Downtown Seattle is headed towards a “bloom loop,” enterprise boosters and authorities officers cheered Tuesday.
Jon Scholes, president of the Downtown Seattle Affiliation and vocal supporter of town’s enterprise neighborhood, coined the phrase, enjoying off a time period that turned widespread place amid the COVID-19 pandemic: the “doom loop.”
As COVID despatched employees dwelling, battered retail companies and usually modified the way in which individuals moved about in cities, many teachers, enterprise teams and authorities officers started to fret the pandemic might result in a everlasting cycle of despair.
If individuals stayed dwelling, extra companies would shut. If extra companies closed, sidewalks would keep empty and crime would rise. If sidewalks emptied and crime elevated, extra individuals would keep dwelling. And so forth.
Now, Seattle officers are optimistic town has escaped the doom loop and are available out on the opposite facet.
“It’s clear we’re making progress after numerous difficult years popping out of COVID,” Scholes mentioned Tuesday on the annual State of Downtown occasion hosted by the Downtown Seattle Affiliation, which advocates for the enterprise neighborhood.
Talking earlier than enterprise leaders, Scholes, Mayor Bruce Harrell and Gov. Bob Ferguson all expressed optimism for Seattle’s future, and remarked on how far it has come within the 5 years because the pandemic upended metropolis life.
Although downtown Seattle nonetheless struggles with most of the similar challenges it confronted a 12 months in the past — primarily excessive workplace emptiness charges, and excessive charges of violent crime and drug overdose deaths — boosters contend the district is beginning to flip a nook.
The variety of locals visiting downtown and new workplace leases surpassed pre-pandemic ranges. And the crime charge remained constant year-over-year, with the previous couple of months of the 12 months exhibiting indicators of enchancment as town invested assets within the downtown core.
“2024 was a fantastic 12 months for us,” Harrell mentioned. “And going into 2025, that is once we dig deep.”
Guests, workplaces and retail
The variety of native guests — individuals who stay inside 10 miles of downtown — reached 1.1 million in 2024, a 20% enhance from 2023.
Foot visitors within the Pike-Pine hall particularly elevated from 797,400 native guests in 2023 to 921,600 final 12 months, marking the primary 12 months these blocks noticed the variety of visits surpass pre-pandemic ranges.
Within the workplace area, emptiness charges final 12 months clocked in at 21.5%, remaining at file excessive ranges. However, with 448 new leases in 2024, the downtown space noticed the best charge of newly leased workplace area since 2019.
The DSA expects to see the uptick in foot visitors and workplace leases proceed in 2025 because the area’s largest personal employer, Amazon, brings employees again full-time. Amazon’s return wasn’t mirrored within the DSA’s State of Downtown report launched Tuesday, however January foot visitors information revealed earlier this month from the DSA confirmed Amazon has already made an impression.
In January, Downtown Seattle recorded the second-highest every day common for employee foot visitors since March 2020. It additionally noticed 2 million distinctive guests on its sidewalks final month. That represents 94% of the guests downtown Seattle noticed in January 2019.
On the retail entrance, the realm nonetheless struggles to compete with different purchasing districts, like College Village, Southcenter, Bellevue Sq. and Alderwood mall, the DSA discovered.
That bother predates the pandemic; downtown began to lag behind rival purchasing districts way back to 2017.
Crime and overdose charges
Whereas public drug use stays a priority downtown, the variety of overdose deaths from fentanyl there declined by one-third final 12 months.
That matches broader traits throughout the state and nation. Overdose deaths decreased 24% within the U.S. previously 12 months, 41% in Washington state and 21.6% in King County.
Eleven p.c of the county’s overdose deaths occurred in downtown Seattle in 2024, just like the share in 2023, the DSA reported.
On the similar time, the speed of violent crime downtown remained comparatively steady, with crime charges rising lower than 1% from 2023 to 2024.
The Chinatown Worldwide District, thought of a part of downtown by the DSA, had the best charge of violent crime downtown final 12 months, however the neighborhood continued to see crime charges decline from a 2022 peak.
Within the downtown core, incidents of violent crime dropped 11% in 2024 and 27% within the final 4 months of the 12 months, in comparison with the identical time frames in 2023.
The DSA attributed that change to town’s Downtown Activation Staff, a undertaking launched in September to handle the basis causes of road dysfunction and open-air drug use whereas beautifying public areas with artwork installations, lighting and common cleanings.
Wanting forward
Over the subsequent few years, Seattle will reap the advantages of main sporting occasions, new cruise strains, a revamped waterfront park and extra public transit choices connecting downtown to different components of town.
On high of that, downtown will welcome a brand new arts venue, new pickleball courts and town’s first Equinox health club location within the Rainier Sq. constructing. PCC will return. The renovation of Seattle Heart’s Memorial Stadium will get off the bottom.
Some enhancements already led to extra guests final 12 months, together with the opening of the Overlook Stroll, which connects Pike Place Market to the waterfront, and the Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion. Each tasks have been a part of the 20-acre, $750 million revamped Waterfront Park, which is about to be accomplished this 12 months.
The subsequent milestone within the Waterfront Park is the Elliott Bay Join undertaking, in line with the DSA, which is able to revitalize Centennial and Myrtle Edwards parks and create a steady pedestrian route connecting Pier 62 to Smith Cove, close to Pier 91.
The Elliott Bay Join undertaking is slated to be full earlier than the 2026 males’s FIFA World Cup, when Seattle will host six video games at Lumen Area.
These matches are anticipated to generate $929 million for King County between June and July 2026 and create 20,762 jobs, the DSA mentioned.
The Port of Seattle additionally expects 2025 to be a file cruise season, with an estimated 1.9 million passengers setting off on 299 sailings. Seattle will welcome one new cruise line this 12 months and two new ventures in 2026.
On land, new investments in Sound Transit’s mild rail and fast bus strains have already introduced extra individuals downtown and expanded choices will proceed to develop in 2025. The important thing stretch of the East Hyperlink mild rail extension connecting the Eastside to downtown ought to open late this 12 months.
Issues about AI
Talking on the State of Downtown occasion Tuesday, Harrell was bullish about Seattle’s future — however involved concerning the buzzy know-how so lots of its employers have been centered on: synthetic intelligence.
The place employers, Wall Avenue and tech fans envision a chance for innovation, Harrell sees a cybersecurity threat.
“The actual fact of the matter is once we compete in opposition to China, as one instance, we additionally should concern ourselves about defending ourselves in opposition to China,” Harrell mentioned in his speech. “The checklist of vulnerabilities that AI presents are fairly vital.”
Harrell has raised these considerations earlier than, he mentioned Tuesday, however the present White Home administration has modified the panorama. He pointed to the state of regulation and the brand new head of the Federal Communications Fee, Brendan Carr, in addition to the scores of layoffs affecting federal staff, together with these on the Nationwide Institute of Requirements and Expertise, which promotes U.S. innovation and competitiveness.
Seattle has to understand “within the stage of nationwide politics, what we’re up in opposition to,” Harrell mentioned.
Acknowledging he was going “off script,” Harrell mentioned he “didn’t imply to shut on a dire word,” after what had been a constructive evaluation of downtown’s resurrection.
“We nonetheless will make 2025 an exceptional 12 months for us,” Harrell mentioned. “We’re on target. We’re winners right here.”
