On Tuesday, Patrick Bannon succeeded Leslie Lloyd as president of the Bellevue Downtown Association (BDA). The former vice president joined BDA in 2005 as communications manager and has been critical to a number of initiatives for growth in the city.
“The BDA is in great shape with a solid, nearly 40-year track record of supporting downtown as the economic and cultural heart of Bellevue and the Eastside,” said Bannon, shortly after being named president. “I look forward to the leadership work ahead of us on key local and regional policy issues critical to downtowns success, including transportation, land use and economic development.”
Lloyd will remain at BDA through Jan. 31 when she plans to move to Leavenworth, where she will become executive director of the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts.
Bannon will take on the role of president, starting Jan. 2 2013.
“Downtown is a major economic engine and vital to the overall health of the city,” he said. “[BDA has] a big role to play in shaping a regulatory framework and incentives that will make downtown even more livable and a magnet for new investment.”
Bannon noted that the downtown population is nearly 10,500, 2,500 more people than just ten years ago. That demographic has also dropped in median age — from 57, to 34.
The changing community is reflected in BDA’s own membership, says Bannon: “We’ll continue to mine [the city’s] ideas and talent in support of a shared vision for downtown as a thriving retail destination, a hub for knowledge workers and innovative companies, and a healthy and engaged residential neighborhood.”
