Redmond:
Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management's April 1, 2008 estimate, the city has a population of 51,320. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft (for which "Redmond" has become a metonym) and Nintendo of America. With an annual bike race on city streets and the state's only velodrome, Redmond is also known as "the bicycle capital of the Northwest".Despite this, the city is suburban in character, with its main form of transportation being the automobile. Redmond has a historic downtown with many personally owned businesses which is connected to the modern downtown Redmond.
Due to its large population of highly paid tech workers, especially those of Microsoft, Redmond is known for its affluence. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Redmond ranks 20th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
Geography
Bicycle capital of the Northwest
Redmond is bordered by Kirkland to the west, Bellevue to the southwest, and Sammamish to the southeast. Unincorporated King County lies to the north and east. The city is situated on the north end of Lake Sammamish, with the Sammamish River running through its center.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.6 square miles (42.9 km²), of which, 15.9 square miles (41.2 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²) of it (4.05%) is water.
Government and politics
Redmond has a non-partisan mayor-council form of government, with the mayor and seven council members elected at large for staggered four-year terms. The last mayor, Rosemarie Ives, had been in office since 1992. The city council and Mayor Ives clashed over the years and, though the parties involved deny any connection, the city council authorized a ballot measure in 2003 that would have changed Redmond to a council-manager government. However, it was rejected by the electorate, receiving less than 30% of the vote.
Education
Redmond is part of the Lake Washington School District, which also encompasses Kirkland and parts of Sammamish and Woodinville. The public schools in Redmond include nine elementary schools, three junior high schools, and Redmond High School. Three private schools offer secondary education: the Overlake School (secular), the Bear Creek School (Christian - primary and secondary), and the Conservatory High School (for performing arts students).
The English Hill neighborhood in North Redmond (unincorporated King County) is served by the Northshore School District and Sunrise Elementary.
DigiPen Institute of Technology (the top college for students in the field of video game development and production animation) and the secondary campus of Lake Washington Technical College are also located in Redmond.
The city is home to Redmond Regional Library, the second-largest library in the King County Library System.
Economy
A number of companies in the high-tech industry are based in Redmond. The largest employer in the city by far is Microsoft Corporation, which moved its headquarters to Redmond in 1986. Currently Microsoft has over 30,000 full-time workers and more than 8 million square feet (750,000 square meters) of office space in the Seattle area Eastside region, primarily in Redmond and Issaquah. Further signs of growth include:
- In January 2006, Microsoft announced the purchase of Safeco's Redmond campus.(Formerly one of Redmond's major employers, Safeco began consolidating its offices in Seattle's University District in 2005.)
- In February 2006, Microsoft announced that it intends to expand its Redmond campus by another 1.1 million square feet at a cost of $1 billion and has said that this will create space for between 7,000 and 15,000 new employees over the next three years.
This is very optimistic news for Redmond and the Eastside, which will gain many new residents as a direct result. This also shows that while the general technology industry slows, Redmond's economy, alongside that of Puget Sound, continues to expand rapidly.
Other companies with headquarters in Redmond include Visible.net, Nintendo of America, Concur, Brickarms LLC, Data I/O Corporation, Genie Industries, and Eddie Bauer.
Unlike Bellevue and other neighboring cities, the City of Redmond does not have a Business & Occupation tax on income. However, to help offset the costs of road improvements for businesses, a business license fee of $55 per employee was approved in 1996. As of 2007, the fee is $85 per employee.
Parks and recreation
Climbing rock in Marymoor Park
According to the city's website, Redmond has 23 developed public parks, totaling over a thousand acres (4 km²). Many of these are neighborhood parks with picnic tables and sports fields or courts. The largest park within the city is not owned by the city -- it is King County's 560 acre (2.3 km²) Marymoor Park, one of the most popular in King County. It features a climbing rock, a model airplane flying field, a large off-leash dog park, an outdoor theater, and a velodrome.
The city also offers 17 miles (27 km) of developed trails for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding. The Sammamish River Trail connects to the Burke-Gilman Trail in Bothell and can be followed all the way to Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.
In 2004, Redmond North Little League won the Northwest region and participated in the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA. With Redmond North claiming the Northwest, it is the third team from Washington to claim the Northwest since its inception in 2001. Previous Washington champions were Bainbridge Island (2001), Richland (2003).
Culture
Redmond Derby Days is an annual community festival held every July. It began as a race around Lake Sammamish called the Redmond Bicycle Derby in 1939, and since then has become a multi-day event including a bicycle criterium, parade, carnival, and entertainment stages.
Performing arts in Redmond include the Eastside Symphony, the Second Story Repertory theater company, and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts. Redmond has an extensive collection of high quality outdoor sculptures throughout its streets and parks, a good number of which are part of a rotating sculpture exhibition.
The Old Redmond Firehouse is a center for local teens. It has become a hub in the thriving Eastside independent music scene. Local bands perform here with concert style speakers.
The Concerts at Marymoor is an annual summer series of concerts held at the amphitheater in Marymoor Park. The venue has been host to artists as diverse as Norah Jones, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Rob Thomas. The series is fast becoming one of the most popular in Western Washington.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,256 people, 19,102 households, and 11,346 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,848.8 people per square mile (1,099.7/km²). There were 20,248 housing units at an average density of 1,274.6/sq mi (492.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.26% White, 1.52% African American, 0.45% Native American, 13.02% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 2.46% from other races, and 3.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.61% of the population.
There were 19,102 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $66,735, and the median income for a family was $78,430. Males had a median income of $58,112 versus $37,200 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,233. About 3.3% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Real estate
In 2004 nearly 1,800 properties sold in the City of Redmond, and the following year home values went up nearly 18%.
Redmond is home to the largest church in the state, Overlake Christian Church. The so-called megachurch moved to the city in 1997 after outgrowing its Kirkland location. Logistical problems with traffic on Willows Road have arisen due to the number of attendees. |