Has the Mayor's $800,000,000 South Lake Union Agenda produced jobs commensurate with the investment in our tax dollars - No!

About 7000 jobs were created in South Lake Union from 1995-2000 (see figures below).    Since 2003 - about the time the Mayor launched his vaunted South Lake Union agenda and committed tens of millions of our tax dollars, 2461 jobs have been created.

* South Lake Union ranks 15th among neighborhood/commercial areas experiencing a percentage gain in jobs since 2003 behind areas like Pioneer Square, Pike/Pine, Uptown, Columbia City, and Ballard

* South Lake Union ranks 3rd in areas/commercial districts experiencing net increase in total jobs since 2003. Pioneer Square and the Duwamish generated more jobs than South Lake Union over the same period

* South Lake Union makes up less than 1.2 percent of our city's land area and contributes to about 4% of the City's employment base yet receives the lion share of city revenues (see immediately below)

* Vacancy rates remain high in South Lake Union (over 40% of new space) and most of what is occupied is taken up by offices not biotech

Charts below only include areas of the city that have experienced gains in employment. Does not include areas of the City (including downtown) that experience a drop in total jobs since 2003 thru 2007  - most current data sources - more details below

Note below that the biggest gains by far in employment since 2003 occurred in Seattle's Industrial Area - 6219 jobs added.  Pioneer Square was next with 2538 jobs added since 2003

* South Lake Union makes up less than 1.2 percent of our city's land area and contributes to about 4% of the City's employment base yet receives the lion share of city revenues (see immediately below)

For more details on amounts we are spending in the city's budget and CIP for South Lake Union click here: http://www.zipcon.net/~jvf4119/SLU09cost.htm#Citys%2009%20Budget%20contains%20$129%20million%20for%20Paul%20Allens%20South%20Lake%20Union%20Plan;%205-Year%20CIP%20top%20$862%20million!

Additional Development added to South Lake Union (SLU) since 2002 has NOT lived up to expectations:

* About half of Vulcan developments are vacant

* About 42 percent of all new development remains vacant

* Only a small percentage of the new development is biotech in SLU.

* A large percentage of new developments are occupied simply by businesses relocating from other parts of town so it's no real net gain in jobs for Seattle

* Of the 1.8 million sq. feet added (significantly less than the Mayor's prognostications - which he estimated at one point would reach over 4 million added sq feet by now - about 1.1 million sq. feet are occupied. Assuming an employee takes up 275 sq ft. of space that means that amount of new space produces 4000 jobs. However many of these were jobs simply relocated from somewhere else in Seattle into South Lake Union. The City's 2007 jobs report taken from State and Regional data sources shows a net gain since 2003 of 2400 jobs in South Lake Union

To compile above chart we surveyed existing new developments and went to websites for the existing properties for listings and then calculated available space from those listings - what was vacant, what was occupied