Bellevue - Downtown

[BnaBreaker]

Geez, Bellevue makes Charlotte look gritty and lived in.

[mhays]

Charlotte? Maybe, but Downtown Bellevue is a secondary node that's almost universally postwar, and mostly since the 1980s.

Residents of the city of Bellevue are more transit-oriented commuters than many central cities including Charlotte...in the 2017 ACS it was 11.9% transit, 5.2% walk, and 1.5% bike (18.6% combined) vs. 3.0% transit, 2.1% walk, and 0.2% bike (5.3% combined).

[Evo5Boise]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

You mean looks WAY BETTER than San Jose

Even Seattle's imitation of Silicon Valley has better architecture and urban planning than real Silicon Valley, lol.

Beat me to it! I was going to say Bellevue has a better skyline that San Jose. (I know why San Jose is limited and it is too bad because they probably could have a nice one).

Anyways, I love Bellevue. Lived up there in early 2000's and it was a great area to live in. The skyline has changed dramatically even since then.

Nice photo tour OP!

[geomorph]

Originally Posted by mhays

Also light rail (100% grade separated from Downtown Seattle) will arrive in 2023, including a tunnel that exits at a station next to City Hall, plus two stations on the Downtown periphery.

This is great to hear, it definitely needs this connection!

[kcexpress69]

Nice thread!! I wish that more suburbs that grew back in the 70s and 80s looked like this. Much more densified than a sea of parking lots.

[jtown,man]

I know I am probably in the minority saying this...

But I really like new areas that are clean and seem sterile, at least to live in. I would love to have a condo in that area and also be able to walk to work. Like the Seattle posters mentioned, rail will be there in 5 years. Be able to live in a safe and clean(and mildly active) area and still being able to take transit to the hustle and bustle of a large city...it sounds perfect to me.

[mhays]

The roads are way too wide to call it "safe."

Still, I can see Bellevue's charms too. Since the 2007 boom and current boom, it's gained a critical mass, density, and mix of uses that makes urban living possible, including pretty good express bus service to Downtown Seattle even before rail arrives. It's also multi-cultural -- about 1/3 Asian in the Downtown census tracts even in 2010. Since it's gone through waves of constructon since the 80s in particular, it's starting to have a mixture of eras and price points that make for a more interesting city. It's even starting to do some of its own social services...a homeless shelter is coming soon for example.

[smArTaLlone]

What's this?

[llamaorama]

A movie theater?

[geomorph]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

What's this?

This several-blocks-long development has a movie theater as well as a furniture store, food hall, various shops and restaurants, even a "big box" retailer not in a big box!

[Phil McAvity]

Seattle's version of Century City

[smArTaLlone]

Originally Posted by geomorph

This several-blocks-long development has a movie theater as well as a furniture store, food hall, various shops and restaurants, even a "big box" retailer not in a big box!

Thanks. Its not bad from the a street level perspective.