Downtown Seattle has more residents than ever
SOURCE: Axios
A record high 104,000 residents now call downtown Seattle home.
Driving the news: Downtown Seattle, comprising 12 neighborhoods from SODO to South Lake Union, accounts for just over 4% of Seattle's total land area, but is now home to more than 14% of all Seattleites, according to Downtown Seattle Association's (DSA) 2023 economic report.
Why it matters: Downtown Seattle has been slower to recover from the pandemic by some measures than many other U.S. cities. But a diverse and growing residential base could set the stage for a more resilient than ever downtown, DSA spokesperson James Sido told Axios.
By the numbers: Downtown Seattle's resident population has increased by 70% since 2010, according to DSA, and is still trending up. Per the report:
Downtown had a record 55,639 occupied apartments last year.
In 2022, the top three most populous downtown neighborhoods were Capitol Hill (west of Broadway) with more than 18,200 residents, followed closely by South Lake Union (15,100) and First Hill (14,600).
South Lake Union and the Denny Triangle grew the fastest, accounting for nearly 45% of downtown's net residential population increase.
The growth is not fueled by any one demographic.
Last year, downtown scored 69.1 on the Esri's Diversity Index, an increase of nearly 15 points since 2010 and five points higher than the rest of Seattle.
Yes, but: Office worker foot traffic reached only 44% in 2022, up from 15% at its pandemic nadir in January 2021. Last month, office worker traffic climbed to 47%, the third straight month of growth in that metric, Sido said.
Still, DSA and others recognize that workers may never return to the office for the pre-pandemic norm of an 8-to-5, Monday-through-Friday workweek, he said.
Some downtown employers are watching what happens with Amazon, which is mandating that workers return to the office at least three days a week starting May 1, and may follow suit, Sido said.
Businesses, meanwhile, see new opportunities in catering to residents.
The big picture: With just under 50% of its square footage devoted to office space, Seattle is better-placed than many peer U.S. cities, according to a New York Times article looking at where offices dominated downtown real estate.
Boston and San Francisco, which top the Times' list, come in at 83% and 74% respectively.
SOURCE: Axios
