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Bellevue, WA Area Guide

Bellevue is a rapidly growing city in King County, Washington, across Lake Washington from Seattle. The name Bellevue means “beautiful view” in French and that is precisely what Bellevue offers. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city. The population was 109,569 at the 2000 census, but by 2007 had grown to an estimated 121,347. Bellevue is currently the second largest city center in Washington state with over 35,000 employees and 5,000 residents. Based on per capita income, Bellevue is the 15th wealthiest of 522 communities in Washington. Bellevue was recently named number 1 in CNNMoney's list of the best places to live and launch businesses. To discover more about Bellevue, please visit their official website at: http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/.

History

For the following information on Bellevue’s rich history and more, please visit: http://www.thebellevueblock.com/bellevuehistory.php.  Please visit the link provided above at your convenience.

The history of Bellevue is especially interesting because it was founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer. However, Bellevue was not incorporated until 1953. For quite a while Bellevue was just another rural part of Washington that wasn’t easy to get to and therefore very little development or growth took place. But, with the construction of Lake Washington Floating Bridge in 1940 access was improved considerably and Bellevue finally started growing. Many people who worked in Seattle chose to live in Bellevue since it was close by and more affordable. In 1963 a second bridge was opened across Lake Washington called the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. With this second bridge Bellevue’s population and growth really began to take off. Growth continued throughout the 1980's and 1990's and with a brief holdup in the early 2000's Bellevue is once again growing and developing. In fact, many new high-rises are under construction and will be completed in a few years. Finding new tenants for all the new offices and retail space shouldn’t be a problem and it’s possible that all the space will sell out before construction is completed.

The city's long-term plans include the Bel-Red Corridor Project, a large-scale planning effort to encourage the redevelopment of a large northern section of the city bordering the adjacent town of Redmond. Patterned after what many civic leaders consider the successful redevelopment of the downtown core, early plans include "superblock" mixed use projects similar to Lincoln Square. Premised on the 2008 approval of the extension of Link Light Rail to the Eastside, the city hopes to mitigate transportation problems impeding earlier efforts in redeveloping the downtown core; viewed as an economic development opportunity by many in the business and building development community, the process has focused on infrastructure and the encouragement of private construction in a large-scale urban renewal effort. 

Attractions

Bellevue is home to numerous attractions for all ages and interests.  Bellevue is known as a "City in the Park," and offers almost 100 city parks, and is a nature lover's place to be. Bellevue is located just ten minutes east of downtown Seattle. Crossroads Bellevue offers 40 acres of stores where shoppers can enjoy free live music, public art, cultural events and more. Bellevue Square is considered by many one of the best malls in the country. Bellevue Washington has excellent golf courses, many only a short drive from the Bellevue Hilton.  Bellevue- Seattle restaurants offer a huge selection of cuisines for all tastes. The Bellevue Botanical Garden, which encompasses 36 acres of rolling hills, has appeared in national and international magazines and journals and attracts garden enthusiasts from all over the world.  For this and more information about Bellevue’s attractions, please visit: http://www.bellevuehilton.com/attractions/.

Parks & Recreation

The following information on Bellevue’s parks and recreation has been directly sourced from: http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/parks_homepage.htm.

Bellevue's Parks & Community Services Department manages an integrated system of exceptional parks and open space, and offers recreational, cultural and human services programs. In 2005, the department received the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management. "Pearls on a String: Bellevue's Park System"

Parks & Community Services is collecting input as part of its long-range planning process to ensure adequate parks, open space and recreation facilities and programs for Bellevue residents.