TikTok to Lease Additional Office Space in Bellevue

According to permits submitted to the City of Bellevue, ByteDance, a Beijing-based company, who owns the social media platform, TikTok, is requesting tenant improvements at 700 Bellevue Way Northeast. The files specify floors 23 through 26 for construction.

The space to be leased by TikTok, is located at Lincoln Square North. This is a part of The Bellevue Collection and owned by Kemper Development Company.

The lease is planned for floors 23 through 28, which totals over 132,000 square feet of office space, as reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Microsoft recently relinquished this office space, when they announced plans to let go of additional square footage at Lincoln Square North in December 2023. The total square footage being marketed was originally 442,376 square feet across floors nine through 28. It has since been broken up into separate leases.

In October 2023, Broderick Group published their Q3 report on the Eastside Office Market, which documented TikTok doubling down on their presence in the Key Center tower. The social media company secured an additional 66,000 square feet of office space through 2025. This was in additional its already leased space of 44,000 square feet at Key Center tower.

Broderick Group’s Eastside Office Market Report was recently published, covering October to December 2023. It revealed anticipated increases in vacancy rates. Throughout the final quarter of 2023, major leases at Advanta, 90East, and Lincoln Square North all lapsed, resulting in a sudden 30.1% vacancy rate in the Bellevue Central Business District. The abandonment of 585,000 square feet at Advanta, 396,000 square feet at 90East, and 89,000 square feet at Lincoln Square North contributed significantly to this surge in unoccupied office spaces.

It will be interesting to see which companies are able to capitalize on the chance provided by open office spaces, establishing a presence in Bellevue or are already in the process of doing so.