Imagine an open, green plaza in the center of Shoreline, filled with sun-bathing and studying students, young families watching their children run and play, an elderly couple enjoying a Central Market picnic, dogs wagging their tails, actors practicing their lines, and the sound of college-age buskers singing with an occasional clink as coins fall into a hat.
This is the back-drop to the busy comings and goings of shoppers and lunching workers who relish the time of their day that allows them to visit the renewed Aurora Square shopping center. It is a “one-stop” convenience shopping solution that provides dining, nightlife, and healthy-lifestyle options. It is a community gathering place, where a leg-stretching walk easily turns into a serendipitous rendezvous with friends. It is an environmentally sensitive district within walking distance of Metro’s Rapid Ride bus service and the Interurban Trail: the intersection of life, study, entertainment, sustainability and retail.
The Shoreline City Council recently designated the 70+ acre Aurora Square area as a Community Renewal Area (CRA) where economic renewal would clearly deliver multifaceted public benefit. The area is home to an aging Sears, the robust Central Market grocery store, the regional headquarters of Washington State Department of Transportation, and a number of other smaller businesses. Unfortunately, the center’s infrastructure and connectivity is badly outdated, and the center provides little synergistic benefit for its businesses or community. As a result, the area underperforms in virtually every measurable category, and Shoreline residents lack the community focal point they desire.
Shoreline’s Office of Economic Development is working to renew the Aurora Square area, and we invite you to explore this project page to keep current on this multi-faceted effort.
For more information contact Dan Eernissee, Economic Development Manager.