SEATTLE — Officials at Weyerhaeuser Company announced that its headquarters will be moving from Federal Way to Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.
The move is set for mid to late 2016 when construction of the new building at 200 Occidental Avenue is finished.
"There are two main drivers for this decision, which we made after thorough analysis of various options for the location of our headquarters," said Doyle R. Simons, president and CEO. "First, our 430-acre campus in Federal Way is costly and too large for our needs. Second, moving our headquarters to Seattle will give us access to a larger talent pool to meet future recruiting needs, not just in this region, but from across the country."
Weyerhaeuser officials said the company will divest the land and Federal Way buildings it owns.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said in a press conference Tuesday, “Businesses want to be where there are creative people, where there are vibrant streets, where there are active parks, where there are walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented neighborhoods. That’s Seattle, and that’s Pioneer Square.”
Murray said there will be no special incentives or tax breaks. He said he believes this will attract other businesses to the neighborhood.
KIRO 7 looked up crime statistics, showing a higher number of robberies and assaults in the police sector including Pioneer Square, compared to all other sectors in the city in the first four months of 2014.
When asked about crime in the area, Murray said, “We’ve been able to show that Kathleen O’Toole is changing the face of policing in the city of Seattle. We’ve been able to show the incredible work that the neighborhood association has done to deal with some of the issues that have troubled Pioneer Square for years. We were able to show them that this is already a neighborhood full of vibrant, upstart incubator businesses.”
Some nearby residents told KIRO 7 they don’t feel the addition of a major business would improve public safety or suddenly prompt the homeless to move.
But business owners like Mick McHugh of FX McRory’s said Weyerhaeuser’s presence will bring positive change.
“We’re still working with a few of the social issues. You know, it’ll help upgrade Occidental Park over here. Maybe we can come over and play bocce ball once in a while…we’re becoming a 24/7 neighborhood,” Mc Hugh said.
Weyerhaeuser Company is one of the world’s largest owners of timberlands. The company owns and controls nearly 7 million acres of timberland, primarily in the U.S. and manages another 14 million acres under long-term licenses in Canada.
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