Last week Amazon announced that pending the decision to place a $500 head tax on large Seattle employers that they would stop development on a project within the Denny Triangle neighborhood. Additionally they are considering sub-leasing the Rainier Square office project that’s under development versus occupying it if the tax is approved.
Prior to the controversial Seattle head tax, Amazon was considering more space in Bellevue, and this could push them over the edge.
According to a report in the Puget Sound Business Journal, Amazon could swallow up a significant amount of commercial real estate in downtown Bellevue. According to a “well-connected real estate source,” Tower 333, the building that Expedia currently occupies, as well as Summit III are both buildings that Amazon has pending leases for, and are expected execute.
Tower 333 at 333 108th Avenue NE is 374,000 square feet and has Expedia’s lease expiring in December 2019. Summit III at 320 108th Ave NE is planned to be a similar size with 370,000 square feet. The 17-story building is not yet constructed, but could be completed in 18-months.
Over the summer of 2017 Amazon occupied 425 Centre, which was their first building in downtown Bellevue.
Even if they don’t pass it, their willingness to do so should scare all businesses. If its not this tax, it’ll be another, and Amazon would be smart to ditch Seattle entirely.
Amazon should move to Bellevue, since they already occupy Centre 425 and it will revitalize businesses in Bellevue.
If Amazon soaks up the Expedia space, that just might kick start some latent development in downtown Bellevue. Even with single digit vacancy, it seems that potential developers are scared of the next down cycle and/or the pending Expedia move from Bellevue to Seattle.
There is the John Danz/Mars Hill block purchased by Rockefeller Group in 2013 that is untouched, the QFC block north of Bellevue Square is said to be available, and Paul Allen’s Vulcan has been buying chunks in downtown Bellevue but has yet to build any significant office buildings.
With Seattle shooting itself in the foot with the Amazon tax and other measures, Bellevue needs to avoid doing the same and its future looks bright!
I’ll bet Expedia is kicking themselves now for committing to Seattle.
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I applied to a job with Amazon in Seattle earlier this week that I would have been a pretty perfect fit for – and yesterday got an e-mail that they were moving the position to Virginia… so it’s already having a little bit of an impact… in my life, at least. Lol