Redmond, Washington

Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, USA. It is situated on the eastern edge of the Seattle urban area, in what is known as the Eastside. In 2003 the Census Bureau estimated the city population was 46,391. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. With an annual bike race on city streets and the state's only velodrome, Redmond is also known as "the bicycle capital of the Northwest". Despite this, the city is very suburban, with its main form of transportation being the automobile. Redmond has a historic downtown with many personally-owned businesses, it is connected to the modern downtown Redmond. The city has many parks and is known for its wood.

Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Redmond ranks 20th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.

History

Native Americans had settled in the Redmond area 3,000 years ago, and the first white settlers arrived in the 1870s. Luke McRedmond filed a homestead claim for land next to the Sammamish River on September 9, 1870, and the following year Warren Perrigo took up land adjacent to him. The rivers and streams had so many salmon that the settlement was initially named Salmonberg. More settlers came, and with the establishment of the first post office in 1881, the name of the community was changed to Melrose. The new name was taken from the Perrigos' successful inn, Melrose House, which upset McRedmond. After becoming postmaster, he successfully petitioned to have the name changed to Redmond in 1883.

The abundant forests and fish of Redmond provided jobs for loggers and fishermen, and with those jobs came demand for goods and services, bringing in merchants. The logging industry expanded significantly with the building of a railroad through town. The first plat for Redmond was filed on May 11, 1891, encompassing much of the area now known as downtown. After reaching the necessary population of 300, Redmond was incorporated on December 31, 1912.

Redmond faced an economic downturn in the 1920s. Prohibition forced saloons to close, cutting off a large portion of the city's tax base. The forests were dwindling after heavy logging, causing lumber mills to shut down. Fortunately, the deforested land was suitable for farming. Agriculture became Redmond's primary business, keeping residents fed during the Great Depression. When the U.S. entered World War II, shipyard jobs and other wartime work came to Redmond.

After the war, Redmond's growth began in earnest. The city grew over thirty times larger in area through annexations between 1951 and 1967. The completion of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge across Lake Washington in 1963 allowed Redmond to flourish as a suburb of Seattle. In 1978, the U.S. Census Bureau proclaimed Redmond the fastest growing city in the state. Many technology companies made the city their home, and the increasing population demanded more retail shops. Redmond underwent a commercial boom during the 1990s, culminating in 1997 with the opening of Redmond Town Center, a major regional shopping center on the site of a long-defunct golf course. In recent years the city has been experiencing growing pains as a result of its strong growth, mostly in the areas of urban sprawl and traffic congestion. These problems are being mitigated by the expansion of SR520 and the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, as well as eventual light rail service from Seattle to Redmond during the second phase of Sound Transit.

Geography

Redmond is bordered by Kirkland to the west, Bellevue to the southwest, and Sammamish to the southeast. Unincorporated King County lies to the north and east. The city is situated on the north end of Lake Sammamish, with the Sammamish River running through its center.

Redmond is located at ().

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.9 km² (16.6 mi²). 41.2 km² (15.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) of it (4.05%) is water.

Government and politics

Redmond has a non-partisan mayor-council form of government, with the mayor and seven council members elected at large for staggered four-year terms. The current mayor, Rosemarie Ives, has been in office since 1992. Recently, the city council and Mayor Ives have clashed over the years, and though the parties involved deny any connection, the city council authorized a ballot measure in 2003 that would have changed Redmond to a council-manager government. However, it was rejected, receiving less than 30% of the vote.

Current officeholders (since 2005 election)

Mayor: Rosemarie Ives (fourth consecutive term) of Education Hill
Council:
- John Marchione (first term) of Education Hill
- John P. "Pat" Vaché (third non-consecutive term, Vice President of the Council) of Education Hill
- Edward John Resha III (first term) of Education Hill
- Kimberly Allen (first term) of Education Hill
- Richard Cole (fifth consecutive term) of Education Hill
- Nancy McCormick (sixth consecutive term, President of the Council) of Overlake
- Jim Robinson (fourth consecutive term) of Grass Lawn

Redmond is also home to the Northwest Progressive Institute, a local think tank.

Education

Redmond is part of the Lake Washington School District, which also encompases Kirkland, Sammamish, and parts of Woodinville. The public schools in Redmond include nine elementary schools, three junior high schools, and Redmond High School. Three private schools offer secondary education: the Overlake School (secular), the Bear Creek School (Christian - primary and secondary), and the Conservatory High School (for performing arts students).

DigiPen Institute of Technology (a college for students in the field of video games) and the secondary campus of Lake Washington Technical College are also located in Redmond.

The city is home to Redmond Regional Library, the second-largest library in the King County Library System.

Economy

A number of companies in the high-tech industry are based in Redmond. The largest employer in the city by far is Microsoft Corporation, with over 30,000 full-time workers (in the Puget Sound) and more than 8 million square feet (750,000 square meters) of office space. Microsoft recently announced that it intends to expand its Redmond campus by another 1.1 million square feet at a cost of $1Billion and has said that this will create space for between 7,000 and 15,000 new employees over the next three years.Microsoft speeds up plans for campus redevelopment This is very optimistic news for Redmond and Puget Sound's Eastside Region, which will gain many new residents as a direct result. This also shows that, while many tech companies and economies are appearing to slow down, Redmond's economy, along with Puget Sound's, is growing full-force, with little sign of slowing in the near future.

Other companies with headquarters in Redmond include Nintendo of America, Data I/O Corporation, Genie Industries, Eddie Bauer, and Medtronic Emergency Response Systems.

Safeco Corporation, one of the city's major employers, announced in April 2005 that it would be consolidating its offices in Seattle's University District.

Parks and recreation

Redmond has 23 developed public parks, totaling over a thousand acres (4 km²). Many of these are neighborhood parks with picnic tables and sports fields or courts. Redmond's largest park is 560 acre (2.3 km²) Marymoor Park, one of the most popular in King County. It features a climbing rock, a model airplane flying field, a large off-leash dog park, an outdoor theater, and a velodrome.

The city also offers 17 miles of developed trails for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding. The Sammamish River Trail connects to the Burke-Gilman Trail in Bothell and can be followed all the way to Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

Culture

Redmond Derby Days is an annual community festival held every July. It began as a race around Lake Sammamish called the Redmond Bicycle Derby in 1939, and since then has become a multi-day event including a bicycle criterium, parade, carnival, and entertainment stage.

Performing arts in Redmond include the Eastside Symphony, the SecondStory Repertory theater company, and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts. Redmond has an extensive collection of high quality outdoor sculptures throughout its streets and parks, a good number of which are part of a rotating sculpture exhibition.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 45,256 people, 19,102 households, and 11,346 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,099.7/km² (2,848.8/mi²). There were 20,248 housing units at an average density of 492.0/km² (1,274.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.26% White, 1.52% African American, 0.45% Native American, 13.02% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 2.46% from other races, and 3.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.61% of the population.

There were 19,102 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $66,735, and the median income for a family was $78,430. Males had a median income of $58,112 versus $37,200 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,233. About 3.3% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Real Estate

In 2004 nearly 1,800 properties sold in the City of Redmond, and the following year home values went up nearly 18%.

Redmond is home to the largest church in the state, Overlake Christian Church. The so-called megachurch moved to the city in 1997 after outgrowing its Kirkland location. Logistical problems with traffic on Willows Road have arisen due to the number of attendees.

References

Malowney, Georgeann (2002). Redmond (Images of America: Washington). Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738520713.
Way, Nancy (1989). Our Town Redmond. Redmond, Washington: Marymoor Museum. ISBN 0962458724.
Ngo-Viet, Nam Son (2002). The Integration of the Suburban Shopping Center with its Surroundings: Redmond Town Center. Seattle: University of Washington.

External links

Cities in Washington | Cities in King County, Washington | King County, Washington

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