The City of Burien has a robust history of partnering with the private sector on new development.
A new job center in Burien (NERA) resulted from the city government partnering with the Port of Seattle and WSDOT to provide timely infrastructure investments that supported the attraction of private sector development and over 750,000 square feet of new commercial space. The City took the lead on developing similar partnerships for mixed-use development downtown, providing $9M in street investments to support downtown development.
Our economic development team is here to provide proactive support and help businesses and developers find solutions. We understand that locating in Burien is an investment and work to keep the cost of doing business low while expediting permits and working to mitigate risk. Burien does not interfere in your daily operations with excessive regulations. Burien has no city minimum wage or employee scheduling laws, for example. For those interested in constructing a new building, design review is done in-house and without public committees, saving developers and property owners valuable time in the permitting process.
“The City of Burien is great to work with. One of the fastest lease-ups we’ve experienced.”
—Kerry Nicholson, Legacy Partners
“We had a great experience working with the city so we looked for an additional opportunity to do standard market-rate apartments… They helped us work with Seattle City Light”
- Dave Sinnett, American Capital Group
“Burien’s biggest assets are the friendliness and fast permitting times.”
- Dan Gallagher, Nitze-Stagen
A City That ListensSoon after the City's incorporation, the Burien City Council realized the importance of involving the business community in policy discussions regarding economic development. In 1995, the Council created the Burien Business and Economic Development Partnership (BEDP) to provide guidance and direction to the City Council on Burien's future economic development, review and make recommendations for improvement to the economic development component of the City's Comprehensive Plan, and to advise the City Council on other economic opportunities and business interests.
