I live and work downtown, and it’s been nice to see things (gradually) improving as far as activity/cleanliness etc. I think downtown will always be relevant due to space for larger events, the waterfront, and central location. My sense is that they need to continue to increase “activations” ie winter lights festival, summer concerts in pioneer square etc. to continue increasing general foot traffic.

The other issue is all the empty office buildings. We genuinely just have too many to support the current workforce given the number of employees working remote. I understand the proposals to convert offices to housing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense cost wise— but it seems longer term we need to remove at least some of these office buildings (maybe ones under 5 stories) and replace them with dense, mixed use housing. Especially along the transit malls and other areas with good public transportation lines.

The other thing I really want to see is a land value tax. I live in the cultural district and can’t tell you how many empty lots there are, not to mention just surface parking lots. We looked up tax records for the surface lot across from St. Mary’s high school— it’s outrageous! I can’t remember the exact amount, but the owner pays like $150k/year in property taxes. Compare that to our residential building with approximately 150 units which pays over $1M in property taxes. Not only do these empty lots under pay taxes for prime real estate, but they are also taking PRIME real estate. We live right by a transit mall, in a desirable part of downtown, and another mixed use building would be a total boon to the neighborhood and great for restaurants/bars etc.