason Rogers Woodworking, Ric Woodworking, Stained Glass Masako and Golden Oak Crafts.
• Prints and wall art: Erik Stuhaug Photography, Falling Moss Photography, Happy Tree Press, Diana Vinh Art and MIVAL.
• For the dog: All Paws Bakery.

The market runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community and Event Center. That gives you most of a Saturday afternoon to finish your shopping in Town Center afterward.

Where the evening continues on SE 27th Street

The Boyd Building at 7605 SE 27th St. is home to two of the businesses the Reporter interviewed in March. Their posted hours line up with the December calendar.

Barrels Wine Bar is in Suite 107. Its website lists hours of 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday, and it's closed Mondays. The tree lighting starts at 5:30 p.m. on a Thursday, when Barrels is open until 9. The Community Holiday Party ends at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday, when Barrels is open until 10. The one date that doesn't fit is the Christmas Ship, which arrives at Luther Burbank on a Monday night, when Barrels is closed.

Owner Joshua Wojcik told the Reporter before opening day that he wasn't sure whether light rail would bring people onto the island or take them away, "but overall I think mobility is definitely a good thing."

Clarke & Clarke Art + Artifacts shares the address. It lists gallery hours of noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with appointments also available. On market Saturday, the gallery opens two hours after the Makers Market starts and stays open three hours after it ends. In March, Ginny Clarke told the Reporter she expected the station to help restaurants first, and then help other businesses once riders "begin to investigate the community." She also mentioned the Greta Hackett Outdoor Sculpture Gallery, which runs alongside the station, as a reason to walk the area.

MercyVet is a little farther up 77th Avenue SE, toward the station. Founder Jacqueline Sehn told the Reporter that the train gives her staff a way to get to work without sitting in highway traffic.

None of this needs a train ride to work. An Islander who walks over for the tree lighting is in the Town Center crowd the March prediction described.

When the guests land at SEA

The station also makes visiting family easier. Before March, there was no rail route from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to the island. Now there is, and it has one transfer.

1. Board the 1 Line at SeaTac/Airport Station. Sound Transit's rider guide puts the 1 Line and 2 Line transfer at International District/Chinatown.
2. Ride to International District/Chinatown. In Sound Transit's 1 Line schedule dated November 1, 2026, one sample train runs between SeaTac/Airport and International District/Chinatown in 15 minutes.
3. Switch to the 2 Line toward Downtown Redmond. On Sound Transit's 2 Line schedule, Mercer Island is two stops in, after Judkins Park.
4. Pay once. Sound Transit's fare page lists a $3.00 one-way adult fare on the 1 and 2 Lines. When riders tap ORCA or contactless payment, a transfer within two hours credits the first fare toward the second leg.

Guests come out at the 77th Avenue SE or 80th Avenue SE entrance, a short walk from the Boyd Building. For local trips, King County Metro's DART Route 204 stops at Mercer Island Station Bay 1 and runs along North Mercer Way. Its current timetable runs from August 29, 2026, through March 26, 2027.

A Chamber bet heading into its first December

Before opening day, Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce CEO Jen Dean told the Reporter that the Chamber was working with two marketing firms "to let riders know what gems we have on Mercer Island." That effort was aimed at people arriving by train. December's calendar reaches the people who already live here. The tree lighting is on Thursday, December 3, at 5:30 p.m., and Barrels Wine Bar's posted hours run until 9 that night.

Whatever your December plans on the island, one of the best things a home can offer is a short walk to everything above. If you're thinking about how proximity to Town Center and the station shapes a home's value, Larissa Wilson would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a Private Consultation.