Notes from the Road: Seattle

The Emerald City in action

Many of you may know one of my favorite exercises is to return to a city after a hard-hat tour to compare the rendering and the shell with the finished product.

I was lucky enough to spend a few days back in Seattle for Northwest Events Show at Seattle Convention Center’s exciting addition, the Summit building, a year after it opened. Let’s compare how it started with where it is now.

Meet

The LEED Platinum-certified, 573,770-square-foot Summit doubled the number of square feet available in the LEED Silver-certified Arch building a block and a half away. As North America’s first vertical convention center, the downtown building is both modern and earthy. Beyond the living wall, outposts of popular local eateries such as Piroshky Piroshky, Pike Brewing Company and Monorail Espresso, Summit offers the 100,000 sq. ft. of basement “flex room,” which on my visit was filled with limousines, a partially inflated hot air balloon, food trucks and a pickleball rave court.

Read More: Northwest Events Show Shines Light on Growing Seattle Meetings Infrastructure 

Northwest Event Show President Stuart Butler called the industry event that celebrated its 30th year in April the SXSW of the Northwest. “It’s an ecosystem where corporate businesses, event planners and suppliers come together, marketing the intersection of learning connection and innovation,” he said.

To that end, the 149,200-square-foot Exhibit Hall, with its abundant natural light, was activated with a trade show and integrated stages. More education rolled out on the third level, where 29 meeting rooms and the floating Hillclimb seating area met.

A peek into the fifth-level, 58,000-square-foot ballroom confirmed that the sustainable-chic vibe that was under construction on the last visit had been polished with 3,900 hanging recycled planks.

Stay

The convention center complex is surrounded by 15,000 guest rooms. Across the street from Summit, the complementary 1,260-room Hyatt Regency was designed by the same architect and is part of Hyatt’s Seattle Collection of three hotels within walking distance of the convention action and downtown dining and attractions.

Also downtown, Lotte Hotel Seattle offers a luxurious welcome in two towers, one timeless and the other a sparking modern addition to the streetscape, for a total of 157 sophisticated guest rooms filled with natural light, organic shapes and materials, and four-star service. The main attraction of the almost 28,000 sq. ft. of meeting space is Sanctuary Grand Ballroom, with soaring ceilings, stained-glass windows and undeniable wow-factor.

Read More: The Evolution of Urban Renewal Takes Shape in Seattle and Portland

Even more progress was evident on Elliott Bay, where Seattle Waterfront Park is working toward a 2025 completion date to connect the water with the rest of the city through realigned roadways, a new park and Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion and expanded campus. It will open the way between Pike Place Market and a new Overlook Walk with public views of a reef ecosystem, art and docents sharing insights about the habitat.

Groups looking for a front-row seat on the improvements will find Seattle Marriott Waterfront’s 369 guest rooms and 16,677 sq. ft. of meeting space a safe harbor for getting business done.

Another scenic choice is The Edgewater Hotel, a Noble House Hotel on Pier 67. It was built for the World’s Fair along with the Space Needle in 1962 and has become a cultural hub. The 223 guest rooms and 10,680 sq. ft. put guests literally on the water for sunset views from the comfort of a lobby anchored by a stone fireplace with rough-hewn wood beams and a majestic antler chandelier. The historic property has a musical history dating back to the Beatles and plays off that with rental guitars, sheet music and turntable record players.

Experience

Climate Pledge Arena, which Amazon bought the naming right to and dedicated to the sustainability cause when it opened in 2021, is more than home to NHL’s Seattle Kraken. The 41,600 sq. ft. of meeting space and 10,000-seat capacity includes environmentally friendly catering from local favorites that don’t taste like stadium food. The audiovisual capabilities in the Oak View Group facility draw top bands and activate all the meeting spaces.