Downtown Redmond now has a 95% occupancy rate of its storefronts — a record high since the Urban Renewal Association has started counting.

Businesses are now filling just about every nook-and-cranny in downtown Redmond, with seven new operations opening up shop in 2024.

According to the Redmond Urban Renewal Agency, 95% of ground-floor storefronts in the downtown core are now occupied — a bump up from 91% the year prior.

According to Chuck Arnold, urban renewal program manager, that’s a new record high for the district.

“Variety begets variety,” said Arnold. “There’s just a lot of momentum downtown.”

That includes a range of new businesses, from Asian fusion food trucks like A New Tropical to high-end restaurants like FERM & Fare, now operating out of a revamped downtown home at 218 SW 4th.

It also includes a mix of new retail stores, from Swan Song Vintage on Deschutes Avenue to the Cognitive Surplus store right on 6th Street in the heart of downtown. Cognitive Surplus, a science-focused online retailer established in 2013, chose Redmond for its first foray into a brick-and-mortar location.

Other new businesses include a co-working space called Evergreen Ave. Collaborative, and a cigar shop, High Desert Cigars, at 520 SW Evergreen.

In 2024, the Redmond Urban Renewal Agency used tax dollars to award $200,000 in grants and loans to 17 businesses. According to Arnold, those funds were parlayed into $3.8 million of new private investment downtown.

“We are very excited to see our small businesses thriving in downtown Redmond. It’s great the community has more shopping and dining choices than ever before,” said downtown urban renewal advisory committee chair Monica Huey.