In recent years there’s been a mini tech boom over in Bellevue, Wash., the city just east of Seattle that has attracted companies and talent — including a massive Amazon expansion that will bring 25,000 employees to the Eastside.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell made it clear that his city still holds the edge when it comes to innovation and culture.
Speaking at the AI House on Seattle’s waterfront, where he unveiled the city’s new artificial intelligence policy and plan, Harrell was asked how Seattle can compete for companies considering offices in the region — including in nearby Bellevue and Redmond, home of Microsoft.
Harrell touted Seattle’s diversity, arts, music, restaurants, and innovative history — while throwing a friendly jab at his rival across Lake Washington.
“They don’t have an AI House in Bellevue,” Harrell said, citing the recently opened startup hub that is financially supported by the city. “We thought of it here.”
Answering a question from Bloomberg reporter Anna Edgerton, Harrell said Seattle has its “own unique history that we play to for employees.”
“We are leaders, innovators … the Seattle World’s Fair was not in Bellevue, it was here in 1962, which put us on the map,” he said.
His remarks underscored the growing sense of competition between the two cities.
A number of out-of-town tech companies have opened and grown offices in Bellevue over the past year alone, including Zoom, OpenAI, Shopify, Anduril, and Snowflake. It’s also home to headquarters for T-Mobile, Valve, and Smartsheet, plus offices for Meta, ByteDance, and Pokémon.
Amazon has quickly grown its footprint in downtown Bellevue after sparring with Seattle lawmakers in recent years over corporate tax initiatives. Bellevue is the focus of much of the company’s future growth in what it now calls its Puget Sound headquarters region.
Speaking to GeekWire last year, Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson said the city didn’t have an interest in policies like Seattle’s payroll tax.
Harrell didn’t mention tax policy in his remarks on Thursday. The mayor has supported a proposal to increase Seattle’s business & occupation tax, which is already higher than Bellevue’s rate.
Seattle voters also recently approved a new tax on big businesses such as Amazon that will fund a social housing developer.
Both cities have taken a hit to their commercial real estate markets since the pandemic. The vacancy rate in downtown Bellevue is 17.1%, up from 3.3% in 2019, according to a Q2 report from Broderick Group.
Seattle’s downtown vacancy rate topped 30% in the second quarter, according to Kidder Mathews.
The two cities will become more connected, literally, via public transit — with a new light rail line expected to open early next year. Another new line recently opened that links Bellevue to Redmond.
Harrell’s comments came as he unveiled the Seattle’s new AI policy and plan, part of a broader push to establish the city as a national leader in artificial intelligence.
“We are trying to be very intentional about positioning Seattle as a national leader in responsible artificial intelligence implementation,” Harrell said. “Make no mistake about that.”
Related: Seattle unveils a ‘responsible AI plan’ to guide city’s tech use and boost the local economy
