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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →In early 2024, Bellevue’s city leaders welcomed a slower pace of technology-company expansion because it gave housing, transportation, and other infrastructure more time to keep up with job and population growth. Then-Mayor Lynne Robinson called Amazon’s more gradual growth in Bellevue “just perfect.” Leaders were not asking tech companies to leave. They wanted growth at a pace the city could absorb. The cooldown, however, was a specific 2024 moment, and job figures reported in September 2026 show Bellevue growing again.
What the cooldown looked like in 2024
GeekWire’s Lisa Stiffler reported on February 1, 2024 that Bellevue’s technology boom, which had accelerated in 2021 as Amazon, Meta, and other companies expanded, had cooled amid hybrid work and ongoing industry layoffs. The slowdown showed up mainly in the office market:
- Rising office vacancies in the downtown core.
- A paused expansion: Amazon halted construction on part of its planned downtown development while it studied how hybrid work would affect its space needs.
- Space coming back to market: Meta was subleasing space, and Microsoft and T-Mobile had office space listed for sale or lease.
GeekWire attributed two vacancy figures to the brokerage Kidder Mathews. Bellevue’s city-center office vacancy was 9.7% at year-end 2023, compared with nearly 24% in Seattle over the same period. These are the figures as GeekWire reported them; the underlying Kidder Mathews report is not reproduced here, so they should be read as secondhand.
Why a slower pace suited city leaders
Robinson’s argument was about sequencing. Jobs and residents were arriving faster than the things that make a city livable could be built, and a slower expansion gave the city time to catch up. In the February 2024 story, she named the qualities that attract people to Bellevue and make them want to stay:
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- Public safety
- Transportation
- Parks and green spaces
- Clean water
- Public schools
Her full remark, as quoted by GeekWire: “This more gradual growth that they’re having in Bellevue,” she said, “has been just perfect.” She was speaking specifically about Amazon’s slower expansion.
The same reporting said Amazon’s initial hiring and development plans could have accelerated job and population growth, while affordable housing and regional transit projects were moving ahead. Developers had broken ground on a 172-unit affordable apartment building supported by an Amazon below-market-rate loan. The Bellevue City Council had approved funding described as providing 350 affordable units in Bellevue and nearly 900 across the Eastside. These were 2024 details. They do not confirm whether those projects are complete or under construction today.
An outside observer in the same article offered a view from the commercial real estate side. Jeff Chaney, an executive vice president at Kidder Mathews, said: “It’s pretty common for businesses in Seattle to at least consider moving to Bellevue.” That is his observation, not a quantified survey result.
Growth was still the goal
The 2024 story did not describe a city turning companies away. Mid-sized technology ventures and firms seeking smaller leases were filling space as large employers pulled back. GeekWire named Robinhood, Lumen, and Zymeworks among companies opening new Bellevue offices, and ByteDance and Pokémon among companies that had signed deals to grow their local presence.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The city also supported smaller companies. It backed entrepreneurs through the T-Mobile Technology Center and Startup 425, and it wanted to attract life sciences businesses alongside technology and telecommunications. Robinson said startup presence “makes for a really healthy ecosystem.”
The policy frame was gradual, diversified growth: keep the features residents and firms value, support startups and smaller tenants, and reduce the economy’s dependence on a narrow group of large technology employers. GeekWire reported that Robinson had no plans for financial incentives and no interest in policies such as Seattle’s payroll tax that might deter entrepreneurs. Bellevue, in other words, was not announcing new subsidies to lure firms.
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The 2024 planning frame also included long-range projections: roughly 70,000 additional jobs and 35,000 new housing units over the following two decades. These were projections described in 2024, not realized totals.
What has changed since 2024
The cooldown was a 2024 condition, and the city’s growth picture has moved on. Mayor Mo Malakoutian, speaking in a February 12, 2026 interview, said the city wants people who work in Bellevue to be able to live there. He tied that goal to the city’s affordable housing strategy and described housing, transit, safety, and quality of life as part of managing tech growth. He said businesses help fund infrastructure, parks, schools, and local improvements, and that the city aims to help large employers thrive while making sure small businesses are not left behind.
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The City of Bellevue’s State of the City coverage from June 24, 2026 carried the same theme. Malakoutian addressed affordability, connectivity, and managing growth, and acknowledged that housing, transportation, and growth management remain hard problems. Deputy Mayor Dave Hamilton emphasized decades of community investment in transportation, housing, parks, and public safety.
On the job side, GeekWire reported on September 30, 2026 that Bellevue added 5,375 jobs between 2024 and 2025, citing a Downtown Seattle Association report. The same story said Amazon had 15,700 Bellevue employees at the end of 2025, citing the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. GeekWire contrasted this with job losses in Seattle over the same period. The underlying Downtown Seattle Association and city documents are not reproduced here, so these figures are as GeekWire reported them.
The figures at a glance
| Figure | Value | Period | Source as reported | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue city-center office vacancy | 9.7% | Year-end 2023 | Kidder Mathews, via GeekWire (Feb. 1, 2024) | Office space vacancy in the city center |
| Seattle office vacancy | Nearly 24% | Year-end 2023 | Kidder Mathews, via GeekWire (Feb. 1, 2024) | Office space vacancy citywide in Seattle |
| Additional jobs (planning projection) | About 70,000 | Next two decades, as projected in 2024 | Bellevue planning projections, via GeekWire (Feb. 1, 2024) | Projected job growth, not an observed count |
| Additional housing units (planning projection) | About 35,000 | Next two decades, as projected in 2024 | Bellevue planning projections, via GeekWire (Feb. 1, 2024) | Projected housing units, not an observed count |
| Bellevue jobs added | 5,375 | 2024 to 2025 | Downtown Seattle Association, via GeekWire (Sept. 30, 2026) | Net change in jobs across the city |
| Amazon employees in Bellevue | 15,700 | End of 2025 | City of Bellevue Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, via GeekWire (Sept. 30, 2026) | One employer’s local headcount |
How to read these numbers
Bellevue figures from 2024 and 2026 are often quoted side by side, and they do not always describe the same thing. Before repeating one, check the following:
- The year. A 2023 vacancy rate, a 2024 projection, and a 2024 to 2025 job change describe different moments.
- The scope. A citywide net job gain says nothing about whether any single company grew or shrank. One employer’s headcount is not the city’s total.
- The type of measure. Projections describe intentions and planning scenarios. Vacancy rates and job counts describe observed conditions.
- The original publisher. Most of the figures above reach readers through news coverage. The underlying broker, agency, and association reports should be checked before they are used as precise data.
The fair summary is this: in 2024, Bellevue leaders welcomed a slower tech pace because they wanted housing and infrastructure to keep up, and they still wanted growth. Reporting from 2026 indicates that job growth had returned by 2024 and 2025, and the city’s leaders now frame the challenge as managing that growth, not slowing it down.
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