HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Need some “green” suggestions for last minute gifts, recycling ideas, and getting rid of that holiday trash?
Think “green” while you are being merry this holiday season.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Need some “green” suggestions for last minute gifts, recycling ideas, and getting rid of that holiday trash?
Think “green” while you are being merry this holiday season.
I wish Councilwoman McCormick all the best with her future endeavors and her continued work for the city on the Code Rewrite Commission. I thank her for her all she has contributed to the quality of life and responsible growth in Redmond. 
Stimulus funds for a bridge over highway 520 by Microsoft? It’s on the books and some people are not happy. Proponents of the bridge believe it will help congestion in the Redmond area in general. Others feel it is a gift to a large company, Microsoft, that needs no gifts. Redmond traffic around Microsoft is terrible. Every time I have an appointment in a neighborhood near Microsoft, I try to avoid the main campus area, especially at about 9:30 AM when so many engineers are coming to work. This traffic impacts many of the nearby neighborhoods of Redmond which fall along 156th Ave NE, NE 40th, and Lake Sammamish Parkway.
The map above shows where the bridge is scheduled to go in over 520, at NE 36th St. The overpass at NE 40th is not clear on the map, but there is an overpass both at NE 40th and NE 51st. Both overpasses have been built since I moved here in 1986. This was the year the growth began to explode. The Overlake area has always been one of the big traffic nightmares on Seattle’s Eastside. I’ve watched the traffic get increasingly worse over the years. If you’re looking for more information about Overlake/Redmond/transportation, The Washington State Transportation Department has information about plans for Overlake area on its website.
What’s your opinion about the bridge and stimulus funds?

Justice White House (taken by D. Sinick)
Find out on January 10th. The following is from the Redmond Historical Society’s latest newsletter:
“The Civil War ~ in Washington
That’s the topic of our January talk by noted historian, Dr. Lorraine
McConaghy.
“In 2011, we will mark the first year of the sesquicentennial of the
Civil War, a war fought over principle that claimed nearly 600,000
American lives,” says McConaghy, who works for Seattle’s Museum
of History & Industry. “We associate the war with battlefields in the
southeast, but the Civil War was a national
war, that involved its citizens on the
Pacific Coast.
“This presentation will explore
some of the ways in which settlers
in Washington Territory became
involved in the politics and violence
of the war,” she adds. “Settlers did
not leave the war behind them, but
brought the war with them.”
Join us on January 10 for histories and
images from our ties to the war.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10
10:30 A.M. TO 12:00 NOON
at the
OLD REDMOND
SCHOOLHOUSE
16600 NE 80th Street”

Happy Holidays
Be Happy and Healthy
Spend Time with Your Friends and Family
Have a wonderful 2009
(Weekly real estate statistics will return after the first of the year)
Microsoft is doing less hiring. I heard about this a few months back from friends and clients who work at the company. Now Microsoft’s hiring slowdown is more public, being reported on in last week’s Seattle P-I. This is big news for Seattle/Eastside real estate, but particularly for those who live near the main Microsoft campus in Redmond.
For 22 years, I’ve been selling homes in the West Redmond area, around the main campus and the Redwest campus of the company. Microsoft employees live all over the Puget Sound region, but many of the Microsoft employees live close to work. Redmond and Bellevue real estate has been hugely impacted by the company.
The neighborhoods around Microsoft has been the strongest on the eastside for selling a home for several years. Most months of 2007-08, the Redmond/Microsoft area had a higher percentage of real estate sales than any other eastside area. The real estate sales activity I report on each week on this blog is directly impacted by Microsoft.
Does the change in Microsoft’s hiring affect Redmond real estate sales activity? Yes, but fortunately, there are other reasons why Redmond will continue to be a one of the stronger areas on the eastside for real estate investments.
These are only some of the reasons Redmond will be continue to be one of the more popular places to live. Real estate sales are slower and prices have taken a tumble, and may be for a while, but Redmond, Washington has the amenities which will help it come back faster than other areas.
Sustainable September is a series of classes and events designed to provide more information about eco-friendly remodeling, landscaping, energy audits and more. Events are free to all. I attended the first set of classes and reported about it on my eastside blog. Great information was made available regarding “green built” products and sustainable landscape design. The next set of classes, on Saturday, September 20th, will include an opportunity to learn about home energy audits from Puget Sound Energy, a timely issue since fall will soon be upon us. Check out the link for more recommendations for ecoo-friendly materials.
If you can’t make the classes come on down to The Wednesday Farmers’ Market in Kirkland on the 17th for a “green built” fair and street dance. More information is available at the Sustainable September website.
It’s almost ready. I stopped by Grasslawn Park in Redmond, Washington the other day and it’s looking pretty great. The new basketball court is ready and the park is almost done, just in time for summer.
This just in from Timothy Cox of the City of Redmond: