Some people might ask, “Why would DMC go to the state of Washington to learn about economic development?” Our answer to that question is, “Why wouldn’t we?” Two very different cities in this wonderful state taught us so many lessons—some similar and some quite unexpected.
The Destination Medical Center team spent two days in Washington state visiting Seattle and Bellevue. In Seattle, the city is designed similarly to the DMC development plan, in the sense that there are different “districts” throughout the area. South Lake Union was the first district that DMC officials visited. While there, we spent time at the Discovery Center, an amazing building that holds the history and future of the South Lake Union district. Multiple Seattle officials, as well as Vulcan Real Estate employees hosted DMC, to share and discuss how leaders planned for future growth and lessons learned along the way.
When DMC asked city leaders in Seattle what they would have done differently if they could plan the city design all over again, many leaders shared that they would have invested and planned more public transportation modes with much intention on future needs.
The second day in Washington state was spent in the beautiful city of Bellevue. A urban area with a population of approximately 130,000 people and definitely a community on the move, Bellevue city officials said that at one point, there were 12 cranes in the air in this growing metropolis. With positive progression and rapid change, Bellevue is in full swing with its city-planning efforts. Ideas about light rail, new districts, and a growing population led to many great conversations with this group of leaders.
Below are a few images from the Washington-state portion of the trip.
Starting Wednesday, DMC travels to Cleveland and Indianapolis. Keep an eye on the DMC blog for new posts as well as checking out Twitter for live tweets throughout the day.