Kirkland is legit. It's one of the best urban cores of any suburb in the area, equaled by Redmond in my opinion and only exceeded by Bellevue. DT Kirkland's best attributes are its mix of uses (living/working/retail/waterfront) and its cohesiveness.
Its core has probably 1,000 newish apartments that have been added to a traditional town center. There are no major roads in the core. There's a big tech presence including three Google buildings (will remain after a larger campus opens in Seattle) and a lot of others including the big complex going up in the photos.
Costco shoppers will know the Kirkland brand, though now the company is based in nearby Issaquah.
Today was definitely sizzling. I did a good bike ride. One of these weekends will have to bike to Kirkland. (Can't wait for the 520 Bridge trail to open...90 is great but it's out of the way sometimes.
A very cute suburb! If I had to live in a suburb, Kirkland definitely is the type where I could probably be quite happy. I was disappointed I didn't have time to cross over Lake Washington to visit Kirkland when I was last up in that area, so thanks for sharing these!