Editor's notebook: Light rail will be a heavy lift in South Lake Union

Sound Transit’s decision to move ahead with the planned light rail stations around Amazon’s headquarters last week makes for great drama. Not that tired old “Seattle sticks it to Amazon” storyline that played on a loop for half a decade. No, this was not that.

Sound Transit’s board had to move ahead with a decision that will likely be better in the long run — but it’s going to make a lot of people uncomfortable for the next eight years or so. Specifically, the 50,000 people who work for the city’s largest employer.

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Seattle is hurting for office workers in the post-pandemic iteration of the city, and Amazon’s well-reported hybrid work policy has been a force multiplier in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Restaurants and retailers have set up shop in the area because of a built-in customer base of high-earning individuals.

Any adjustment Amazon makes to accommodate its employees during the light rail station construction could have ripple effects. But unlike many businesses in the neighborhood, Amazon has options.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2024/06/03/amazon-light-rail-station-south-lake-union-seattle.html