Is downtown Bellevue full? Has she reached maximum occupancy for office space? These questions are asked with new news that Microsoft and other companies are having to look elsewhere. Not only that, but F5 Networks who is also growing has ended up signing a lease in the Factoria area right outside of downtown. So the question to ask here is whether there really is any affordable office space downtown? And is there going to be any additional space anytime soon?
Microsoft said it’s leasing 166,000 square feet of space at three locations in the city of Seattle, with the largest lease in the Westlake/Terry Building in South Lake Union. After this move, it will employ 1,400 people in Seattle at seven separate locations.
Meanwhile, F5 Networks Inc. said it’s leasing 15,000 square feet of office space in Bellevue’s Factoria area to complement its expansion effort at its Elliott Avenue headquarters in Seattle. The company also said it’s leasing space in Factoria for a research and development facility and will occupy the building in fall of 2008. It also said it’s tripling its space in Spokane, growing from an existing 15,000 square feet to about 43,000 square feet in January 2008.
With both companies looking elsewhere, will this push others to look outside of downtown Bellevue as well? Are we really at full capacity or has the price of office space just gotten too expensive?
More to come…
