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Downtown Bellevue is a cohesive 500 acres or so, and its highrises are mostly toward the middle of that. It's starting to expand beyond that a little.
Tyson's is NOTHING like Downtown Bellevue, except a little of the new generation stuff. Tyson's is basically clustered sprawl that's just begun a multi-generational transformation to a more urban form at least near the rail stations.
DT Bellevue started that transformation 35 years ago, and nearly everything built since then has been urban in form -- up to the sidewalk, parking below-grade, retail on key streets, etc. A parking lot or strip retail site in DT Bellevue generally has a development in active planning.
This separation will continue. While Tyson's starts to become urban in spots, DT Bellevue is supersizing. The planned 40 towers seem realistic, with Amazon turning its HQ1 energies to DTB and rail arriving in three years, adding to an existing healthy bus-based transit culture. With all that come tons of new residents, adding to a strong existing base. Here's a list of DTB projects active in the City's entitlement process in Q2.
Bellevue’s current sky rises are close to each other for sure
I've only been to Bellevue once and I didn't walk around much. I ate at John Howie steak and walked a few blocks after dinner. Is that downtown? It had very much the vibe of a large office park to me. Maybe halfway between a downtown area and an office park. Maybe a taller, more spread out Crystal City?
Seattle still feels way more organic and dynamic than Bellevue. Maybe the light rail will change things in the future. Downtown Bellevue feels a bit like a sunbelt city’s downtown but with more restaurants. Bellevue feels a bit like the Denver downtown around the convention center.
I’m generally pretty underwhelmed by Seattle’s suburbs, they are nice, manicured and orderly, but just very cookie cutter and bland. Kirkland and Bainbridge downtowns are probably my two favorite suburban ones in the area.
Denver burbs like Aurora and Centennial might just be even more bland.
Seattle still feels way more organic and dynamic than Bellevue. Maybe the light rail will change things in the future. Downtown Bellevue feels a bit like a sunbelt city’s downtown but with more restaurants. Bellevue feels a bit like the Denver downtown around the convention center.
I’m generally pretty underwhelmed by Seattle’s suburbs, they are nice, manicured and orderly, but just very cookie cutter and bland. Kirkland and Bainbridge downtowns are probably my two favorite suburban ones in the area.
Denver burbs like Aurora and Centennial might just be even more bland.
Nice, manicured and orderly is a good description for the Eastside suburbs and maybe parts of Southwest Snohomish County. But South King County, Pierce County, and a large chunk of Snohomish County don’t really fit that bill. As a whole, though, I agree Seattle’s suburbs are pretty underwhelming and bland.
That’s true for the most part, but there are a few places like Boston or San Francisco that actually have some pretty cool suburbs.
Also Toronto, how could anyone say Markham is lame? It's an edge city, safe and clean, affluent, awesome Chinese and Indian food, and lots of nature trails!
Denver is no doubt on the ups and has experienced massive change, but I can't say it has reached the level of Seattle or even other peers experiencing similar change.
It is still missing a lot of the charm of cities that are fully evolved as so-called hot spots of trend, and the diversity of cultures and ethnicities is lacking in both numbers and integration, even though it is, again, on the ups in this regard. I say this as a half-Asian who feels a lot more at home in so many other places in the US.
But at the end of the day, Denver's robust surroundings and outdoor culture - from Red Rocks to the many hiking trails - in some ways make it so that it doesn't need to evolve at such a rapid pace in becoming the next big city.
I like Denver for its proximity to better spots. Denver itself is pretty cool I guess, but nothing special to me, minus my bias to what is now Ball Arena so I can watch the Avs.
I suppose I am saying that I feel the positives of my own home state's capital are often overstated. Having said that, there is still a sense of pride for the city. And, in conversations in passing, I always praise Denver and the entire state. It is just, here where people are taking the time to have more in-depth conversations, I feel there is space for me to talk with more nuance and recognize that Denver is overhyped way more than it is unfairly talked down on.
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