114,000 More People: Seattle Now Decade’s Fastest-Growing Big City in All of U.S.

Seattle Times | Gene Balk | May 24
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/114000-more-people-seattle-now-this-decades-fastest-growing-big-city-in-all-of-united-states/

“The U.S. Census Bureau released new population figures for U.S. cities on Thursday, and they show that Seattle has toppled Austin, Texas, to become the nation’s fastest-growing big city this decade. Seattle moved into the top spot after registering yet another year of remarkable growth in 2017. The city’s population hit an estimated 725,000, gaining 17,500 people from July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2017. Our growth rate in that period — 2.5 percent — was second only to Atlanta among the 50 largest U.S. cities.”

Inside Seattle’s Space Needle After Its $100 Million Makeover

CBS News | CBS News Staff | May 24
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/space-needle-seattle-renovation-construction/

“It is to Seattle what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Pointing 605 feet into the clouds, the Space Needle – the famous saucer in the sky – has been a symbol of the city for more than half a century. It was the centerpiece of the 1962 World’s Fair, a vision of a space-aged future. But having just turned 56, Seattle’s beloved Space Needle had been quietly enduring a mid-life crisis. Architect Alan Maskin was put in charge of giving it what he calls a space lift – “mechanical systems, electrical, plumbing, elevators, everything.””

A Hipster Road Trip through Seattle, Portland and San Francisco

The Guardian | Christian Koch | May 24
https://www.theguardian.com/untapped-usa/2018/may/24/a-hipster-road-trip-through-seattle-portland-and-san-francisco

“Smells like entrepreneurial spirit. Seattle may have spawned big corporations such as Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing, but data analysts Infogroup crowned it the “World’s Most Hipster City” – it has the highest concentration of microbreweries, record-stores and tattoo parlours anywhere on the planet. What better place to fly into to start your hipster-themed trip around the States? Many of these micro-businesses occupy former car-repair shops in Capitol Hill. It’s micro-everything here.”

Madrona Raises $300M Venture Fund, Reveals Strategy for Investing in Pacific Northwest Startups

GeekWire | Taylor Soper | May 22
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/madrona-raises-300m-venture-fund-reveals-strategy-investing-pacific-northwest-startups/

“Madrona Venture Group today announced a new $300 million investment fund, creating a fresh pool of capital that it will use to bankroll more than 30 new tech startups in the Pacific Northwest. It’s the seventh fund for Madrona, one of the region’s most active firms that launched in 1995, and equals the size of its sixth (closed in 2015) and fifth fund (closed in 2012). It’s also another injection of capital for the Seattle tech ecosystem, which has long been criticized for its lack of available investment dollars relative to the robust engineering and entrepreneurial talent pool. Venture capitalists invested $1.5 billion in Washington state companies last year, compared to about $35 billion in California companies.”

Zillow Ranks The Puget Sound Region’s Most Popular Neighborhoods

Puget Sound Business Journal | Marc Stiles | May 18
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2018/05/17/puget-sound-seattle-most-popular-neighborhoods.html

“Zillow Group measured the 20 most popular neighborhoods in the country by looking at places with the most page views per listing. Generally, the areas are upscale, so viewers are likely aspirational and not always serious. Two Puget Sound-area neighborhoods made the national list.”