Downtown Seattle may get a boost from coming interest rate cuts

As inflation worries ease and the Federal Reserve indicates it’s time to start lowering interest rates, Seattle leaders hope more investment will soon flow into downtown Seattle.

Inflation has dropped to 2.5%. That’s far lower than it was at its peak of 9.1% in June of 2022.

And so, the Federal Reserve has said it’ll start lowering interest rates soon, like a mom or dad rewarding a child with a cookie for good behavior.

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Lower interest rates could have big implications for downtown Seattle. When interest rates go down, developers borrow more money. They use that money to build things.

That's good news, said Jon Scholes, President of the Downtown Seattle Association.

“Anybody borrowing money for any investment in the city is, I think, smiling at the news,” he said.

He offered Pacific Place, the struggling downtown mall, as an example. Recently, it was bought by California developers.

“They’re looking to bring in new retail and new entertainment concepts, that likely will need more investment in those spaces to outfit them in the appropriate way for those new tenants,” he explained.

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In other words, the mall needs a makeover, and makeovers should be less expensive soon.

Then, there's those vacant lots in the area.

If you walk down 3rd Avenue, by Seattle City Hall, you’ll pass a giant hole in the ground. A few blocks further, there’s another block covered with rubble. These are stalled out high-rise projects (the one closer to City Hall will also have public open space).

Now, city officials hope lower interest rates will give those projects a boost.

“If we can get back to active construction, and realize the potential of those two city blocks, that would be amazing,” said Rico Quirindongo, head of the city's Office of Planning and Community Development.

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He said that even if construction doesn't start on stalled projects downtown before the World Cup arrives in 2026, the city will approach developers to do something with their vacant land in the meantime.

What could go there? Maybe a city block filled with small food vendors, like in Portland.

Nothing's set yet. But that's the kind of idea city representatives were talking about at the International Downtown Association conference in Seattle last week. And Quirindongo is into it.