Bothell, Washington
Bothell | |
|---|---|
 Main Street in Bothell | |
 Logo | |
| Motto: Welcome to Bothell for a day, or a lifetime | |
 Interactive map of Bothell | |
| Coordinates: 47°45′28″N 122°12′09″W / 47.75778°N 122.20250°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| Counties | King, Snohomish |
| Incorporated | April 14, 1909 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | Mason Thompson |
| • City manager | Kyle Stannert |
| Area | |
• Total | 13.64 sq mi (35.3 km2) |
| • Land | 13.64 sq mi (35.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 302 ft (92 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 48,161 |
| 51,770 | |
| • Density | 3,530.87/sq mi (1,363.28/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 98011 (King), 98012, 98021 (Snohomish), 98041 (P.O. boxes) |
| Area code | 425 |
| FIPS code | 53-07380 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2409882[2] |
| Website | bothellwa |
Bothell (/ˈbɒθəl/) is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington in the Eastside region. It had a population of 48,161 residents as of the 2020 census.
The city lies along the Sammamish River, the historic home of the indigenous Sammamish people, and is adjacent to Kenmore and Woodinville. It was established in 1870 and platted by David Bothell and his family in 1888, shortly before the arrival of railroads in the area. The town was incorporated in 1909 and originally relied on logging and farming; in the mid-20th century, it became a bedroom community for workers commuting to Seattle and later other Eastside cities. Interstate 405 connects the city to other areas of the Eastside and functions as a bypass of Seattle.
Bothell's modern economy is centered around biotechnology and high-tech companies that have facilities that were developed in the late 20th century along North Creek and in the Canyon Park neighborhood, which was annexed by the city in 1992. The annexation also expanded the city limits into Snohomish County. The University of Washington Bothell was established in 1990 and opened its permanent shared campus with Cascadia College in 2000. Bothell redeveloped its downtown in the 2010s and 2020s and has seen an increase in residential density and its population as a result.
History
[edit]The Sammamish River valley from Lake Washington to Issaquah Creek was first inhabited by the indigenous Sammamish people (Lushootseed: sc̓ababš),[4] a Coast Salish group with an estimated population of 80 to 200 around 1850.[5][6] The Sammamish had a major winter village, ƛ̕ax̌ʷadis, at the mouth of the Sammamish River, between what is now Bothell and Kenmore.[6][7] Although the Sammamish resisted removal efforts by settlers, they were eventually removed to Fort Kitsap following the 1855–1856 Puget Sound War.[5][8] Some Sammamish continued to live in the area and worked as laborers and farmers, but the village of ƛ̕ax̌ʷadis was later destroyed.[9]
The first Homestead Act claims to modern-day Bothell were filed in 1870 by Columbus S. Greenleaf and George R. Wilson, an English immigrant, on adjoining plots of land. The area along the lower Sammamish River, then named Squak Slough, was mostly marshlands and had not been surveyed at the time of Wilson's arrival;[10] Greenleaf filed for his claim in June 1870 on land that Wilson had originally sought.[11] Eight families settled in the area in the next six years and were followed by Canadian businessman George Brackett, who began commercial logging in 1877 on 80 acres (32 ha) on the modern-day site of Wayne Golf Course.[10] Brackett also established Brackett's Landing, which had a sawmill and steamboat dock served by traffic from Seattle and Issaquah.[10][12]
In 1884, Brackett sold 80 acres (32 ha) of his timberland to David Bothell, a settler and American Civil War veteran from Pennsylvania.[10] Bothell and his two sons built a home and shingle mill on the property the following year and later opened a boarding house with his wife.[13] The boarding house was destroyed by a fire and replaced by the Bothell Hotel at another location, where the townsite was platted on April 25, 1888.[14][15] The settlement was named for the Bothell family by the first postmaster Gerhard Ericksen, who had bought the boarding house property.[13][14] At the time, the area had two hotels, several lumber mills, and a school.[5] Bothell originally shared schools with Woodinville until a separate school district was established in 1885; the first classes at Bothell's schoolhouse were held in March 1886.[16] The school district was merged with North Creek in 1897 and ten years later, a dedicated school building was constructed to accommodate the growing student population.[17]
The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway was constructed along the Sammamish River to connect Seattle to the transcontinental Northern Pacific Railway as well as coal from mines near Issaquah. The tracks reached Bothell in November 1888 and a boxcar was placed at Brackett's Landing to serve as a temporary station; it was moved east to Bothell in 1890 and later replaced by a depot building.[5][18] A county road was built between Bothell and neighboring Woodinville to the east.[10] Several logging railroads were also constructed in the Bothell area, stretching as far north as modern-day Canyon Park, to transport logs to local mills; one included a trestle bridge across the Sammamish River.[19] Bothell grew rapidly following the railroad's opening; by the end of the 1880s, it had telegraph service, a general store, a butcher, and a drugstore with a practicing doctor.[20] Many of the new residents were Scandinavian or Eastern European immigrants, along with emigrants from the Midwest.[14] The first churches in the area were established by these immigrants in the mid-1880s.[21] Two of the local mills were destroyed in fires in 1893 and 1894 and were later replaced with a larger facility that produced 80,000 shingles per day.[15][22]
Early 20th century
[edit]Bothell was incorporated as a fourth-class town on April 14, 1909, eight days after a narrow 79–70 vote in favor. George Bothell, one of the sons of David Bothell and a former state legislator, was elected as the first mayor.[23][24] At the time, the town had a population of 599 residents, a bank, four general stores, and three saloons.[14][15] A dozen buildings on Main Street were destroyed or damaged by a fire on April 11, 1911, including the Ericksen general store where the town's records had been kept. A fire department was established in 1913 and new building regulations were enacted by the town government in response to the fire.[14][25] The Pacific Highway was completed through the town in August 1912, connecting to Everett and Seattle. A 4-mile (6.4 km) section west of Bothell was the first to be paved in brick; it was inaugurated on May 29, 1913, by Washington governor Ernest Lister.[26][27]
Steamship traffic on the Sammamish River waned after the arrival of the railroad and completion of the Pacific Highway. The river itself was dredged and straightened by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1916.[26] The water level on Lake Washington was lowered by nine feet (2.7 m) by the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle the following year; the lowering prevented several steamships and other riverboats from traversing the mouth of the Sammamish River.[5][28] By the end of the decade, Bothell had a water system, telephone service, a library, and several fraternal organizations with chapters or lodges in the area.[15][29] The logging economy declined during the early 20th century and was replaced by agriculture on the cleared land, including dairy and poultry farms.[14] Passenger traffic on the railroad, now under the management of Northern Pacific, ceased in 1938.[5]
A new high school was opened in 1923 and followed by an adjacent junior high school building in 1931, now known as the Anderson School.[6][30] Several civic projects were completed during the Great Depression by the Works Progress Administration, including construction of a new town hall that also housed the fire department and library when it opened in 1938.[6][31] Bothell remained a rural community until the development of suburban housing areas after World War II as the Seattle metropolitan area experienced a major population boom. A new high school opened in 1953 along with five elementary schools by the end of the decade to accommodate a growing number of students.[32] The first major annexations in the town's history were made in 1954; by the end of the decade, the boundaries extended south of the Sammamish River.[33]
Mid-to-late 20th century
[edit]Bothell was reclassified as a city in 1960 after its population had surpassed the state's threshold for cityhood—1,500 residents.[34] The city's sewer system was completed that same year and the water system was switched from local wells to the Tolt pipeline, operated by Seattle Public Utilities, in 1963.[35] The sewage system was incorporated into the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle system in 1967, which bypassed its outflow to Lake Washington but restricted new residential development south of the Sammamish River.[36][37] Bothell developed further into a bedroom community after the completion of Interstate 405 in 1968, which passes east of downtown and intersects State Route 522.[38] Another routing for the freeway west of the city was also considered before it was rejected, along with a later proposal to route State Route 522 on a freeway around the south side of downtown.[39][40] By 1970, Bothell had annexed neighborhoods as far east as the outskirts of Woodinville, then seeking annexation or incorporation.[41][42] The city's mayor–council government was replaced by a council–manager system in 1973 following voter approval of a proposition the year before.[5][43]
In 1974, plans to build a regional shopping mall were announced on the site of a 142-acre (57 ha) truck farm adjacent to the Interstate 405 and State Route 522 interchange east of downtown Bothell.[44] It was described as similar in size to Southcenter Mall in Tukwila and would include a motel, two movie theaters, and office space.[45] The city government sought the new shopping mall to improve its local tax base and approved a rezoning of the property for commercial use, but the proposal was opposed by local environmental groups due to the potential impact on North Creek, which flows through the site.[38][46] The environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the city government over the rezoning, which the King County Superior Court found to violate state laws on land use fairness and conflicts of interest within the planning commission.[47] The ruling was upheld by the Washington Supreme Court in 1978 and the property was instead rezoned into an office park under new regulations for the North Creek Valley, which was designated as a special district.[48]
The remaining farmland in the North Creek Valley was developed into facilities for high tech and light industrial companies beginning in the 1980s, encompassing 1.8 million square feet (170,000 m2) of office space.[49][50] The developments were required by the special district to restore wetlands along North Creek and other waterways as part of environmental mitigation, but the artificial wetlands initially saw limited success in controlling invasive species and regulating soils.[51] Bothell continued to develop into a center of high tech employment alongside Canyon Park, an unincorporated area to the north in Snohomish County, with a combined 4,300 jobs added between 1985 and 1987.[52] Several office parks were also developed in nearby Woodinville, which Bothell unsuccessfully attempted to annex in 1985 for a shopping center;[53][54] the community later incorporated as a separate city in 1993.[55]
In 1990, the University of Washington opened its northern branch campus in Bothell at an office park building. A permanent campus, shared with Cascadia Community College, opened in September 2000 at a site that was originally proposed for a separate shopping mall east of downtown;[56][57] the mall had been blocked by the Washington State Department of Ecology due to its effects on wetlands near North Creek.[58] Bothell annexed the Canyon Park area in 1992, becoming a dual-county city and nearly doubling its population by adding 11,400 people.[59] The annexation prevented the competing proposal for a new city, tentatively named North Creek,[60] from claiming the area and its existing industrial parks that employed 20,000 people.[61][62] The addition of Canyon Park and additional development increased Bothell's population by 144 percent to over 30,000 residents by 2000.[63] The 1990s also saw more technology businesses relocate to Bothell, including biotechnology firms, call centers, and manufacturers of medical equipment and electronics.[61][64]
21st century
[edit]The city government commissioned a plan in 2000 to address worsening traffic congestion throughout Bothell that was blamed, in part, on recent development. The plan would use additional street connections to form a more cohesive grid, but was negatively received by residents who opposed higher traffic volumes.[65][66] A separate plan to widen portions of State Route 527 (the Bothell–Everett Highway) was completed in 2005 using funding from commercial development along the corridor.[67] In the late 2000s, the city government adopted a downtown plan to revitalize Main Street and add denser housing and mixed-use development in the area. The plan involved the acquisition of various parcels and demolition of 15 buildings to allow for roadwork and the expansion of the Park at Bothell Landing.[68]
Construction of the $150 million downtown redevelopment program began in 2010 with the realignment of State Route 522 at its intersection with the Bothell–Everett Highway, which was completed in 2013.[69][70] The Bothell–Everett Highway was rebuilt as a wide boulevard in 2017 that includes separate laneways for parking and landscaped dividers.[71] A new city hall opened in October 2015 to consolidate several city departments into one building.[72] The city also annexed 1,005 additional acres (407 ha) of King County in 2014 and added 6,000 residents.[73] The downtown redevelopment yielded 1,300 new apartment units and townhouses by 2020, including middle housing. Between 2010 and 2020, Bothell's population increased by more than 40 percent and the share of minority residents also increased to 33 percent.[68]
A major fire in downtown broke out at the Mercantile Building on July 22, 2016, damaging and closing more than 20 businesses. Among the destroyed buildings was the Bothell Mall, which housed several small businesses. The fire hindered the Main Street portion of the redevelopment program and required $4.7 million in state aid for rebuilding.[74][75] Main Street was rebuilt as a shared space between vehicles and other modes with curbless sidewalks and parallel parking separated by dining areas and planter boxes. A one-block section was closed to all vehicular traffic in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage its use as an outdoor gathering space and dining area to revitalize business in downtown.[76] The program was successful and became a permanent fixture during the summer months.[68][76]
Geography
[edit]Bothell is located along the Sammamish River near its mouth at the northeast end of Lake Washington. It is one of six cities in Washington that are in multiple counties, as the city straddles King and Snohomish counties.[77] The boundary between the counties is at Northeast 205th Street / 244th Street Southwest; because most streets in Bothell are numbered and not named, north–south streets that cross the county line often change numbers.[78] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Bothell has a total area of 13.64 square miles (35.33 km2), all of it classified as land.[1] The city is predominantly suburban, with 41.4 percent of land area zoned for single-family homes, 13 percent for denser housing, 10.5 percent for parks and open space, and 8 percent for commercial development.[79]
The city's western border with Kenmore follows 86th and 84th avenues, with the exception of Inglemoor High School; within Snohomish County, the western border follows 7th Place West. The northern city limits of Bothell is defined by 216th Street Southwest on the west side of Interstate 405 and State Route 524 (Maltby Road) through Thrasher's Corner. The eastern boundary follows 35th Avenue Southeast in Snohomish County; on the King County site, it is shared with Woodinville and follows 130th Avenue Northeast on the north side of the Sammamish River and 124th Avenue Northeast on the south side of the river. The southern border with Kirkland follows Simonds Road and Northeast 145th Street to Interstate 405 and jumps north to follow part of the Tolt pipeline right-of-way.[80] The city's urban growth area in Snohomish County includes unincorporated areas that border Brier to the west and Mill Creek to the north.[81]
Most of the city lies in the drainage basins of the Sammamish River or its tributaries North Creek and Swamp Creek; a portion also lies in the Juanita Creek basin, which drains directly into Lake Washington.[82] These creeks are also home to spawning Kokanee salmon, Chinook salmon, bull trout, and other freshwater fish.[83][84] The Sammamish River formed following the retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet during the Vashon Glaciation period approximately 15,000 years before present. The glaciers cut across several north–south channels that now form Bothell's seven hills,[85] which include areas south of the Sammamish River that are prone to landslides.[86][87] The highest point in the city is Nike Hill, named for its former Nike missile silo, that sits 510 feet (160 m) above sea level.[88][89] Bothell has several wetlands, including a 58-acre (23 ha) area along North Creek that was restored by University of Washington Bothell in the 2000s.[90][91] Since its restoration, the wetlands have become home to large groups of crows, up to 16,000 at a time, that commute from around the Seattle region to roost in Bothell.[92][93] The university hosts an annual "Crow Watch" event in November with presentations and a viewing party.[92]
Subareas and neighborhoods
[edit]
As part of the city's comprehensive plan, Bothell's neighborhoods and districts are organized into planning subareas for zoning regulation purposes.[94] As of 2023[update], Bothell has 17 recognized subareas, four of which include portions of the urban growth area outside the city limits.[95]
- Bloomberg Hill is located at the eastern edge of the city and is primarily in King County[96]
- Brickyard Road/Queensgate is in the southeastern corner of Bothell, bound to the west by Interstate 405 and to the north by State Route 522[96]
- Canyon Creek/39th Avenue SE is in the northeastern quarter of the city[96]
- Canyon Park is on the northern edge of the city proper and includes commercial and industrial areas[96]
- Damson/Logan lies outside of the northwestern city limits along the southwest side of Interstate 405[96]
- Downtown Bothell is situated along the north side of the Sammamish River between Westhill and Interstate 405 and includes a commercial district and mixed-use residential buildings[68][96]
- Filbert/Winesap lies outside of the northern city limits along the northeast side of Interstate 405[96]
- Fitzgerald/35th Avenue SE is located northeast of Interstate 405 along North Creek[96]
- Locust/14th Avenue W lies outside the western city limits in unincorporated Snohomish County[96]
- Maywood/Beckstrom Hill is north of Downtown Bothell and east of the Bothell–Everett Highway[96]
- North Creek/NE 195th Street includes office and industrial areas along North Creek east of Interstate 405 and Downtown Bothell[96]
- Queensborough/Brentwood/Crystal Springs is at the northwest corner of the city limits and generally lies west of Interstate 405[96]
- Red Barn is situated along the Bothell–Everett Highway between downtown and Canyon Park[96]
- Shelton View/Meridian/3rd Avenue SE is on the western edge of the city proper within Snohomish County[96]
- Thrasher's Corner/Red Hawk is northeast of the city limits on the north side of State Route 524. It is named for the Thrasher family, who opened a grocery store and gas station at the corner of the Bothell–Everett Highway and Filbert Road (now State Route 524) in 1928.[97]
- Waynita/Simonds/Norway Hill includes all of the neighborhoods south of the Sammamish River and west of Interstate 405.[96] It is also home to the former Wayne Golf Course, now a city-owned parkland.[98]
- Westhill is west of downtown and primarily in King County[96]
Demographics
[edit]| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[99] | Pop 2010[100] | Pop 2020[101] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 25,581 | 25,235 | 30,398 | 84.85% | 75.32% | 63.12% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 341 | 486 | 903 | 1.13% | 1.45% | 1.87% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 182 | 141 | 194 | 0.60% | 0.42% | 0.40% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 1,783 | 3,376 | 8,466 | 5.91% | 10.08% | 17.58% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 59 | 56 | 97 | 0.20% | 0.17% | 0.20% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 62 | 71 | 345 | 0.21% | 0.21% | 0.72% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 804 | 1,229 | 3,311 | 2.67% | 3.67% | 6.87% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,338 | 2,911 | 4,447 | 4.44% | 8.69% | 9.23% |
| Total | 30,150 | 33,505 | 48,161 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 599 | — | |
| 1920 | 613 | 2.3% | |
| 1930 | 818 | 33.4% | |
| 1940 | 794 | −2.9% | |
| 1950 | 1,019 | 28.3% | |
| 1960 | 2,237 | 119.5% | |
| 1970 | 5,420 | 142.3% | |
| 1980 | 7,943 | 46.5% | |
| 1990 | 12,345 | 55.4% | |
| 2000 | 30,150 | 144.2% | |
| 2010 | 33,505 | 11.1% | |
| 2020 | 48,161 | 43.7% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 51,770 | [3] | 7.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[102][103] | |||
Bothell is the 26th-largest city in Washington, with a population of 48,161 people as of the 2020 U.S. census.[104] The city grew significantly in the 1950s, 1990s, and 2000s from the annexation of surrounding areas and suburban development.[105] Between 2010 and 2020, Bothell's population grew by 44 percent, faster than any other city in Snohomish County and among the fastest rates in the Puget Sound region.[106][107] As of 2020[update], 60 percent of the city's population resides in King County and 40 percent in Snohomish County.[108]
The city has a large concentration of Asian Americans, of which 33 percent identified as Indian and 29 percent identified as Chinese in 2020. Approximately 20 percent of Bothell residents in 2020 were born outside the United States, an increase from 11 percent reported in 2000.[109]
The 2021 American Community Survey estimated that the median household income of the city's residents was $116,578, higher than the averages for King and Snohomish counties.[102][110] An evaluation by Public Health – Seattle & King County in 2016 found that residents of Bothell and Woodinville had lower prevalence of health issues and a life expectancy of 83.4 years, higher than the King County and Washington average.[111]
2020 census
[edit]As of the 2020 census, there were 48,161 people and 19,149 households living in Bothell, which had a population density of 2,765.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,067.8/km2).[112][113] There were 20,138 total housing units, of which 95.1% were occupied and 4.9% were vacant or for occasional use. The racial makeup of the city was 65.0% White, 0.6% Native American and Alaskan Native, 1.9% Black or African American, 17.7% Asian, and 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. Residents who listed another race were 4.0% of the population and those who identified as more than one race were 10.6% of the population. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 9.2% of the population.[112]
Of the 19,149 households in Bothell, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, and 6.7% were cohabitating but unmarried. Households with a male householder with no spouse or partner were 16.9% of the population, while households with a female householder with no spouse or partner were 23.6% of the population. Out of all households, 26.7% had residents who were 65 years of age or older.[112] There were 19,149 occupied housing units in Bothell, of which 61.6% were owner-occupied and 38.4% were occupied by renters.[112]
The median age in the city was 37.9 years old for all sexes, 36.9 years old for males, and 38.9 years old for females. Of the total population, 23.9% of residents were under the age of 19; 30.6% were between the ages of 20 and 39; 31.7% were between the ages of 40 and 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.[112]
2010 census
[edit]As of the 2010 U.S. census, there were 33,505 people, 13,497 households, and 8,779 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,764.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,067.3/km2). There were 14,255 housing units at an average density of 1,176.2 per square mile (454.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 79.7% White, 1.6% African American, 0.6% Native American, 10.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.4% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.7% of the population.[114]
There were 13,497 households, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.0% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.00.[114]
The median age in the city was 38.3 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.3% were from 25 to 44; 28.1% were from 45 to 64; and 12.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.[114]
Economy
[edit]| Rank | Employer | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northshore School District | 4,525 |
| 2 | AT&T Mobility | 1,838 |
| 3 | Seagen | 1,655 |
| 4 | Philips Ultrasound | 1,205 |
| 5 | University of Washington Bothell | 799 |
| 6 | T-Mobile US | 601 |
| 7 | AGC Biologics | 525 |
| 8 | Fujifilm Sonosite | 516 |
| 9 | 388 | |
| 10 | City of Bothell | 384 |
As of 2022[update], Bothell has an estimated workforce population of 37,721 residents with 68.8 percent who are employed according to an annual survey from the United States Census Bureau. The largest industry sectors for the city's residents were professional and scientific services (24.4%) and educational services (18.1%).[116] According to a city study from 2022, approximately 28,778 workers commute into Bothell for work while 19,813 residents travel elsewhere for work;[117] the most common destinations for commuters from Bothell include Seattle (29%), Bellevue (14%), Redmond (12%), and Kirkland (8%), while 9.1 percent of workforce residents are employed in the city.[118][119] The mean commute travel time was 30.2 minutes with more than 57 percent of residents driving alone to work, 26 percent working from home, and under 6 percent using public transportation.[116]
The city also had approximately 28,025 jobs provided by private sector businesses, of which the largest industry sectors in 2021 were professional and scientific services (15.4%), manufacturing (15.3%), and information (12.8%).[120] Most of these jobs are on the King County side of the city, with the exception of the manufacturing sector.[121] The largest share of commuters to employers in Bothell are from Seattle (10.5%), Everett (4.9%), Kirkland (3.6%), and Bellevue (2.8%); approximately 5 percent of jobs in the city are held by Bothell residents.[122]
In its early decades, Bothell's economy was primarily tied to the logging industry and transitioned into agriculture by the 1920s. The city became a bedroom community in the mid-20th century for commuters to Seattle and later other Eastside cities.[14] Since the 1980s, high tech development in the Canyon Park and North Creek business districts has transformed Bothell into a regional employment center. These areas are home to office parks and warehouses for various industries, primarily in the service and manufacturing sectors.[64][77] Bothell has several commercial districts that are anchored by supermarket stores or other retailers.[85]
The city had the second-largest biotechnology and biomedical hub in Washington state, behind South Lake Union in Seattle, and has 61 companies that employ 4,000 people.[123][124] In addition to development facilities, Bothell is home to several major biotechnology wet labs and manufacturers due to its abundance of available space.[125] Biotechnology and biomedical companies headquartered in the city include pharmaceutical manufacturer Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics), which was acquired by Pfizer in 2023;[126] drug developer and manufacturer AGC Biologics (formerly CMC Biologics);[127][128] medical imaging equipment manufacturer Fujifilm Sonosite;[124] and drug manufacturer Lundbeck Seattle Biopharmaceuticals.[129] The state's largest biotechnology company, Icos, was headquartered in Bothell until their acquisition by Eli Lilly and Company in 2007.[130]
The city is also home to major facilities for Philips Medical Systems, which manufactures its ultrasound equipment and Sonicare toothbrushes in Bothell and maintains a regional sales office;[131][132] Lockheed Martin's subsidiary Aculight, which creates laser equipment for medical and defense use;[133] and medical device company Ventec Life Systems, which manufactures ventilators.[134] Immunex opened their Bothell campus, which included the first major pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the Pacific Northwest, in 1992;[135] the company was later acquired by Amgen in 2002 but the plant remained a major employer in Bothell until it was shut down in 2015.[136]
Other major technology industries in Bothell include information technology and telecommunications. The city's second-largest employer is wireless provider AT&T Mobility, which maintains a backbone network facility and call center in Bothell.[115][137] Another major cellular service provider, T-Mobile US, is also a major employer in the city and has one of its largest offices in Canyon Park.[138] Two firms associated with the electricity industry, Teltone and Leviton Network Solutions, also have facilities in Bothell.[139][140] Google opened a Bothell office in 2011 and outsources some of its Google Maps teams to another company in the city.[141][142] A quantum computing research and development plant in Bothell—the first to be built in the United States—was opened by IonQ in 2024.[143] Microsoft had a Canyon Park campus in the 2000s that housed servers for the company's web services and previously used a building in the area to package its consumer software.[144][145]
Other companies in the Canyon Park area include Boeing and Panasonic Avionics due to the proximity to aerospace facilities in Everett.[146][147] A United States Army Reserve facility, the Staff Sgt. Joe R. Hooper Army Reserve Center, is located in the northwest part of the city on Nike Hill. It opened in 1993 and also houses the Region X headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in an underground facility that was formerly a bunker.[148][149] Real estate trade magazine publisher Scotsman Guide is based in Bothell.[150] Defunct specialty retailer Pacific Linen was based in the city until 1996.[151]
Culture
[edit]The Bothell area is home to a Sikh gurdwara, a regional mosque, and the first consecrated Hindu temple in the Pacific Northwest, which opened in 2014.[152][153]
Arts
[edit]
Bothell has several pieces of public art, primarily located in downtown or on the University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia College campus.[154] The city government created an arts advisory committee and adopted a