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Bellevue’s downtown has experienced a remarkable retail boom over the past decade, evolving into a premier destination for shoppers all over the Puget Sound. An area originally consisting of just a couple of small shops on Main Street and a smaller Bellevue Square has expanded into a much wider area to include Lincoln Square, the Bravern and the Old Bellevue district on Main Street. However, this shopping boom and subsequent consolidation in downtown has come at the expense of other retail centers across the Eastside, many of which are quickly declining and disappearing into irrelevancy.
The City of Bellevue conducted a research study on the retail scene within the city, and they found that other retail centers like Factoria and Crossroads have been experiencing a decrease in consumption for the past decade.
“I’ve seen the decline of Crossroads with my own eyes; some stores that were full when I was a kid like Old Navy are completely empty now,” said junior Audrey Hong.
The retail landscape in Factoria has been much the same, as shoppers note that almost everything that you can find in Factoria, you can find a better version of in Bellevue Square. Factoria did recently start to host a T&T Supermarket, which for now will keep them afloat. The reality of the situation is, however, that the luxury high-end retail that shoppers can experience in Downtown directly trades off with local and more affordable shops elsewhere in the city.
