Item No.
Date:
Port of Seattle
10c_supp
April 8, 2025
Economic Development City Partnership Program
Briefing & Authorization Request
2025-2026 Authorization Request
Request Commission authorization for
the Executive Director to execute
contract agreements and implement
the 2025-2026 Economic Development
Partnership program with King County
cities in an amount not to exceed
$1,900,000.
2
Background
Original Premise
• Non-competitive city funding program started in 2016 to support local and regional economic development
• The Port found there were few resources available to fund local economic development projects. This
remains to be the case in this economic and political climate.
• While City partners did have some economic development resources, they were very limited and often did not
allow cities to undertake pilot programs or longer-term initiatives.
Program Parameters
• Port of Seattle provides funding to cities based on per capita formula. Cities receive a minimum of
$10,000 and maximum funding is capped at $60,000 (ex. Carnation = $10,000, Bellevue = $60,000.)
• Cities develop appropriate economic development projects that tie to Port business interests
• Cities must provide 50 percent match for Port funding (can include in-kind resources).
Economic Recovery
• Last four years emphasized small business relief including business assistance, tourism, and buy
local/placemaking campaigns.
3
Overview: Port Funding Programs
4
2024 Funding Cycle
City Match
Total
Investment
(Port Funds +
Match)
$184,398
$466,625
Project Type
Port Funding
% of Port
Funding
Small Business Technical
Assistance
$282,227
36.5%
Buy Local/ Placemaking
$201,055
26%
$169,679
$370,734
Business Attraction
Plans/Custom Projects
$83,237
$75,100
10%
9%
$52,797
$33,670
$136,034
$108,770
Tourism
$63,263
8%
$ 65,041
$ 128,305
Workforce Development
Business
Retention/Expansion
$60,000
8%
$91,000
$115,700
$9,169
1%
$4,584
$13,754
Total
$ 804,052
100%
$637,211
$1,441,263
27 Cities
Participated
Funds Distributed
= $804,052
City Match Funds
= $637,211
Total Investments
= $1,441,263
5
Small Business Assistance Impacts
400 Businesses
Surveyed
900+ Business
Assisted, 600
WMBE businesses
assisted
413 business
consultation
hours provided
75 events hosted
to support small
businesses
$1.1 million of
funding secured
for businesses
6
Buy Local/Placemaking Impacts
27,000+
ATTENDEES
TO EVENTS
1,000+ BUSINESSES
PARTICIPATED
160 WMBE
PARTICIPATED
~$33,000
REVENUE
GENERATED
15 EVENTS
HOSTED
62,000
MARKETING
IMPRESSIONS
7
Tourism Impacts
EVENTS GENERATED
200,000+
ATTENDEES
9 MILLION
MARKETING
IMPRESSIONS
~300 BUSINESSES &
~40 WMBES
PARTICIPATED
VISITORS FROM $3,000+ ADMISSION
TICKET SALES
6+ COUNTRIES
& 36 STATES
8
Carnation
Funding: $10,000
Carnation Summer Events
•
Coordinated 4 City Sponsored events to
create partnership opportunities with small
businesses and nonprofits
•
Created city-wide events calendar
Collaborated with Carnation Chamber,
•
Seattle Theatre Group and 2 women-owned
food truck businesses
•
~400 attendees attending family friend
events
9
Kent
Funding: $60,000
Aerospace Machinists Joint Training
Committee (AJAC) Partnership with Kent
School District
Build capacity for the development of an
•
Automation Technician Youth
Apprenticeship program to be based in the
Kent School District
•
Educate facility about AJAC's youth
apprenticeship program
10
Renton
Funding: $60,000

World Cup Legacy Square Initiative - Establish the
Legacy Square as a focal point in downtown Renton.
Alongside a soccer pitch committed by the Seattle
Sounders' RAVE Foundation, key components include
a jumbo screen for year-round public viewing of
events, a stage for live entertainment, and a business
incubator to support local entrepreneurs and
enhance economic activity.

StartUp425 - Increased event attendance by 63% by
hosting 10 events across 6 topic areas including
marketing, coworking, and pitch competitions.

Facilitated 45 events, engaged 178 Renton based
entrepreneurs.
11
Return on Investment
 Funding program furthered positive
relationships with cities in King County
 Program produced tangible small business
development, tourism, and placemaking
outcomes, and WMBE outcomes
 Fundings provided key resources to cities
 Program brought cities together around local
and regional economic development
12
Insights
• Metrics are standardized to assess collective impacts
• Many cities supported diverse businesses with
opportunities and expanded partnerships within city
• Smaller cities without economic development staff
benefit from this Funding program in resources,
access to Port staff, and network
• Cities want to know how they can best showcase
their partnership with the Port. Communications
team will provide guidance and branding resources
for 2025
13
2025 - 2026 Focus Areas
Stronger emphasis of supporting projects and initiatives focused on Port related industries, including:
Aviation, maritime, construction trades, and green jobs. Projects and initiatives should encourage
utilization of the Port's infrastructure such as SEA Airport, cruise terminals, and cargo terminals.
Project categories include:
 Business Attraction
 Business Retention/Expansion
 Buy Local/Placemaking
 Export/Trade Assistance and Promotion (NEW)
 Small Business Technical Assistance
 Tourism
 Workforce Development
 Special Plans/Projects
14
Conclusion
 Request to authorize ED
Partnership program for twoyears
 Continuation of collecting
metrics to assess regional
economic impacts
 Serve as a convening resource
to city partners
15
16
Auburn
Funding: $60,000
Small Business Assistance with Green
River SBDC
•
•
•
Provided technical assistance to 44 small
businesses and 30 WMBEs.
Provided 178 hours of 1:1 business
counseling
Secured $694,000 dollars of funding for
businesses
Business Recruitment
•
•
•
Created 77-page marketing blueprint plan
to recruit businesses to Auburn
Designed website to communicate and
attract businesses to locate within Auburn
Designed logo/branding
17
Bellevue
Funding: $60,000
Startup425
Funding supported a pilot cohort of
the Startup425 Pre-Seed Accelerator.
• Recruited 50 mentors
• 37 entrepreneurs entered the
accelerator
• 32 WMBE businesses
• 26 founders joined the venturescalable track
• 11 founders joined the small
business track
18
Bothell
Funding: $29,280
SummerFest - Small Business Expo
• One-day business expo to create
exposure and generate new
customers for small businesses
that cannot afford to rent space
at "trade shows."
• 87 businesses participated, 21
WMBEs
• 1,500 visitors
• Service providers included
Community Business Connectors,
UW, Bothell, and Community
Transit
19
Burien
Funding: $33,222
Hotel Attraction Marketing Program
• Attended one hotel lodging conference
• Met with more than 20 hotel developers/investors.
• Three of these leads currently underwriting cityowned land for hotel development
• One has expressed near-term interest in submitting
an LOI for hotel development.
Town Square Holiday Shopping and Support Program
• 20+ weekly vendors. 500-1,000 visitors per day.
Tax Increment Area Feasibility Study
• Studied 3 potential areas for TIF consideration.
Small Business Development Center Assistance
• 38 businesses served, 2 jobs created, 14 jobs saved.
20
Carnation
Funding: $10,000
Carnation Summer Events
•
Coordinated 4 City Sponsored events to
create partnership opportunities with small
businesses and nonprofits
•
Created city-wide events calendar
Collaborated with Carnation Chamber,
Seattle Theatre Group and 2 women-owned
food truck businesses
•
~400 attendees attending family friend
events
21
Covington
Funding: $21,600
Town Center Branding & Identity
Hosted 3 events
1,000+ attendees to the Maker's Market
272 attendees to Drive-in Movie Might
300 attendees to Back-to-School night
65 local small businesses, food vendors, craft
businesses.
- 9 Sponsors partnered with the city
•
-
22
Des Moines
Funding: $33,260
Economic Development Element Planning
Supports the update of the 2024 Des Moines
Comprehensive Plan Economic Development
Element with a focus on 3 specific areas
-
within our City:
Marina District
North Central
Pacific Ridge
Identified strategic economic zones,
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats.
23
Enumclaw
Funding: $13,090
Tourism Campaign Enumclaw Expo &
Event Association
• Marketing campaign focused on
attracting regional tourism and attendance
to the events held at the Enumclaw Expo
Center and the City of Enumclaw.
The campaign highlighted Enumclaw's
shopping, restaurants, breweries, and
wineries as destinations
• Attracted 200,000+ visitors from 36 states
and 6 countries.
• Increased ticket sales by $3,150
• Generated 3.3 million marketing
impressions and 53,000+ clicks
24
Federal Way
Funding: $24,908
Business Outreach and Survey
• 391 surveys completed, 51% were WMBEs
• 33% requested Marketing & Technology
Assistance
• 74% indicated equal or better economic
performance compared to last year
Business Attraction
• Creative photo library including 264 high
quality images across 17 locations in the City
• 4 marketing documents created to promote
the city locally, regionally, and nationally
25
Issaquah
Funding: $41,290
StartUp425 - Held 6 trainings in Issaquah, with
50 individuals trained and 40 WMBEs. 20
businesses participated and were assisted.
Regional Business Summit - 282 individuals
attended the summit. 100 WMBEs and 108
businesses attended.
Business Recruitment - Co-star subscription. 25
businesses assisted, 15 WMBEs assisted. 5
businesses recruited and 2 WMBEs recruited.
Issaquah Loyal - 64 businesses highlighted in
Spring Guide and 23 WMBEs participated.
26
Kenmore
Funding: $24,230
Tourism Website - Curated Kenmore
blog content was included on Scenic
Washington, with over 240K
Followers.
Professional Photography - Helped 13
businesses owners get access to free
professional photos to enhance their
marketing opportunities.
Oktoberfrest -
• Hosted 12 WMBE home-based craft
vendors with 500 attendees and a
total of $5,921 in sales.
• Distributed 2,500 passports to
encourage patronage at businesses
27
Kent
Funding: $60,000
Aerospace Machinists Joint Training
Committee (AJAC) Partnership with Kent
School District
Build capacity for the development of an
•
Automation Technician Youth
Apprenticeship program to be based in the
Kent School District
•
Inform and educate facility about AJAC's
youth apprenticeship program
•
(Highlight outcomes that came from this)
28
Kirkland
Funding: $60,000
Shop Local Kirkland Content Creation Initiative
• Developed marketing and content plan which
contributed to thousands of new users using the Shop
Local Kirkland platform.
Small and Home-Based Business Assistance & Acceleration
Project
• Surveyed 3,800+ home-based businesses, who make up
nearly 50% of Kirkland's business license database.
• 308 home-based businesses responded to the survey,
representing businesses in nearly every Kirkland
neighborhood. Over 10+ industries represented.
• Recruited and curated 35 home-based Eastside business
to participate on the East-side Pop-up Market. 91% were
minority-owned, 37% immiFunding-owned, and 3 youth
vendors. 23% of vendors did not regularly participate in
markets and received tents, tables and chairs during the
event.
• StartUp425 - Regional partnership.
29
Maple Valley
Funding: $28,000
Business Survey - Surveyed 500 business owners.
• 78% of respondents had a favorable view of
doing business in Maple Valley.
• Most common challenges included 1) High
cost of conducting business, reaching
customers, recruit/retaining employees.
• Nearly half of respondents view Cityorganized events as half a positive impact
on their businesses.
Business Leakage Study - 25% of the workforce
started working from home in 2021. Lake
Wilderness saw 70k+ visitors from outside Maple
Valley in Summer of 2022.
• Farmers Market more than doubled its
visitors from outside the area code when it
moved to Legacy Site.
Business Marketing Video -Marketing video targets
small businesses and provide business retention.
30
Mercer Island
Funding: $25,790
Buy Local Support / Placemaking
• Held 10 community events.
• 73 businesses engaged with city to make it
successful.
• 16,950 attendees at events
• 107 businesses registered as vendors, sponsors, or
partners.
Economic Development Comp Plan Element
• Conducted 20+ stakeholder interviews to identify
major ED issues, strengths, etc. surrounding City
Comprehensive Plan update
• Postcard mailer to 11,000 households, 644
respondents and 74 from business owners.
31
North Bend
Funding: $10,000
Cycling Story Map Development
Contracted with a writer/content developer to
develop written and visual content for a
cycling story map to be used by both residents
and increase tourism to North Bend.
Story maps combined maps, 3D scenes,
embedded content, multimedia, and more
into an interactive map that can be used by
cyclists to access cycling trails safely and
responsibly and then find restaurants, stores,
and amenities after their ride to support local
businesses.
32
Normandy Park
Funding: $10,000
Business Mixers & Small Business
Assistance
• Partnered with Seattle Southside
Chamber and hosted 2 business mixers to
build stronger community connections
with other business owners.
- 57 businesses participated and 84
WMBEs participated
• Hosted 2 workshop seminars to help
provide technical assistance to homebased businesses and educate them on
the city's permitting processes.
- 165 WMBE businesses participated
33
Pacific
Funding: $1,000
Business Directory Website - Developed
business directory feature on the City's website
to promote local businesses and increase web
presence with 320 businesses participating.
34
Redmond
Funding: $60,000
StartUp425 Regional Partnership
• Admitted 37 Founders to the Accelerator
program. 32 were WMBEs.
Eastside Made Pop-up Market
• Hosted first Eastside Made Pop-up
Market with 21 businesses participating
and 95% WMBEs. 38% of businesses
were immigrant-owned businesses.
Innovation Triangle
• Refreshed Innovation Triangle website to
update district profiles and create a
business attraction video for Redmond.
• 715 page views
35
Renton
Funding: $60,000

World Cup Legacy Square Initiative - Establish the
Legacy Square as a focal point in downtown Renton.
Alongside a soccer pitch committed by the Seattle
Sounders' RAVE Foundation, key components include
a jumbo screen for year-round public viewing of
events, a stage for live entertainment, and a business
incubator to support local entrepreneurs and
enhance economic activity.

StartUp425 - Increased event attendance by 63% by
hosting 10 events across 6 topic areas including
marketing, coworking, and pitch competitions.

Facilitated 45 events, engaged 178 Renton based
entrepreneurs.
36
SeaTac
Funding: $31,740
SeaTac Pop-up Markets
• Hosted 4 pop-up markets to support
local vendors
• 550+ attendees
• 34 businesses and 29 WMBE businesses
participated
• Events increased SeaTac's visibility as a
cultural destination, attracting not only
residents but neighboring communities
37
Shoreline
Funding: $60,000
Music Recovery, Incubation, and Tourism
• Referred 150 businesses to technical assistance resources
• Hosted 11 roundtables/seminars for musicians and creatives
• Reached 175 businesses and 87 WMBE businesses
Cultivating Creatives
• 42 businesses participated in a workshop, including 26
WMBEs
Juneteenth Music & Marketplace
• 10 Black-owned businesses received mentorship and
participated in business development workshops within the
first six months.
PRIDE Farmers Market
• 700 PRIDE Celebration Attendees
• 13% increased sales for vendors compared to 2023
• Vendors generated $28,627 in revenue
38
Skykomish
Funding: $10,000
Tourism Promotion and Website - Partner with
Skykomish Chamber of Commerce, develop a
visually appealing and informative website hosted
by the Chamber that highlights Skykomish's
attractions, activities, and amenities. Include
high-quality photos, engaging content, and userfriendly navigation. Optimize the website for
search engines to improve its visibility online.
Digital Literacy - Educate businessowners on
how to market their business. Work with
influencer and social media guru to improve
social media content.
39
Snoqualmie
Funding: $9,000
Tourism Website and Branding
Created a new "Visit Snoqualmie" brand,
enhanced tourism website, and increased online
experience for users/visitors.
Summertime in Snoqualmie Tourism Campaign
Launched marketing campaign to promote
summer events coordinated by City of
Snoqualmie, Arts Commission, and community
event partners.
• Hosted 8+ events highlighting summer
activities in Snoqualmie to draw attraction and
visitation.
40
Tukwila
Funding: $14,000
Kent Valley WA
• Updated website by incorporating GIS Planning's
Business Directory Intelligence and Property
Viewer.
• New tool attracts investors to our region who can
map businesses by industry sector, sub-sector,
research competitors, suppliers and emerging
clusters.
• Media campaign - 5,000+ impressions per month
• ~800 website visits per month
Small Business Pop-up - Tukwila Culture and
Fashion Show
• Somali Independent Business Alliance (SIBA)
helped 15 businesses create Google profiles.
• 60 small businesses participated in event
• 80 attendees to the fashion show
41
Woodinville
Funding: $13,830
Creative District Plan
The City has identified the former abandoned
rail corridor (and future home to the Eastrail
Regional Trail) and surrounding area, as the
tentative future home for a creative economic
catalyst.
The City of Woodinville will be rezoning and
redeveloping this underutilized and neglected
area and is seeking to embed a creative
economy into the built environment of this
specific plan.
Completed report is instrumental in the city's
application in becoming a designated Creative
District.
42
Small Business Assistance Initiatives
Small Business Technical Assistance
• Partnerships with SBDCs - (Auburn, Burien)
• StartUp425 - (Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond,
Renton)
Business Outreach/Business Retention Surveys
• Assessing current business conditions - (Federal Way)
Marketing
• Photography/marketing projects - (Federal Way,
Kenmore)
Creative Economy
• Music industry incubation and cultivating creatives (Shoreline)
• Creative Economy Study (Woodinville)
43
Buy Local/Placemaking Initiatives
Buy Local / Placemaking
• Summer Events (Carnation, Bothell,
Mercer Island, Snoqualmie)
• Movie at the Farm & Train (Duvall)
• #IssaquahLoyal Shop Local Campaign
(Issaquah)
• Pop-up Markets (Kirkland, Redmond,
SeaTac)
• Online Business Directory (Pacific)
• Juneteenth Marketplace (Shoreline)
44
Tourism Initiatives
Events & Tourism Campaigns
• Town Square Holiday Shopping
(Burien)
• Digital Marketing Campaign
(Burien, Auburn)
• Cycling Story Map (North Bend)
• Tourism Websites (Kenmore, Kirkland
Snoqualmie)
• Expo & Event Association (Enumclaw)
• Oktoberfest (Kenmore)
45