| City of Bellevue, Washington | |||
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| Coordinates: 47°35′51″N 122°9′33″W / 47.5975°N 122.15917°WCoordinates: 47°35′51″N 122°9′33″W / 47.5975°N 122.15917°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Washington | ||
| County | King | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Don Davidson | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 33.9 sq mi (87.8 km2) | ||
| - Land | 30.7 sq mi (79.6 km2) | ||
| - Water | 3.2 sq mi (8.2 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 85 ft (26 m) | ||
| Population (July 1, 2008)[1] [2] | |||
| - City | 123,771 | ||
| - Density | 3,947.1/sq mi (1,524/km2) | ||
| - Metro | 3,344,813 | ||
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC−8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC−7) | ||
| Area code(s) | 425 | ||
| FIPS code | 53-05210[3] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 1512000[4] | ||
| Website | http://www.bellevuewa.gov/ | ||
Bellevue (pronounced , us dict: bĕl′·vyōō) is a rapidly growing city in King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle,[5] it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb.[6] The population was 109,569 at the 2000 census, but by 2008 had grown to an estimated 123,771.[1]
Downtown Bellevue is undergoing rapid change. It is currently the second largest city center in Washington state with over 35,000 employees and 5,000 residents.[7] Based on per capita income, Bellevue is the 15th wealthiest of 522 communities in the state of Washington.[8] Bellevue was recently named number 1 in CNNMoney's list of the best places to live and launch businesses.[9]
Bellevue is French for "beautiful view".[10]
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History and growth
Bellevue was founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer and was officially incorporated on March 21, 1953. Prior to the opening of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge in 1940, Bellevue was a rural area with little development. Once the bridge opened, access from Seattle improved, and the area gradually grew into a bedroom community.[10]
Following the 1963 opening of a second bridge across the lake, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the city began to grow more rapidly. It has since become one of the largest cities in the state, with several high-rise structures in its core and a burgeoning business community.[10]
Reflective of Bellevue's growth over the years is Bellevue Square, now one of the largest shopping centers in the region. Opened in 1946,[10] Bellevue Square underwent a significant expansion in the 1980s. More recently, an expansion to Bellevue Square along Bellevue Way called "The Lodge" and the new One Lincoln Tower promise to strengthen downtown Bellevue's role as the largest Seattle Eastside shopping and dining destination.
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.[11] 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.
Geography
Bellevue is located at 47°35′51″N 122°09′33″W / 47.597554°N 122.159245°W (47.597554, -122.159245).[12]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.9 square miles (87.8 km2), of which, 30.8 square miles (79.6 km2) of it is land and 3.2 square miles (8.2 km2) of it (9.29%) is water.
The city's name is derived from a French term for "beautiful view". Under favorable weather conditions, scenic vistas of the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Mountains can be viewed from hilltops (and strategically-positioned high-rise buildings) within the incorporated city.
The city lies between Lake Washington to the west and the smaller Lake Sammamish to the east. Much of Bellevue is drained by the Kelsey Creek watershed, whose source is located in the Larsen and Phantom Lake green belt and whose outlet is near where Interstate 90 meets Lake Washington's eastern shore. The city is bisected by Interstate 405 running north-south, and the southern portion is crossed from west to east by Interstate 90. The State Route 520 freeway roughly delineates the upper reaches of Bellevue.
South of I-90 the city surrounds an unincorporated part of King County called Eastgate. South of Eastgate, the city continues up Cougar Mountain. On top of Cougar Mountain, there is another unincorporated King County island called Hilltop. To the west of Cougar Mountain, Bellevue includes the Coal Creek and Factoria neighborhoods.
Bellevue is bordered by the cities of Kirkland to the north and Redmond to the northeast along the Overlake and Crossroads neighborhoods. Across the short East Channel Bridge, I-90 connects Bellevue to Mercer Island to the southwest. Issaquah is to the east, down I-90 at the south end of Lake Sammamish. The city is also bordered to the west by the suburbs of Medina, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point and Yarrow Point. The south end of Bellevue is bordered by the city of Renton, and to the southeast, the relatively recently incorporated city of Newcastle.
Cityscape
Communities within Bellevue include Bridle Trails, Crossroads, Eastgate/Cougar Mountain, Factoria, Newport, Northeast Bellevue, Northwest Bellevue, Sammamish/East Bellevue, Somerset, West Bellevue, West Lake Hills, Wilburton, and Woodridge.[13]
Surrounding cities
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