Mayor Mike McGinn and Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin released a report, Public & Private Investments in South Lake Union that examines the relationship between public sector actions and private investment decisions in South Lake Union and how they have contributed to job growth and economic development.
“South Lake Union has been an engine for job growth and new housing, helping Seattle recover from the recession,” said McGinn. “The City’s role has been crucial in helping support these new jobs. That work continues. The South Lake Union rezone proposal will help support up to 22,000 new jobs and up to 12,000 new households, including affordable housing, preservation of existing housing and open space, and other community benefits.”
“I was initially skeptical about some of the grand plans to transform South Lake Union into a regional public health/technology powerhouse. But the numbers demonstrate that targeted public investments and forward-thinking policy decisions actually did make a tremendous difference in shaping the future of that neighborhood,” said Councilmember Richard Conlin, Chair of the Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee. “The lessons learned about how our early actions primed the pump for job growth and economic prosperity will inform our consideration of the proposed South Lake Union rezone legislation and other infrastructure investments in the neighborhood.”
A few of the highlights from the report about the increase in jobs, development and tax revenues include:
- that today, South Lake Union has an estimated 23,000 jobs, South Lake Union’s share of Seattle’s total employment has also increased over time.
- From 1995 to 2010, Seattle added a net 34,000 jobs, and South Lake Union represents 1 in 10 of those jobs, indicating the neighborhood is increasingly a major drive of economic opportunity.
The city’s actions to support economic development in South Lake Union include: Regional planning efforts which gave a broad regional framework designed to concentrate growth in urban areas, and reinforced those regional plans in the City’s comprehensive plans, and supporting and investing in public infrastructure and amenities in the neighborhood, such as the Streetcar, Cascade Park, Lake Union Park, and the Mercer Corridor.
Read the full release here and the full report here
More coverage on the study release includes:
Geekwire: Seattle mayor touts South Lake Union as an ‘engine for job growth’
KOMO TV: McGinn touts new South Lake Union economic study