Bottom Line Blog Office of Economic Development

Bottom Line

News from Seattle's Office of Economic Development

Mayor Announces $2 Million Investment in Neighborhood Business Districts

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Today Mayor Ed Murray joined neighborhood business district leaders and local business owners at in Seattle’s Ballard business district to announce a $2 million investment in 18 neighborhood business districts as part of the Only in Seattle Initiative.

“This investment in neighborhood business districts is critical to our city,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “Healthy business districts equate to thriving businesses, stable jobs and overall success for our city.”

Mayor Murray's announcment at Bastille Café & Bar in Ballard. April 1, 2014

Mayor Murray’s announcement at Bastille Café & Bar in Ballard. April 1, 2014

Small businesses employ 72 percent of Seattle’s workforce and contribute 35 percent of the city’s business tax revenues, totaling $55.4 million. Our local neighborhood business districts serve as the location and incubators for many of the city’s small businesses.

“The Only in Seattle Initiative is a great complement to the city’s neighborhood planning efforts that have happened throughout the years,” said Seattle City Councilmember Sally J. Clark, chair of the Committee on Housing Affordability, Human Services, and Economic Resiliency. “These investments help the major players in neighborhood business districts execute concrete steps towards a common vision.”

The Office of Economic Development (OED)’s Only in Seattle Initiative (OIS) supports investments in neighborhood business districts, and focuses on the following strategies to create healthy business districts:

  • Business and retail development (supporting businesses, enhancing business mix);
  • Marketing and promotion (events, social media, district advertising);
  • Clean and safe (graffiti removal, dumpster free alleys, lighting);
  • Streetscape and appearance (catalytic development projects, façade, public art); and
  • Business organization development to sustain the effort, including participation of an existing Business Improvement Area (BIA) or exploration to form one.

The local business communities in these seven neighborhoods have developed comprehensive, multi-year strategies, in which the city is investing a total of over $1.2 million in 2014.

  • Ballard                                                 $   85,000
  • Beacon Hill                                          $   60,000
  • Capitol Hill                                          $ 150,000
  • Chinatown / International District        $ 580,000
  • MLK (Rainier Valley)                          $ 115,000
  • Rainier Beach                                      $   85,000
  • University District                                $  150,000

“In Pioneer Square, the recruitment strategy developed in 2012 with the help of community stakeholders and funding from Only in Seattle suggested guidelines for a particular mix of restaurants, retail, and services, and recommended leading the recruitment effort with food,” said Karen True, director of business development, Alliance for Pioneer Square. “We’re very excited about our success in finding those quality, intriguing, and relevant retail businesses that help make Pioneer Square an even better place to live, work, and visit. 26 new storefront businesses opened in Pioneer Square in 2013, 15 of them restaurants, and more are scheduled to open in this summer.”

OIS is also investing $164,000 to help business districts organize and develop action plans in Belltown, Central District, First Hill, Georgetown, Lake City and South Park,

OIS is providing $60,000 to support focused investments in: Columbia City, Fremont and Pioneer Square.

This year, $500,000 was also granted to neighborhoods for capital improvement projects that enhance the commercial district experience.  In 2014, those neighborhoods are:

  • University District
  • Pioneer Square
  • Chinatown/International District
  • Roosevelt
  • Pike/Pine Corridor – Downtown
  • First Hill
  • Ballard

“My family owns Tony’s Bakery and Deli near Othello and has been a part of this community for three decades,” said Susanna Tran, retail broker with West Coast Commercial Realty and committee member of On Board Othello and the Martin Luther King Business Association. “We are eager to work with other community and business partners on a shared vision for economic development that will support the cultural and economic diversity of these neighborhoods. On Board Othello, with funding support from Only in Seattle, brings together these various partners and provides an organizing structure to work together and achieve our goals.”

Over the past three years, Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) in our business districts generated another $34.5 million in revenues to fund services and projects from regular sidewalk cleaning to beautification and marketing.

Other Program Highlights – The Only in Seattle funding will also invest approximately $119,000 to:

  • Help neighborhood business districts explore or enhance Business Improvement Areas (BIA) in the following neighborhoods: Ballard, Belltown, Capitol Hill, Chinatown/International District, First Hill, Lake City, and University District.
  • Support façade improvements for eight businesses near the Othello Light Rail Station in the MLK Othello district.

 

To see the news release on the Mayor’s blog, click here.

Seattle Invests in Startups, Naming Rebecca Lovell as Startup Liaison

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REBECCA LOVELL NAMED AS CITY OF SEATTLE’S STARTUP LIAISON

PSBJ

The city of Seattle’s new startup liaison is a face you’ll likely recognize. The Office of Economic Development announced Thursday that Rebecca Lovell has taken on the newly created role overseeing the Startup Seattle program. “My big initiative this year will be the talent pipeline,” Lovell said. “When I meet with startups, finding talent seems to be one of the biggest throttles to their own growth.” Another important initiative for Startup Seattle, Lovell said, is to reach out to communities that are underrepresented in the startup sector, such as women, people of color and diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

Rebecca Lovell, Startup Liaison,
City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development

“I love Seattle and the startup community, and couldn’t be more excited to be an advocate for our city. We have so many key ingredients for success, and I look forward to working with community organizations, schools and universities, and future and current startuppers to ensure Seattle is on the international map of innovation where it belongs,” said Lovell. “I’m excited to carry on the great work began by Red Russak, supported by the community.”

“As one of dozens of community volunteers working alongside the city, I’m incredibly excited we’re launching this initiative to ensure competitiveness, benchmark our progress against that of other leading cities, and expand opportunities in technology entrepreneurship,” said Chris DeVore, Startup Seattle advisory committee member and chair of the city’s Economic Development Commission. “Rebecca brings passion, industry experience, and an incredible network to this position, and I very much look forward to working with her in this new role.”

Read the full news release here.

Read more of the coverage here on GeekWire.

OED Launches New On Board Othello Webpage

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A new website highlighting the Othello neighborhood has been launched by Seattle’s Office of Economic Development.

On Board Othello

 

On Board Othello is focused specifically on fostering strong and vibrant commercial growth in the Othello/Graham MLK corridor. Current organizations involved include: Artspace, HomeSight, MLK Business Association, Othello Park Alliance (OPA), Othello Station Community Advisory Team (OSCAT), Rainier Chamber of Commerce, Rainier Valley Community Development Fund (RVCDF), SouthEast Effective Development (SEED), City of Seattle Office of Economic Development, and City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, and the list continues to grow.

 

The webpage includes links to an Othello-Graham Retail Real Estate Market Analysis and an Othello Retail Analysis. Both analyses can help inform local business owners as they START, GROW, and GREEN their business.

See the webpage here.

Only in Seattle Information Sessions

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A series of meetings will be hosted by the Office of Economic Development and Impact Capital to introduce new neighborhood business districts to the Only In Seattle Initiative and to update existing districts on the changes in 2014.

The 2014 Request for Applications (RFA) will be released on October 1, 2013. Part of this series also includes two sessions that will focus on how to submit an application for 2014.

Only In Seattle – Introduction and Changes

This meeting will be held before we release the Request for Applications to introduce new districts to the Only In Seattle Initiative and to update existing districts on the changes in 2014:

  • Monday, September 23, 2013, Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave. NE, Multipurpose Room, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Click here to Register

Useful information for applying for the 2014 Only In Seattle Initiative

These two meetings will be held AFTER we release the Request for Applications to review the application and answer questions. Both sessions will have the same content, so only attending one is necessary:

  • Thursday, October 3, 2013, Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave, 40th Floor, Room 4070, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Click here to Register

  • Tuesday, October 15, 2013, Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave, 40th Floor, Room 4096, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Click here to Register

Mayor McGinn Gives Progress Update on Seattle Jobs Plan

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Mayor Mike McGinn updated the public on the progress of the Seattle Jobs Plan, launched three years ago, and described future efforts to support job creation in Seattle. New or expanded initiatives in 2013 include Startup Seattle, expansion of the Pathways to Careers and Career Bridge job training programs, new efforts to streamline permitting for restaurants and cafés, and new infrastructure projects including Gigabit Squared broadband.

Seattle’s April 2013 unemployment rate was 4.7%, the lowest unemployment rate for the city since 2008. It is lower than the state unemployment rate of 7.0% and the national rate of 7.5%. Between February 2010 and April 2013 the Seattle metropolitan area’s job growth rate is 7.7%, outpacing the state’s growth rate of 5.8% and the U.S.’s growth rate of 4.9%.

“This is great news for Seattle as we put the worst days of the recession behind us,” said McGinn. “But we cannot coast on our success. We can look across America to see examples of cities that did not continue innovating new ideas and new jobs and fell into decline. The Seattle Jobs Plan will help Seattle move forward by providing job training to those who still need a good job, supporting new innovation, and investing in our great neighborhood businesses.”

Since 2010, the City of Seattle has made significant investments in its youth and young adults, its innovative entrepreneurs, its economic strengths and infrastructure. Some of these investments and outcomes include:

  • City has committed $2.9 billion in capital improvements, which created or retained 9,531 jobs
  • Distributed $84.9 million in financing to 118 businesses, resulting in 1,476 jobs created or retained
  • Provided training and employment services to 9,740 individuals through the Seattle Jobs Initiative and other workforce development partners, resulting in 1,747 job placements
  • 60,018 businesses were licensed in Seattle at the end of 2012, which was 3,000 more businesses licensed than in 2011
  • Value of construction permits increased almost 63%, from $1.6 billion in 2010 to an estimated $2.6 billion in 2013
  • Issued permits for over 9,000 net housing units in 2012, the highest yearly total since the City began tracking permits electronically since 1984
  • Invested over $12 million to support business district initiatives and community projects in our neighborhoods since 2010

“The workforce of today — and the workforce of our future — must be diverse, highly skilled, nimble, and collaborative,” said Jill Wakefield, Chancellor, Seattle Community Colleges. “Programs like Pathways to Careers, launched with a sizable investment from the City of Seattle, allows Seattle Community Colleges to broaden community partnerships and offer attainable, innovative education and training that provide all citizens with the skills to succeed in the world of work.”

Looking ahead, this Jobs Plan update focuses on items to help Seattle build shared prosperity by maintaining an innovative economy, educating our children, and building for the future. These priorities include:

  • Launching Startup Seattle, an initiative to support the growth of the Seattle technology startup community and establish Seattle as an internationally recognized home for emerging technology companies
  • Improve the experience of starting and operating restaurants and cafes by simplifying regulation and permitting processes with better coordination among City, County, and State governments
  • Creating great urban neighborhoods, including an annual investment of $1.5 million directly in our neighborhood business districts through the Only in Seattle initiative
  • Improve construction permitting across City departments to save time and improve transparency of decision-making to deal with increased demand for permits
  • Execute three creative partnerships with State of Washington and King County as part of the Industrial Development District program. The projects will support industrial clean-up efforts and support expanded cargo capacity at the Port of Seattle
  • Investing billions in major capital projects that will renew our infrastructure, enhance our quality of life and create thousands of good jobs, including the Elliott Bay Seawall project, Mercer Corridor West, First Hill Streetcar and innovative Green Stormwater infrastructure projects
  • Partner with Gigabit Squared to begin rollout of high speed broadband to Seattle neighborhoods
  • Expand the Pathways to Careers partnership with education, industry, labor, non-profits and philanthropy to transform professional education and training to low-income adults
  • Expand the Career Bridge program to help up to 200 more low-income adults who have additional barriers, including Immigrant and Refugees with limited-English and low levels of education, gain access to the Pathways to Careers initiative and obtain the skills they need to get better jobs. $800,000 has been budgeted for this program expansion.

Read the full press release for more information on the update.

Read the full Jobs Plan 2013 Report and Economic Indicators.

Watch the full video of the update below, courtesy of the Seattle Channel.

Economic Resiliency and Regional Relations Committee Meeting In Rainier Valley

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Rainier ValleyJoin the City Council’s Committee on economic resiliency and regional relations at their next meeting on Tuesday, June 4 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm at the New Holly Gathering Hall. The meeting will focus upon the discussion of economic development in the rainier valley around transit hubs. Council members will hear from city departments, nonprofits, and the public about the economic future of Southeast Seattle. Click here for more information. 

Seattle Discloses Energy Use of City-Owned Buildings

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The City of Seattle is providing the public a closer look at the energy use of City-owned buildings in a new report, “Seattle Municipal Buildings 2011 – 2012 Energy Use Performance Report.” The report describes City efforts to evaluate the energy efficiency of 6.2 million square feet of City-owned and operated building space, a process that the City is also requiring owners of mid-sized and large privately owned buildings to do every year. The report also details actions the City is taking to improve the energy efficiency of its facilities.

“We hope that sharing the City’s results from evaluating our buildings’ energy use encourages other owners to do the same,” said Jill Simmons, Director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment. “Taking a close look at the energy performance of our facilities helps identify cost-effective opportunities to save energy and free up taxpayer resources for other important City services.”

To lead by example, City departments were directed to go beyond the minimum requirements of the energy benchmarking program and publicly disclose the City’s benchmarking results. Private owners in Seattle are required to disclose their building’s energy use with tenants, buyers, lenders and other qualified parties upon request. The City building report includes office buildings, libraries, fire and police stations, community buildings and more.

The assessment found that City-owned downtown buildings (City Hall, Justice Center, Seattle Municipal Tower, Central Library) are more energy efficient than the national average. The Seattle Municipal Tower has an EPA ENERGY STAR score of 93 out of 100 (50 is average), meaning it is more energy efficient than 92 percent of similar buildings nationwide. More than 3,000 people work at this 62-story high rise that uses about 40 percent less energy than a typical building of its size. Regularly monitoring and quick action to address in energy use helps the City keep the building performing at the top of its class. For example, continuous energy tracking led managers to reduce weekend heating and lighting when fewer people use the building.

On the whole, the City’s extensive public library system uses about 42 percent less energy than other U.S. libraries. Seattle’s libraries use about 61 kBtus (thousand British thermal units) of energy for each square foot of space, whereas U.S. libraries on average use about 104­ kBtu per square foot.

City building energy use was compared to that of similar buildings throughout the nation – information provided by the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and the Energy Information Agency’s Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). Private building owners can also use ENERGY STAR and CBECS data to see how their buildings stack up to others nationally.

“We applaud the City for taking a detailed assessment of the energy performance of its buildings and sharing this information with the public. Seattle 2030 District members share building energy performance within our organization allowing participants to compare results, share best practices and make our buildings perform at higher levels of efficiency. The City’s disclosure of its data is a welcome step in providing useful information from which the market can learn,” said Brian Geller, Executive Director of the Seattle 2030 District. The Seattle 2030 District is a collaboration of leading building owners and managers, including the City of Seattle, in downtown Seattle committed to significantly reducing environmental impacts within the built environment.

While this is the first time City building energy use has been made public, the City has a long history of monitoring and improving the energy efficiency of its facilities, including recent energy efficiency upgrades at 17 City facilities. One upgrade—a chiller at Seattle Center’s central plant that cools more than one million square feet of space—is projected to cut electricity use by 13 percent. This and other energy conservation efforts have saved the City and taxpayers $1.25 million since 2008.

The City is currently developing a comprehensive Resource Conservation Management Plan to build on its energy efficiency track record. The Plan will outline strategies to improve the energy efficiency of City’s building portfolio by 20 percent by 2020 (from a 2008 baseline).

As of April 1, owners of all commercial and multifamily residential buildings 20,000 square feet or larger are required to annually benchmark and report energy use to the City. Already, more than 90 percent of large building owners (50,000 square feet and above) have reported their building’s energy use. For more information on Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking and Reporting Program and free benchmarking support, visit: www.seattle.gov/energybenchmarking or call (206) 727-8484.

Free ‘Launch Your Business’ Seminars With Score and SBA

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On May 20, Small Business Administration offers two free ‘Launch Your Business’ workshops. The early morning  seminar covers planning and preparation steps to starting a business, followed by a more in-depth look at the funds needed to open a business, contingency and reserves, working capital, major start-up expenses, expense estimates, and break-even analysis. The seminars will run consecutively from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Each requires a separate registration. Click here for more information.

President Obama, Mayor McGinn Urge Private Sector to Employ Youth This Summer

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The Mayor has joined with the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council (WDC) to increase the percentage of private sector involvement in hiring youth interns over the summer through the Youth @ Work campaign. Both the City and the WDC have agreed to help employers facilitate the process of increasing the number of these opportunities.

WDC’s Youth @ Work Campaign seeks to:

  • double the number of youth internships regionally;
  • build a scalable talent pipeline of young city residents for local businesses;
  • increase the amount of private sector support for youth internships; and
  • bolster existing communication capacity to measure and track campaign outcomes.

The Mayor’s Office posted on their blog about the Youth @ Work campaign:

A young person’s first job is an important step on their path to adulthood and independence. Unfortunately, many of today’s young people don’t have the same employment opportunities that previous generations did.  Due to the Great Recession, drop in federal support for youth employment programs, and increasing competition for fewer spots, today’s youth unemployment rates are the highest since before World War II. Nationwide, youth unemployment is over 16%. In Washington State, unemployment is 17.3% for ages 20-24 and 34.1% for youth ages 16-19. At the same time, many local industries say their greatest hindrance to growth is lack of a skilled workforce.

This situation is unacceptable. In response, President Obama launched the Summer Jobs Plus program, to work with the private sector to step up and fill the youth employment gap. Locally, we are launching our own program, called Youth @ Work, partnering with the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County and the private sector. The goal is to increase the number of summer jobs, internships, and job shadow opportunities available for our young people.

Today my office participated in a conference call with President Obama, other mayors, and local government staff from around the country to discuss this situation and our response.  President Obama rightly identified that early experiences shape the trajectory of a person’s life. They can give a sense of opportunity and possibility, and combat the corrosive effect that despair and lack of hope have on individuals and communities. In addition, work experiences help keep kids in school, teach them about the world of work, and help them make better decisions about the careers they want to have and the training they need to get there.  Summer youth employment also give our region’s employers talent for the long term: today’s youth are our region’s future workforce.

Business Breakfast: April 23

The Mayor and partner Bank of America are hosting an informational breakfast on April 23, 2013, 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. in the Bertha Knight Landes Room in City Hall, where businesses can join this sustained effort to give Seattle youth the work experience they need to become the workforce of tomorrow.

To RSVP please contact Aaron Fishbone at aaron.fishbone@seattle.gov or 206-684-8556 by Thursday, April 18.

How Can I Get My Business Involved in Youth at Work?

Youth at Work needs enhanced business interest and financial support for Summer Jobs 2013.

  • Businesses can offer internship opportunities, job shadows, and worksite tours and overviews of jobs in their sector to youth.
  • Businesses that can’t offer internships and other awareness opportunities for youth can directly donate financial contributions to support youth in the program. Y
  • You can get involved through the Youth @ Work website or by contacting Peter Cavanaugh at the WDC directly at 206-448-0474, ext. 3026 or pcavanaugh@seakingwdc.org

Foreign Trade Zone Seminar – April 10th!

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(From www.naiopwa.org)

enterpriseSeattle is pleased to partner with NAIOP, the Port of Seattle, Dorsey and Whitney LLP., and the City of Kent to promote the Port of Seattle’s Foreign Trade Zone #5.  The event will be held at the ShoWare Center in Kent from 7:30AM – 10:30AM on April 10th, 2012.  The event will include a host of Foreign Trade Zone experts who will provide an overview of the program and explain how this  Federal program can generate new economic activity in our region.

Exports and imports in the Puget Sound region are expected to dramatically increase in
the coming years. There are new tools available from the Federal Government to help
encourage this activity that your customers need to be aware of. The benefits of the Port
of Seattle’s Foreign Trade Zone can be applied to every existing building and greenfield
site in King County. This can provide tenants, with a competitive edge, helping to manage
cash flow by deferring, reducing and potentially eliminating customs duties and reducing
overall operating costs.

This seminar will be your best opportunity in 2012 to learn the basics of the Foreign
Trade Zone program and other Federal Programs that can benefit manufacturers and
distributors throughout King County.

REASONS TO ATTEND:
• Get important information about the Foreign Trade Zone program, and how it
can easily and quickly be applied to every existing building and greenfield site in
King County.
• Develop ways to communicate program features and benefits to current and
potential tenants, property owners and investors.
• Learn the program basics and operational requirements from experts in the
import and export field.
• Discover how to use new Foreign Trade Zone knowledge and translate it into
success for you and your business.
• Learn about other Federal tools to encourage imports and exports that can be
accessed by your clients.
• Approved for 3 CE credits.

To register, please visit the NAIOP’s event page.

Cancellation Policy

Requests for cancellations must be received 72 hours before event. If the request is received within the 72 hours, 100% of the registration fee will be refunded. Registration fees for no-shows will be forfeited with no exceptions.