Economic Development

The City of Black Diamond, Washington is located in one of the fastest-growing areas of the Puget Sound with abundant opportunities for commercial development. This low-crime city has a high quality of life. Lake Sawyer, many creeks and nearby Mt. Rainier provide ample recreational opportunities. The City enjoys high household incomes and low unemployment, but the workforce travels an average of 38 minutes to work and back each day (2000 U.S. Census). A transportation network includes SR 18, SR 167, SR 516, SR 169 with nearby access to I-90 and I-5. The city is located just 33 miles from Seattle, 30 miles from Tacoma, 28 miles from Bellevue and approximately 22 miles from Sea-Tac Airport.

The southeast King County region that includes Black Diamond, Covington and Maple Valley has expanded considerably over the past 10 years. Black Diamond is planning to grow from 4,000 citizens to nearly 20,000 citizens and add 1.5 million square feet of commercial development over the next 15 years. As part of the major expansion of the city, Oakpoint out of Kirkland, Washington, has proposed two major master planned developments totaling up to 6,000 new residential units. In all, the three cities of Black Diamond, Maple Valley and Covington project growth of 59,000 residents in the next 20 years. There is significant retail leakage out of Black Diamond. By 2017, analysis indicates an additional $316 million of retail spending could be captured within the city’s primary market area (The Sullivan Group, 2008).

Staff Contacts

Name Title Phone
Andrew Williamson MDRT & Economic Development Director (360) 851-4448