SEATTLE — Expedia announced Thursday it will move 3,000 employees from Bellevue to its new Seattle headquarters in 2018.
They will take over the Amgen building in the Interbay neighborhood and expand the campus to eventually accommodate 4,500 employees.
Their CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said the campus would have on-site fitness and dining options, with a broader, open floor plan.
“The opportunity to own an iconic waterfront headquarters for us was too good to pass up,” Khosrowshahi said.
The company purchased the 750,000 sq. ft. building for $228.9 milliion.
Expedia employees said there were mixed feelings about the move, since 75 percent of them live on the east side.
Mahfuz Ali, a data analyst, said he’s excited to work in Seattle, even if the Interbay area currently consists of smaller businesses.
“I hope it will change for the better. I think it’ll bring in and draw more businesses to the area, certainly more restaurants,” Ali said.
Some have wondered whether this would create the type of change seen in South Lake Union when Amazon took residence there.
“I don’t know if Interbay will ever be South Lake Union,” said Jeff Steichan, the owner of Batch 206 Distillery along Elliott Avenue. “I don’t know if we’re set up for that. But I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a lot of development.”
Steichan can see the future Expedia headquarters from his back loading dock.
He said his staff was excited to hear about the announcement.
“We’re going to hope that they come over and buy a bottle every day,” Steichan said.
Jerry Stalick, vice president of F5 networks, said their future neighbor will likely add to a congestion problem.
Still, he said, “Having additional tech companies along the waterfront i think gives us a lot of opportunities. It's going to mean better infrastructure, I hope, better restaurants I hope.”
Meanwhile, Bellevue leaders believe there is ample time to find a different company to fill the 500,000 square feet Expedia will vacate.
“You never want to lose a corporate headquarter. We love Expedia; they’ve grown in Bellevue,” said Betty Nokes, the president and CEO of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce.
While the employees will go to Seattle for work, however, many of them still live and pay taxes on the east side.
She said, “If they’re going to go somewhere, we want to keep them in the region. Most of their employees, I believe 75 percent live in Bellevue and the eastside, so really they’re still in our community.”
Dr. Stephen O’Connor at the University of Washington Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies said current trends suggest Bellevue should have no problem filling the office space, unless an external event influences the market negatively in the next few years.
As for the future location along Elliott Bay, “I don’t want to say it’s a herd mentality, but you know, when you look at Weyerhauser’s move, and everybody else moving to the city here, it’s obviously a good thing for Seattle,” O’Connor said.
KIRO
