Eastside

Kirkland Connections is a new 24/7 mental health crisis center that could prove a model for the five crisis centers a county levy approved and funded in 2023. Such services are rare in the region.

Community members gather every Wednesday morning from 7am to 9:30am in Kirkland for Eastside Coffee Outside. Here's how they came together.

The 3.4-mile light rail extension will add a station at Marymoor Village, near King County's largest park, and in the heart of Downtown Redmond. The May 10 opening sets the stage for the full extension of the 2 Line across Lake Washington later this year.

East Link light rail expansions set the stage for boosting housing and transforming streets to overcome car dependence. The next year will be a pivotal, signaling whether Eastside cities are executing an urban transformation or falling back into old exclusionary patterns, ceding regional leadership back to the other side of the lake.

Kirkland's 20-year growth plan represents a step back from more ambitious proposals considered earlier this year, but it lays down a marker for where the city is headed next.

In making her case to become the next King County Executive, Claudia Balducci is pointing to her extensive track record of delivering on housing and transportation –– and getting the details right.

The recently passed Redmond 2050 plan increases housing capacity and aims to produce nearly 30,000 new homes by 2050, mostly downtown and in Overlake Village. However, homebuilders warn that the City is adding new obstacles that could impede housing development.

In shift away from office and toward housing growth, Downtown Bellevue's development pipeline has seen nearly 4,000 additional homes proposed and more than two million square feet of office space abandoned in just the last couple of years. Once built, the pipeline of 14,000 homes would more than double the population of downtown.