Seattle's economic decline sure appears to be accelerating. The election of a clueless "democratic socialist" mayor, who, like so many of these people, has never done an honest day's work in her life, seems to have hit the TURBO button on that decline.
One more example of this decline appeared recently with the shutdown of Seattle's Columbia Tower Club, marking the end of 41 years in business. Mayor Katie Wilson is no doubt saying simply, "bye."
Columbia Tower Club, the swanky private members club in downtown Seattle known for its stunning restroom views, will shutter its doors for good later this month.
The social club on the 75th and 76th floors of Columbia Center, 701 Fifth Ave., announced late last month it will close on the last day of April after decades of business.
Founded in 1985 shortly after the skyscraper opened, Columbia Tower Club is part of Texas-based Invited Clubs, which refers to itself as the largest owner and operator of private clubs in North America.
“After extensive review, we’ve decided to consolidate the Seattle City Club operations into a single location and move forward with The Collective as our primary club in the market,” said Vincent Mauriello, senior vice president of the city club division at Invited Clubs, in a statement Thursday.
The Columbia Tower Club's woes, to be fair, go back well before the inexplicable election of Katie Wilson. At least one member attributes the club's difficulties to the changing nature of the business world.
For Ricardo Ruvalcaba, the memories were many. He sat in a conference room on Thursday night at the club’s last banquet. Alongside him was his wife, Andrea.
“I met her in 1996, right after I joined the club," said the building contractor. “This club has been a large part of my life.”
He attributed part of the club’s recent problems to the changing nature of business in the connected high-tech world.
“Back in the day, this was a very social club; people would come into the dining room, there would be a live jazz band playing, and people would all be dressed up for a nice dinner.”
He said now many people order food from delivery services and business deals are done over coffee rather than elaborate lunches and dinners.
We might note that the COVID panic was also damaging to the business of clubs like this.
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Even so, one can't help but think that this isn't just a response to the changing nature of the American business networking world, but also to Seattle itself. Office vacancies in downtown Seattle are nearly at 40 percent; that's a calamity. Taxes in the city are high and probably, thanks to the "democratic socialist" mayor, headed higher. Seattle, once a clean, prosperous city, is now on the verge of collapse. The municipal government has done everything it could to make the city unfriendly to business, and now they wonder why so many businesses are fleeing.
Seattle, New York, and other cities are flirting with disaster, and the problem is that, in the modern, connected world, there's no reason to maintain a major headquarters in a socialist city. Starbucks, Amazon, and many other big companies have figured that out. The shuttering of the Columbia Tower Club is another result of this. There will be more.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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