An evening shot of Esterra Park on NE Turing St
Esterra Park is the epicenter of development near Overlake Station, where thousands of homes have been added. We're co-hosting a social hour in the neighborhood at Jack Sprat Cafe on October 24. (The Urbanist)

We’re headed to Redmond for our October meetup while we hunt for a new Seattle venue for our monthly socials.

Please join The Urbanist and Eastside Urbanism for a joint October meetup at the Jack Sprat / Pizza Poggio cafe inside Esterra Park in Redmond. The meetup will be held on Thursday, October 24th from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Drinks and food are available, and it’s a short walk from the new 2 Line Overlake Village light rail station. 

A big thank you to Eastside Urbanism for opening their doors to us! Eastside Urbanism is a group dedicated to advocating for a vibrant Eastside with great options for walking, biking, and public transit, abundant housing, and a sustainable economy. If you can’t attend on the 24th, Eastside Urbanism meets every Thursday evening at Jack Sprat, as promoted on our events calendar.

Event Details:

  • What: The Urbanist + Eastside Urbanism Monthly Meetup
  • When: October 24 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm (drop in)
  • Where: Jack Sprat Cafe, inside Esterra Park, NE Turing St, Redmond, WA
  • Transit Stop: 2 Line‘s Overlake Village Station, Route 249, Route 245, B Line bus, ST 545 bus
  • Other options:  The 520 Bike Trail, or park in the Overlake Park & Ride Garage at 2560 152nd Ave NE, Redmond.

Expanding housing and safe streets near light rail

The 2 Line opened to great fanfare this spring, and while the new light rail line doesn’t yet cross the lake to Seattle, it’s a great way to get around the Eastside. There are plenty of bus connections to reach 2 Line stations. For example, the Sound Transit Express 550 bus ferries riders from Downtown Seattle to South Bellevue Station, where they can connect to the 2 Line.

Link light rail trains dwell at Redmond Technology Center Station, the 2 Line’s current northern terminus, on the Eastside. (Stephen Fesler)

For our westside readers, our October meetup in Redmond is a great excuse to log another trip on the 2 Line and explore the Eastside. For our Eastside readers, we’re excited to host a social in your neck of the woods.

At the meetup, we’re looking forward to chatting about the opportunities that light rail expansion brings, and how we can maximize them by adding housing for everyone and safe walking, rolling, and biking connections to tie neighborhoods together. Overlake Village has been a leader on that front, with more than 8,000 homes added over the last decade.

Help us find a new Seattle venue

We’re also excited to announce that The Urbanist is on the hunt for a new venue to host our monthly meetups! While we’ve greatly enjoyed our time at Stoup Capitol Hill, we’re looking to find a new space in the Seattle core to better serve our diverse community. (We’ll continue to meet outside the core for special, local meetups.)

As we search for a new home, we’re eager to hear from anyone in the Seattle area who might have suggestions for a suitable venue. The ideal space would be:

  • Accessible (elevator or no stairs, close to transit, walkable)
  • Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available
  • Ideally all-ages
  • Free and able to accommodate our group of up to 75 people each month

If you have any leads, please don’t hesitate to send them our way at events@theurbanist.org.

We’re looking forward to connecting with you all in October, and can’t wait to find a new permanent home for our monthly meetups!

Article Author

The Urbanist Events Committee leads programming and event planning for The Urbanist. Visit the events page for information on upcoming event we or our partners are hosting.