Amazon donates 47,000 square feet of space to the homeless

SEATTLE — A year ago, when Amazon let a homeless shelter for families move into a former motel it owned, it was viewed as a nice but fleeting gesture.

The motel was on a chunk of downtown property where Amazon planned to eventually erect yet another set of sparkling buildings to meet its insatiable need for office space in this city, where it has come to embody both the region’s economic boom and its struggles with affordability. The hotel would be torn down and the shelter kicked out when that time came.

Instead, Amazon has decided to let the shelter stay. In an unusual arrangement, the company has agreed to give the shelter, Mary’s Place, a permanent home inside one of the new office buildings for which it will break ground in the fall.

Amazon will give roughly half of the six-story building to the shelter, providing it with 47,000 square feet of space with private rooms that can hold 65 families, or about 220 people and their pets. The facility, expected to open in early 2020, will have its own entrance and elevators.

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Seattle Crowned as Hottest Housing Market

For the second straight month, Seattle home prices grew faster than any other major metro region in the country.

That’s according to data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Index, a leading indicator of home price gains. According to the October report, Seattle experienced a 10.7 percent year-over-year price increase, followed by Portland at 10.3 percent and Denver at 8.4 percent.

Seattle home prices grew 11 percent in September, earning the region the title of the nation’s hottest housing market for the first time in years.

Seattle’s growth, nearly double the national increase, is driven largely by the booming technology industry. The region’s tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft have been aggressively hiring in recent years, drawing large numbers of high-paid tech workers who can afford more expensive homes.

There are also now more than 80 engineering centers in the Seattle area operated by big tech corporations, like Facebook, Alibaba, eBay and others. These companies have set up shop in the Northwest to mine the region’s pool of tech talent. This kind of employment growth is a key factor in driving up home prices.

“Cities that have stable or better yet growing employment tend to do well and, for most of this year, the Pacific Northwest region is consistently very popular,” said David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee. “One month Seattle is ahead of Portland and the next month it reverses.”

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Seattle Space Needle gets 100 million dollar makeover

By

Seattle Times staff reporter

Half a century after its construction, the Space Needle is about to undergo its biggest renovation yet.

The big changes: Flooring in the restaurant will be replaced with glass, giving diners a view of Seattle Center 500 feet below; the observation deck will be retooled, its outside, cage-like enclosure replaced entirely with glass panels; and another set of elevators will be added.

With the new version of the Space Needle, said CEO Ron Sevart, “We’re appealing to a wider range of people.”

Sevart said he used to think of the Space Needle as timeless, but in surveys conducted over the past few years, guests reported they felt the interior was “tired” and “dated.” The Space Age piece of architecture, which has become a symbol of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, turned 55 this year.

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The Show Rundown June 11, 2017

Louis is back in full stride and the show is loaded with information you can use.

If you have not heard Seattle is one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation and Case Shiller supports this fact.  Also, Louis highlights six power insights on how to create a win/win in negotiations and give his take on the Gates Foundation and the global directive in fighting for children. Finally, Max Wuzburg, Sales Director for Fort Lawton (former military installation) joins the show to talk about a new and exciting home development in Discovery Park.

Listen beginning Sunday @ 10am on KVI 570 AM

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