In the midst of the myriad of construction cranes in Downtown Bellevue – a number of which are for the Lincoln Square expansion – the future that longtime local developer Kemper Freeman has seen for Bellevue is finally on the horizon.
“It’s taken a long time to kind of transcend from a traditional suburb to something more urban, and at first we kind of went through what I call the pimply, adolescent stage,” said Freeman. “It was always clear to those of us in the industry that it was coming, it was just a question of how much and how fast.”
During Freeman’s own adolescent years in Bellevue, planning for the city was still being conducted by King County. It’s function was as the subregional city to Seattle – essentially, the little sister city.
Fast forward some decades later, and Bellevue now brings in more retail and restaurant sales than Seattle, as well as drawing customers from throughout Washington, British Columbia and Alaska.
Last year, Downtown Bellevue made $40 million more in retail and dining sales than Downtown Seattle, a role-reversal from the last time Kemper Development did research on those numbers 10 years ago, Freeman said. “Bellevue is beginning to emerge in certain areas, retail and restaurant sales being two of those,” he said.
Between 10 and 20 percent of the Bellevue Collection’s annual business is now made up of travelers coming to Bellevue specifically for multiple-day trips to shop, dine and more.
With the construction beginning on the Global Innovation Exchange and the Mirador over the last few months, Bellevue also is seeing more international investment than at any point in its history, a fact that is not lost on Freeman.
“I think it’s amazing. What’s beautiful about it is that they’re bringing capital with them and are going to make things happen,” he said.
As the city changes, The Bellevue Collection is also evolving. The traditional concept of anchoring smaller stores around larger, chain retailers or department stores is something that Kemper Development is moving away from.
While Bellevue Square was once supported by four department stores, they are currently down to two (Macy’s and Nordstrom) after the slow demise of J.C. Penney. While Nordstrom’s sales continue to grow – the Bellevue Square location is currently the top-selling store in the United State, beating out the 40,000-square-foot larger flagship store in Seattle – Macy’s is struggling to find it’s footing, said Freeman.
“We’re in the top handful of their stores, but they’re not doing what they could be doing,” he said of Macy’s sales.
On the other hand, speciality stores are bringing in big business and fresh ideas.
“For the most part, a lot of the talent isn’t at the major stores anymore. The people who are great merchants and entrepreneurs went and started specialty stores that now outperform major stores two-to-one in an average shopping center,” said Freeman.
In all, seven smaller stores will fill the space once occupied by J.C. Penney, and the majority will each bring in more business in a year than J.C. Penney.
As the Reporter previously reported, Whole Foods’ new, lower-cost concept store 365 by Whole Foods Market will open on the lower level of the former J.C. Penney location in the second half of 2016. Spanish retailer Zara and Japanese retailer Uniqlo will also open in the upper levels of the space next month.
At 73, Freeman is still planning for the future, including making plans for the coming years of the Kemper Development Co. and training his two daughters to lead it one day.
“I have been totally at peace knowing that those two will run this place better than I ever did,” he said.
Allison DeAngelis: 425-453-4290; adeangelis@bellevuereporter.com
