Business Recruitment

Though Seattle’s South Park neighborhood is historic and charming, it lacks many of the business amenities a successful, resident-serving business district provides. For years, the community has called for a grocery, pharmacy and bike shop, as well as more restaurants, bars and coffee shops. The problem was too many landlords were leasing to too many non-retail businesses on the main street, which left the sidewalks feeling dark and even unsafe at times. This downward spiral went even lower as the district became branded as a home for too many marijuana-related businesses and massage parlors started to pop up.

With funding from the City of Seattle, the community engaged Catalyst to work with property owners to encourage them to lease to businesses the community wants. Catalyst developed relationships with landlords, introduced them to each other as well as community members, and created an ongoing discussion about which new businesses could help turn the district’s downward spiral into an upward economic cycle that benefits residents, businesses and property owners.

The initial strategy incorporated a vision of a burgeoning restaurant district to prime the revitalization effort. Working with property owners and community members, Catalyst developed promotional materials that worked to encourage food and beverage businesses to set up shop in the heart of South Park and galvanized landlords to focus on a common positive vision for the neighborhood. In less than a year from the start of the Catalyst Project, six new restaurants and bars are scheduled to open their doors within the foreseeable future.