Is Bellevue the next Williamsburg?
Wait, wait, wait—hear me out. It’s true that right now Bellevue feels nothing like the hipster enclaves of New York City. Brooklyn is full of fashionable neighborhoods, and Bellevue is almost the opposite. But that might soon change.
In five years, downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue will be separated by a 21-minute train ride. There will be stops for the Central District, Mercer Island, and a few other spots in between. When Sound Transit’s East Link train opens in 2023, it will make getting into downtown Seattle from Bellevue an easier commute than some of Seattle’s trendiest neighborhoods. Ballard and West Seattle probably won’t get linked to light rail until 2035.
