Seattle’s Lander Street Overpass Project Wins $45 Million Federal Grant

Seattle Times | Mike Lindblom | July 6

“Seattle’s long-awaited Lander Street Overpass has won a $45 million federal grant, sustaining the city’s momentum to build the five-lane span this decade. The grant, announced Tuesday, covers most of the $55 million the city requested, and brings total money on hand to $100 million, for an estimated $140 million project in Sodo, just south of a container port and Safeco and CenturyLink fields. The remainder might be gleaned from city, state, port or BNSF Railway sources. The overpass, a long-promoted remedy for traffic that stalls as trains move through Sodo, would have two vehicle lanes each direction plus a walk-bike lane, spanning two city blocks and four sets of rails.” Read more.

Lake Union Office Rents Soar 28% during the Last Year

Puget Sound Business Journal | Marc Stiles | July 6

“”Seattle is arguably one of the hottest markets in the country,” states the second quarter report that JLL issued Tuesday. The real estate services company found that when it comes to vacant space, Seattle-Bellevue is the fifth tightest market in the country. In terms of how much new space is being built, it’s the third most active market in the nation. Only 8.8 percent of office space is vacant now, and that is a new 15-year low.” Read more.

Seattle No. 1 on Glassdoor’s List of 25 Best-Paying Cities for Software Engineers

GeekWire | Kurt Schlosser | July 6

“Software engineers looking for a high base salary that still amounts to a substantial paycheck once cost of living is factored in should look no further than Seattle as the best paying spot in the country. According to Glassdoor’s ranking of the 25 best paying cities for software engineers, Seattle is No. 1. With a “real adjusted salary” of $105,735, Seattle tops San Jose, Calif., ($100,989); San Francisco ($100,989); Madison, Wisc., ($97,236); and Raleigh, N.C., ($94,142) in Glassdoor’s top five. Glassdoor, the jobs and recruiting website, determines real adjusted salary by looking at the ratio of each city’s local median software engineer base salary to its official cost of living figures from the federal government.” Read more.

When It Comes to Attracting Tech Talent, Seattle’s Sitting Pretty

Puget Sound Business Journal | Marc Stiles | July 1

“Seattle moved up one spot to No. 3 on the annual “Tech Talent Scorecard,” which also ranked the city as the top market for level of education. Real estate services company CBRE (NYSE: CBG) on Thursday issued the scorecard, which ranks 50 North American U.S. and Canadian markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent…Education is a key metric, and Seattle ranks highest in this area, with 59 percent of residents 25 and older holding a bachelor’s degree…Seattle ranked third overall in terms of tech talent brain gain, producing 19,297 tech graduates between 2010 and 2014 and adding 44,010 tech jobs between 2011 and 2015, for a net gain of 24,713.” Read more.

Kirkland, Burien on List of Fastest-Growing Small Cities

Seattle Times | Charles Clark | July 1

“The nation’s cities are always ranked for being the biggest and the greatest. One list released last week went small and two Washington cities measured up. Kirkland and Burien cracked a list of top 10 fastest growing small cities in the U.S., according to career advice website zippia.com. Kirkland ranked No. 2 and Burien No. 10. Zippia used Census data from the 2010 and 2014 American Community Surveys to rank 3,031 small cities in America by growth rate.” Read more.