My buddy in Kirkland rarely ventures into Seattle. Ask him about downtown Seattle and he gets downright snarky.

“It’s a cesspool,” he says. “Why would anyone want to go down there?”

I hear comments like this all the time. And I don’t get it.

Sure, downtown Seattle — like many other downtowns on the West Coast — has its share of transients, litter and crime. Third Avenue in particular can be a little rough, though I’d argue that it’s nicer than it was, say, 10 years ago (a low bar, I know). But I don’t understand the negativity. Downtown is the lifeblood of this and every other city.

Say what you will, but downtown Seattle is coming back. Every month, the Downtown Seattle Association publishes a “Revitalization Dashboard” measuring foot traffic, hotel occupancy, residential activity and a host of other metrics.

DSA called February a “significant month” in downtown Seattle’s recovery.

“Last month we saw the second-highest daily average of nearly 94,000 people since tracking began in March of 2020,” the report says. “Additionally, February’s worker volume ties a high-water mark at 63% of the comparable month’s pre-pandemic level. This is the second time we’ve reached 63%, matching July 2024’s percentage.”

The report also noted that Amazon’s return to office mandate led to worker foot traffic of nearly 80% in the South Lake Union and Denny Regrade neighborhoods. The number of total visitors was also up, as more than 1.9 million unique visitors came downtown last month, an increase of more than 100,000 people compared to February 2024.

It’s worth noting that DSA takes a broad view of downtown, including these 12 neighborhoods: Uptown, South Lake Union, West Capitol Hill, First Hill, Chinatown-International District, Pioneer Square, the Waterfront, West Edge, the retail core, Denny Triangle, SODO and Belltown.