Downtown Seattle Vibrant But Fragile, says Nordstrom CEO

The Downtown Seattle Association released a report today that has some good news about the state of the Seattle downtown area but also a great deal that is worrisome.

I cant underscore enough how fragile the downtown area is, said Blake Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom, speaking at the Associations annual breakfast today, If a city loses its balance, its hard to get it back.There are stores that are living day-to-day. We are at an inflection point.

The bad news:

• Taxable retail sales have plunged from a high of $1.8 billion in 2007 to less than $1.55 billion in 2010.
• Downtown employment is at 222,000, down from a high of 244,500 in 2008. Total downtown jobs in 2010 were actually down 12 percent from 2000.
• With few areas for children to play and no elementary school close by, 49 percent of families with children leave after their children reach age 5.
• There are lots of unsightly areas such as third and Pike that need to be revitalized.

The good news:

• The population of downtown Seattle has climbed 77 percent since 1990 to about 60,000, and now accounts for about 10 percent of Seattles total population. Thats just a touch fewer than San Franciscos. Its larger than Philadelphia and Boston and more than twice the size of Boston, San Diego or Denver. A denser population is critical to supporting the retail, arts and services critical for the urban experience.
• Downtown occupancy rates climbed to 82 percent in 2011, from 80 percent in 2009. Hotel occupancy rose to 90 percent from 83.4 percent in 2009.
• Washington State Convention Center attendance climbed to 449,000, up from 431,000 in 2009.
• The number of apartment units under construction climbed to 3010 units in 2011 from just 409 units in 2010.
• The number of restaurants downtown now numbers 674, up 4 percent from a year ago; the number of bars totals 111, up 26 percent; and the number of spas total 171, up 10 percent.

Were on the right track, said Kate Joncas, CEO of the Association, but we need to continue to develop an environment that attracts and fosters growth.

Dana Telsey, the CEO of New York-based Telsey Advisory Group who also spoke at the Association’s breakfast, suggested Seattle look at some of the successful experiences of other cities in the world including New York’s revitalization of a once seedy meat-packing district into the city’s most popular shopping area today. Other success stories include Miami’s Lincoln Road, London’s leading luxury shopping destination at Oxford Street and Chicago’s Michigan Avenues. In each case, Telsey said, the region attracted the right mixture of shops, hotels, department stores targeting shoppers of a broad range of ages and interests.