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'Downtown' is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared to other city centers on the West Coast because of its geographical situation: hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by Elliott Bay, and on the south by reclaimed land that was once tidal flats. It is bounded on the north by Denny Way, beyond which are Uptown, Seattle Center, and South Lake Union; on the east by Interstate 5, beyond which are Capitol Hill and First Hill; on the south by Yesler Way, beyond which is the International District and part of Pioneer Square; and on the west by Elliott Bay. Belltown, the Denny Regrade, and the rest of Pioneer Square are sub-neighborhoods of Downtown. Seattle's main financial district, waterfront, and shopping area (surrounding Westlake Center and connected to Seattle Center by way of a monorail) make up the bulk of Downtown. It is also home to the landmark Pike Place Market.
Downtown Seattle's Columbia Tower has a greater number of floors than any other building west of the Mississippi River, at seventy-six, though there are taller buildings in Texas and California by height. (Smith Tower, in the older section of Downtown near the waterfront, once held the title of tallest American building west of the Mississippi.) Other notable buildings are the Washington Mutual Tower, Two Union Square, Nordstrom’s flagship store, Benaroya Hall, the new Seattle Central Library designed by Rem Koolhaas, and an expanded art museum, the main facade of which was designed by Robert Venturi.
Downtown parks include Westlake Park, Freeway Park, and Victor Steinbrueck Park. The Olympic Sculpture Park was completed on the Belltown waterfront in January 2007.
Because Downtown is the actual name of a neighborhood, not merely a toponym for a city's central business district or southernmost section (as it is in other places), and because of Downtown's growing residential population, it is grammatically correct for Seattleites to describe a location as "''in'' Downtown." (For example, "I work in Downtown," instead of "I work downtown.")

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Expansion

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Expansion

Downtown Seattle's population is growing, with a number of high and mid-rise condominium towers being constructed taking on a more Vancouver-like approach to urban living. Most of the new units are priced for the top end of the region's housing market.
In 1989, building heights in Downtown and adjoining Seattle suburbs were tightly restricted following a voter initiative. These restrictions were dramatically loosened in 2006, leading to the increase in Downtown high-rise construction. This policy change has divided commentators between those who support the increased density[1] and those who criticize it as "Manhattanization."[2]
On March 7 2007, it was confirmed by the Seattle Times that the Trump Organization is interested in finding a site in Downtown Seattle for a hotel and residential condo tower. It would be the second of the Trump towers on the West Coast and the first in the Pacific Northwest. If everything goes to plan it would be completed by the end of 2009.

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★ Downtown skyline from the Smith Tower

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