2019 MID-YEAR UPDATE

JULY 2019

2019 Economic Development Partnership Updates

In June 2016, the Port of Seattle (POS) Commission created the Economic Development

Partnership (EDP) program to advance local economic development in partnership with cities in

King County. The Commission authorized a third round of EDP program funds in 2019. POS has

allocated $795,900 to 25 King County cities through the EDP program during the 2019 funding

cycle. Additionally, cities have allocated almost $584,000 in monetary and in-kind matching

resources.

Projects undertaken in 2019 are classified under five different categories based on the type of

economic development activities undertaken. Several cities are conducting multiple projects and

some cities’ projects crossover into multiple categories.

Number of economic development projects by category are:

• Business Recruitment: 14 cities,

• Business Assistance and Retention: 13 cities,

• Planning/Feasibility Studies: 10 cities,

• Tourism: 9 cities,

• Buy Local Initiatives & Marketplace Development: 4 cities.

The projects highlighted below offer a sample of the ways cities are leveraging the EDP program

to create jobs and advance the regional economy.

Exhibit 1. Participating cities by project category, 2019

City

Business

Recruitment

Business

Assistance

and

Retention

Planning &

Feasibility

Studies

Tourism

Buy Local &

Marketplace

Development

Auburn



Bellevue



Bothell



Burien



Covington



Des Moines



Duvall



Enumclaw



Federal Way



Issaquah



Kenmore



Kent



Kirkland



Maple Valley



Newcastle



Normandy Park



North Bend



Pacific



Redmond



Renton



SeaTac



Shoreline



Snoqualmie



Tukwila



Woodinville



Total

CITY PROJECT SUMMARIES

Regional Partnerships

Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland

• Continuing to grow and market the Innovation Triangle – a regional economic

development partnership between Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland. In 2019, the cities

plan to attend several international tradeshows, expand social media marketing, and

update key sector profiles for prospective companies.

• The Innovation Triangle also added a business retention component to work with firms at

risk of leaving the region.

Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, and Renton

• Startup425, a partnership with the Cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, and

Renton, is continuing to support entrepreneurs through business classes hosted through

the King County Library System including the Spring Business Foundations Series.

• Cities in the partnership signed interlocal memorandums of understanding in 2019

formalizing and solidifying the partnership.

Duvall, North Bend, and Snoqualmie

• The “Savor Snoqualmie Valley” tourism promotion initiative, coordinated by the

Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust in partnership with the business community,

facilitates tourism marketing activities for participating cities in the Snoqualmie Valley to

cooperatively encourage tourism and outdoor recreation in the region.

Kent, Tukwila, and Pacific (Renton and Auburn are taking part using separate funds)

• Creating a shared business recruitment website, with real-time property and

demographic data, to market the Kent Valley as a real estate sub-market.

• Increasing the visibility of the Kent Valley using regional and national media and defining

the Kent Valley as a center of aerospace innovation and high-tech manufacturing.

Kent and Pacific

• The “Interurban Trail Intermodal Opportunity Study” will identify new Kent-Pacific area

trail connections, trail improvements, and connections to other transit options. The

study looks to expand multi-modal transportation networks and improve transportation

choices in the industrialized areas of South King County.

Individual City Projects

Auburn - $65,000

• Supporting the Auburn Innovation Partnership Zone Business Incubator through in-

person and virtual business support classes, new virtual membership options targeted to

home-based businesses, and a new partnership with WeWork and Dublin, Ireland based

DogPatch Labs. The “international soft-landing” business program with DogPatch Labs

emerged from a Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce trade mission to Dublin,

Ireland.

• Enhancing the Auburn Buy Local website to new customers, a business-to-business supply

chain tool with listings that uses city business licenses to promote local purchases.

• Identifying, then recruiting new companies or growing local companies, to fill market and

supply chain voids in the aerospace, composite, and additive manufacturing industries.

Bellevue - $65,000

• Continue to promote and grow the Bellwether Arts Festival, a 10-day multidisciplinary

event which takes place in downtown Bellevue, by updating the website and growing the

advertising of the event.

• Encourage tourism and after-hours local visitation to the Grand Connection corridor in

downtown Bellevue by testing interventions (like tables and chairs, improved wayfinding,

buskers, etc.), which increase the sense of place encouraging people to linger along the

route, and ultimately increasing sales at local restaurants, bars, and shops.

• Participating in the Startup425 and the Innovation Triangle regional partnerships.

Bothell - $18,000

• Conducting a feasibility assessment to determine if a public-private partnership could be

used to develop a revenue-generating destination boutique hotel, brewery, or

performing arts center that complements a new open space area in Bothell. The

development area is a 4-acre “active use area” within an 89-acre former golf course that

was recently purchased and converted to open space.

Burien - $51,850

• Promoting Burien dining and shopping excursions to tourists, including SeaTac

International Airport travelers, by working with the Seattle Regional Tourism Authority to

deploy a mix of public relations, TV advertising, and print advertising.

• Offering business education training series, in English and Spanish, to local businesses

through the Highline College Small Business Development Center and Ventures.

Multilingual business education was identified as a city need based on a survey of local

businesses in 2018.

• Working with the Burien Business and Economic Development Partnership to identify

industry clusters to target for business attraction.

• Hosting a property owners and property investor match-making event to promote the

new federal Opportunity Zones and connect real estate buyers and sellers.

Covington - $7,250

• Providing 75-hours of one-on-one business advising services to local businesses through

the Green River Community College Small Business Development Center.

Des Moines - $31,140

• Completing a third phase of the Marina Redevelopment Plan focusing on developing the

Marina Steps to create an area design that includes a water feature; mixed-use retail;

and office space, hotel, and maker-space – similar to the Seattle Harbor Steps.

• The project includes a 100 percent monetary match by the city.

Duvall - $7,665

• Creating or updating the Snoqualmie Valley Arts and Culture yearly events brochure,

“Arts and Culture” map, and “Eat, Drink, and Explore” map to encourage local tourism

as part of the “Savor Snoqualmie Valley” tourism promotion initiative.

Enumclaw - $11,660

• Creating promotional materials and running a digital marketing campaign promoting the

“Sunday’s on Cole Street” weekly street fair and weekly Enumclaw Farmers Market.

• Providing one-on-one business advising services to local businesses through the Green

River Community College Small Business Development Center.

Federal Way - $65,000

• Hosted a June Foreign Consulates of Washington State lunch and tour highlighting

businesses and investment opportunities in Federal Way.

• Supporting an intern to facilitate city interaction with the Korean American National

Sports Festival, an event estimated to bring 5,000 attendees traveling through Sea-Tac

International Airport.

• Conducting a market analysis study of the development potential of downtown Federal

Way, based on planned light rail service, and creating marketing profiles promoting the

development opportunities for potential investors.

Issaquah - $37,110

• Supporting regional workforce retention and diversity by hosting an Outdoor Recreation

Forum with stakeholders, a Regional Business Forum with Eastside Chambers, and

expanding the “Cultural Conversations Program” to Issaquah. According to the program

application, “The goal of Cultural Conversations is to support minority workers and their

spouses as they enter the United States workforce…it is essentially a welcoming tool for

our future workforce.”

• Hosting 3 “Chamber University” workshops for small businesses covering marketing,

accounting, workforce retention, and owner “work-life balance.”

• Marketing the first Issaquah Sports Medicine Combine as part of the Issaquah Sports

Medicine Innovation Partnership Zone. According to the program application, “the idea is

to market sports medicine regionally in 2019” and then to promote the event nationally

in 2020.

• Participating in the Startup425 regional partnership.

Kenmore - $22,920

• Running the Kenmore Business Incubator and Business Accelerator training for the third

year. The program won the Association of Washington Cities 2018 Municipal Excellence

Award in Economic Development.

• Building on the Port funded Commercial Development Capacity report (a 2017-2018

project), the city is hiring a consultant to work on attracting office development to key

sites and evaluate development incentives.

• Marketing downtown Kenmore with new professional photographs for economic

development marketing and new street banners for the Kenmore Town Square and

Hangar.

Kent - $65,000

• Conducting a regional employment analysis as part of the “Rally the Valley” long-range

planning study. Port of Seattle program funding is limited to supporting the employment

analysis part of the study.

• Leading the “Interurban Trail Intermodal Opportunity Study” and the Kent Valley

marketing, media positioning, and website project.

• The projects include a 242 percent monetary match by the city.

Kirkland - $65,000

• Supporting the growth of Startup425 by creating a strategic plan for the organization and

providing program administration support.

• Participating in the Innovation Triangle.

Maple Valley - $25,280

• Hosting a real estate showcase with FAIBCI’s Seattle Chapter and enhancing Maple

Valley’s economic development website to provide more current information.

• Printing and distributing 7,000 Maple Valley visitor guides and purchasing ads in tourism

focused publications promoting visitation and recreation.

• Providing one-on-one business advising services to local companies through the Green

River Community College Small Business Development Center.

Newcastle - $12,000

• Conducting a feasibility study to understand the redevelopment potential of downtown

Newcastle given current market conditions and new downtown development standards.

Normandy Park - $6,595

• Creating economic development marketing materials promoting hotel development and

other business development on 1

Avenue in Normandy Park.

North Bend - $6,825

• Creating city economic development marketing materials and parcel-specific marketing

materials targeted at attracting niche companies that enhance the livability and outdoor

recreation potential of North Bend.

• The project includes a 100 percent monetary match by the city.

Pacific - $6,875

• Participating in the Interurban Trail Intermodal Opportunity Study and the Kent Valley

marketing, media positioning, and website project.

Redmond - $64,000

• Promoting Redmond at 3 international business recruitment tradeshows.

• Outreaching and working with existing businesses in the Marymoor Village to plan for a

potential, long-term redevelopment of the area.

• Developing a quarterly “economic update” newsletter and virtual GIS Story Map to

promote positive economic development stories happening in Redmond.

• Participating in Startup425 and the Innovation Triangle regional partnerships.

Renton - $65,000

• Conducting a food incubator business plan, in partnership with UW-Bothell School of

Business, to identify local assets, potential partners, and potential start-ups that could

use the space.

• Hosting multiple entrepreneurial training workshops as part of Startup 425 and hosting a

series of 6 workshops offered in Spanish and English targeting businesses in key retail

districts.

• Continuing a multi-year retail business attraction campaign by adding an updated market

analysis and new marketing materials for main retail districts.

• Creating a downtown attraction map and mobile application highlighting points of

interest to tourists.

• Supporting downtown events that increase local commerce and attract out-of-city visitors

including Renton Wine Walks, Food Truck Rodeos, and Summer Concert Series.

SeaTac - $29,130

• Expanding the “Business Synergy” supply chain mapping and local buyer-seller match-

making program to new industries like hospitality and tourism, aerospace, and logistics.

• Communicating with community members, property owners, potential developers, and

company owners as part of the SeaTac City Center 20-year vision – a vision for the

commercial corridor next to Sea-Tac International Airport.

Shoreline - $23,000

• Promoting the Shoreline Place Farmer’s Market through direct-mail, print ads, and digital

marketing to attract new customers and increase repeat visitors to the market and

Shoreline Place. Increasing commerce activity at Shoreline Place, formerly the Sears-

anchored Aurora Square, is part of a strategy to redevelop the site.

• Adding Farmers Market activities and programs, including a new chef demonstration

cooking program, live music, and a Power of Produce family engagement program, to

increase participation and spending by families and visitors.

• The project includes a 206 percent match by the city.

Snoqualmie - $13,000

• Training businesses to leverage the Savor Snoqualmie event calendar, social media

channels, and various marketing campaigns to amplify their business’s marketing.

• Converting the digital Historic Snoqualmie Walking Tour into displays for downtown

kiosks.

• Creating re-usable heritage display boards highlighting attractions to encourage event

visitors to explore other Snoqualmie Valley attractions.

• Growing and supporting the Savor Snoqualmie social media channels and websites.

• Updating and printing the Locals First Guide, the Snoqualmie Valley Trail Brochure, and

the Arts and Culture Map.

Tukwila - $19,800

• Creating a city economic development plan based on community and business

engagement, current market conditions, and other data sources.

• Participating in the Kent Valley marketing, media positioning, and website project.

Woodinville - $11,830

• Conducting a feasibility study to assess creating an adult beverage incubator to support

the 120+ wineries, breweries, and distilleries within 6 square miles around Woodinville.

• The city envisions the incubator would include an educational partnership with a college

or university, a community space for events and incubator produced product tastings, and

equipment and facilities needed for adult beverage production.

Allocated (awarded) funds are calculated based on the program applications provided by

participating cities.