Seattle Growth Podcast 7.3: pandemic and the future of downtown

With the COVID-19 pandemic still wreaking havoc, will Seattle continue to be a desirable place to live, work and do business?

Season 7 of the Seattle Growth Podcast continues to explore these questions through interviews with an array of leaders, influencers and everyday Seattleites.

Episode 3 considers the future of downtown.

Jesmadel “Squirt” Henton, who is well known around Seattle’s Central District for her work alongside her mother—Helen Coleman of the legendary Ms. Helen’s Soul Food—to bring delicious food to the community, opens up about the emotions of having her mother in a senior living facility during the pandemic and discusses an alarming recent change.

Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, shares how the pandemic has created a significant challenges to the downtown core, and discusses trends that are worrisome and trends that give reason for some optimism.

The Seattle Growth Podcast is hosted and produced by Jeff Shulman, the Marion B. Ingersoll Professor of Marketing at the UW Foster School of Business.

Shulman is also the co-director and producer of On the Brink, the acclaimed documentary of history, hope and determination to save the soul of Seattle’s vanishing Central District.