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Featured Project:
Downtown Edmonds, WA

The Downtown Edmonds Economic Enhancement Strategy was completed by HyettPalma. Located just north of Seattle, the City of Edmonds sits on Puget Sound — with its Downtown adjacent to that beautiful waterfront.

The City of Edmonds enjoys quality-of-life amenities that are in high demand throughout the nation — as well as in the Seattle area. And, its Downtown is economically healthy, physically attractive, and enjoys the patronage of area residents.

Why then was HyettPalma retained to develop an economic enhancement strategy for Downtown Edmonds? Because the community is struggling with success. The enhancement strategy was needed to help maintain all of Downtown’s qualities that are highly valued by the community while allowing new economic opportunities to be captured.

As part of the Downtown economic enhancement strategy, HyettPalma recommended several “tenets” that should mold the strategy’s implementation. Those are shown in the following excerpt from the Edmonds Downtown Economic Enhancement Strategy, which was written by HyettPalma.

Downtown Edmonds
Economic Enhancement Strategy
Today, Downtown Edmonds, Washington, is very strong. Locally, this fact is not fully recognized due to the large number of healthy Downtowns and new town centers within the Seattle region. However, it is a fact that Downtown Edmonds has many assets which other communities spend decades striving to create. These include successful specialty businesses and excellent restaurants; low retail and office vacancy rates along with strong property values; a high level of investor confidence and the support of local government officials; and a growing residential base and a good image throughout the region.

Plus, Downtown Edmonds has additional amenities that many Downtowns do not have. These include an active waterfront, a beautiful natural setting, strong incomes in the trade area, solid and varied transportation options, and a growing visitor market.

This all adds up to a strong foundation upon which Downtown can build an even stronger economy.

Due to all these positive attributes, Downtown is experiencing what could be viewed as “the consequences and pains of success.” These include the following.

• Rising demand for, and therefore, rising prices of Downtown real estate.
• Fear on the part of residents that the small town ambiance and quality-of-life, which they greatly value, will be lost.
• Lack of community consensus regarding Downtown’s future. Concerns regarding Downtown’s future revolve around the issues of growth vs. no growth; allowing greater building heights vs. obstructing views of Puget Sound; and developing Downtown as an area that serves locals vs. tourists.
• Due to the above factors, a continuing and escalating debate is occurring. This debate boils down to the choice of “keep Downtown the same” vs. pursuing “economic development.”

The Challenge
The question of how to address Downtown’s future cannot be boiled down to an either or decision — i.e., “staying the same” vs. “pursuing economic development.” Instead, the challenge facing the community is to:

Keep Downtown “the same”
— by maintaining its charm, quaintness,
and small town ambiance —
while at the same time managing
change in a way that allows Edmonds
to take advantage of economic
opportunities that will benefit the community.

The following tenets are being embraced by the community in order to successfully meet this challenge.

Define Economic Development
The definition of “economic development” in Downtown Edmonds is:

Better serving area residents as well as
better serving the types of visitors
who share the community’s values.

By providing the mix of uses these consumers find compelling, and the ambiance they value and find appealing, all of Downtown’s investors will experience an increasing return on their investments. This means that:

An increase in consumer patronage
An increase in business revenues
Profitable businesses that can afford Downtown rents
The increased ability of property owners to
maintain and upgrade properties
A thriving and sustainable Downtown economy
that benefits the local community.

Build a Theme on Your Values
Edmonds is not simply a small town oasis located near a large city — Seattle. The City of Edmonds is a complete city in and of itself, as opposed to being a resort town or bedroom community. Edmonds — and Downtown Edmonds, in particular — affords area residents and visitors a very appealing small town quality-of-life along with all the amenities found in a self-sustaining city. This translates into a friendly, comfortably paced lifestyle where residents are removed from the frantic pace of a large city yet can enjoy all the amenities of city-life at home — e.g., outdoor activities, visual and performing arts, great restaurants, specialty shops, and more.

Therefore, when considering a theme for Downtown Edmonds, that theme is being built on what the community values most about Downtown:

Its quaint, historic, old-fashioned charm and ambiance,
Its beautiful natural environment,
Its approachability and friendly people, and
Its varied retail, restaurant, and cultural offerings.

And, the enhancement strategy is being used to ensure that Downtown’s theme is not simply physical in nature. Instead, an economic theme is being created Downtown by ensuring that its mixture of uses meets the needs and desires of area residents and visitors.

Target Customer Groups
Downtown Edmonds currently attracts the patronage of area residents, Downtown residents, Downtown employees, and area visitors. And, Downtown has the potential to garner increased patronage from these four customer groups. To successfully do so, the following are being kept in mind.

• A Downtown that is cherished by local residents is most often one that tourists find tremendously appealing. So, first and foremost, Downtown must meet the needs and desires of area residents.
• An increase in the number of Downtown residents and office workers will result in more customers for Downtown’s businesses and an overall healthier Downtown economy. In addition, with more residents and employees, Downtown will have the possibility of being able to offer what local residents call “basic” businesses — such as a pharmacy — which are greatly desired by the community.
• The form of tourism development that will be most beneficial to the community entails pursuing tourists who share the values held dear by local residents. Therefore, tourism development for Downtown Edmonds should be targeted at attracting cultural tourists, environmental tourists, and heritage tourists.

Stay Genuine
Downtown is being enhanced as a genuine and authentic Downtown that serves area residents and reflects the values of the community. Downtown Edmonds is not being developed to have a fake or contrived physical theme. And, while Downtown should invite and enjoy the patronage of area tourists, it is not being developed as a “touristy” Downtown of fudge shops, t-shirt shops, and other types of businesses that will not appeal to local residents.

A Clear Gameplan and Teamwork are Essential
For Downtown to reach its full potential, Edmonds understands that the public and private sector entities involved in its further enhancement must:

• Be proactive, instead of reactive, in creating the best future Downtown for the community;
• Work together as a cohesive and unified unit;
• Rally around a common agenda, rather than allowing individual agendas to hold sway; and
• Take action — the enhancement strategy must not become “another plan that sits on the shelf” but a gameplan that is aggressively and diligently implemented to ensure Downtown’s best future.

Leadership is Key
The public and private sector entities involved in implementing the enhancement strategy are providing strong, clear, and courageous leadership to:

• Bring about the kind of change that is in the best interest of the community as a whole;
• Protect the values and quality-of-life which the community holds dear;
• Face those who would take a “head in the sand” approach to change;
• Communicate the ramifications — both positive and negative — of specific actions or inactions related to Downtown’s best future; and
• Communicate that “staying the same” (i.e., maintaining Downtown’s ambiance) will require strategic change and hard work — rather than inaction.