Downtown Seattle Gains Ground

Downtown Seattle foot traffic continues to increase even though major retailers are increasingly moving out.

The Downtown Seattle Association says 54.8% of downtown-based employees were back in the office in June, an increase from May. Almost 170,000 workers were downtown, the highest number since the start of the pandemic, and 75% of the number of workers in June 2019. Downtown also had 2.9 million unique visitors, or 91% of the number of visitors in June 2019.

The number of downtown hotel rooms sold in June represented 104% of the demand five years ago, and Seattle ranked No. 3 nationally in hotel occupancy the last week in June behind only New York City and Oahu, according to Visit Seattle. Seattle ranked No. 1 in hotel occupancy from June 11-17.

“The increased foot traffic we experienced In June from workers and visitors is driving our continued revitalization,” says Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes. “We have momentum on our side right now. We just need to ensure a clean and welcoming environment.”

The numbers don’t reflect Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week, Taylor Swift concerts, or the Bite of Seattle.

Retailers, however, continue to move out. Saks OFF 5th recently announced that it was closing its location in Westlake Center on July 20, joining other major retailers including Nike, North Face, and Vans in decamping from the downtown core.