Seattle’s Best Neighborhoods: Ones to Watch
As neighborhoods throughout the city grow and change, here’s a handful of hot areas to keep an eye on
By Ariel Shearer March 8, 2020
This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the March 2020 issue, as part of the “Best Neighborhoods” cover story. Click here to subscribe.
Interbay
Expedia’s newly opened waterfront campus is a shiny bellwether of things to come in this decreasingly industrial neighborhood, yet this strip separating Magnolia and Queen Anne has caught the attention of enterprising small-business owners, too. Champagne Diner, sister restaurant to Pioneer Square’s Damn the Weather, opened here in 2019, and nearby Batch 206 Distillery has welcomed a series of culinary partners (Addo 206, Windy City Pie and now Batch Bar Cantina) to its bar space in recent years. More changes could be on the horizon: A recent report from a government-sanctioned committee tasked with assessing future uses of the National Guard property behind the Whole Foods plaza on 15th Avenue W has suggested designating the land for industrial or mixed residential and commercial use, pending the National Guard’s upcoming relocation.
Ballard
Ballard has already up and come, but makes it on this list for its ever-evolving self-sufficiency. Flush with new townhomes and amenities (PCC recently opened, to keep the new Target store company), this city within a city has reached a point of mitosis. By embracing internal division, Ballard’s microneighborhoods are carving out distinct identities within the larger neighborhood. Look to residential, Puget Sound–facing Sunset Hill for a quiet night out at Baker’s cocktail bar or plan a night in with the help of Molly’s Bottle Shop. West Woodland continues to solidify Ballard’s reputation as the beer capital of Seattle by welcoming ever more taprooms, including the new Reuben’s Brews’ Brewtap, a second location for the beloved local microbrewery.
Northgate
With a new light rail station and the Seattle Ice Centre, a public training facility to support the city’s new NHL franchise, both scheduled to open in 2021, some concessions can be made for the current state of Northgate. Look past the blight of the mall’s construction zone—the site of the future ice center and its accoutrements, slated to include dining and retail space—and set your sights on a future investment. All that heavy construction makes this neighborhood a hard sell in its current state, but that downtown commute is about to improve drastically, and how great would it be to raise a hockey pro?
Bellevue
Bellevue is home to more than a dozen neighborhoods, all of them set to benefit from the city’s ongoing big-picture growth. For starters: What it lacks in nightlife, Bellevue will soon make up for in light rail stations. The East Link Extension light rail project will bring 10 new stations to the Eastside by 2023, the majority located within Bellevue. Keep an eye on this neighboring city for its evolving accessibility and shiny new condos. Families especially should take note of the abundance of compelling public “choice schools,” including Bellevue’s International School, two immersion schools (Spanish and Chinese), and the Bellevue Big Picture School.
Follow Us
Best Places to Live: Bellevue
A growing tech hub across the lake.
Long known as a quiet, bedroom community to Seattle, Bellevue has emerged as one of the region’s social and economic power hubs. Boasting a diverse population and some of the state’s top-ranked schools, this Eastside city has experienced continued growth in recent years, with families and young professionals topping out its ranks of new residents….
Best Places to Live: Gig Harbor
For a quiet retirement—or just a slower pace.
In the south sound, gig harbor lures people with the promise of tranquility, space, and some of the most striking views in the region. The city’s picturesque history stretches back to the 1840s—it was named after the small captain’s gig in which the Wilkes Expedition first arrived—and it has evolved into a scenic community known…
Best Places to Live: Normandy Park
A place apart —but still close to everything.
Normandy Park is a place people choose deliberately. First laid out in 1929 as a suburb, the area grew after the city incorporated in 1953, but it was still home to fewer than 2,000 residents. Much of the land had previously been logged or farmed, and even as Seattle expanded nearby, Normandy Park took shape…
Best Places to Live: Black Diamond
Where to live if you want more space (and love the outdoors).
Black Diamond has always felt like a town apart—not just in distance from Seattle (39 miles), Renton (18 miles), and Bellevue (28 miles), but in pace and personality. Located in southeastern King County, the former coal mining hotspot dates back to the late 19th century, taking its name from the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company….