Is Amazon tired of Seattle?
That's the question that everyone seems to ask themselves when news broke out that the retail-entertainment-tech giant has pulled back from its previous plans of occupying any office space in the Rainier Square Skyscraper, which at the moment, is still under construction.
As part of its business strategy of expanding its presence in the Emerald City, the company previously leased the entire 722,000 square feet of office space inside the building, all intended for what would be new employees that will work for the company.
At least, that was the original plan. However, just last year, the Seattle City Council passed a new head tax. Naturally, this would cost some changes in the city, including the fact that it will be costing Amazon (as well as other companies) around $275 dollars per year for the next five years. As a result, the company revolted, threatening to release the Rainier Square office space if the tax pushes through for the company.
After the threats (and a bit of back and forth), the Seattle City Council took away the tax. However, according to current media reports, it seems that Amazon is still going to sublease the office space.
Goodbye, Seattle
As of now, the company has yet to give a proper announcement stating the reason behind leaving the Rainier Square office space, although some observers have summarized that the move is similar to the company's previous move of abandoning New York City as a place for one of its two new sites, which will be called HQ2. Of course, some have surmised that in addition, the previous reason stated, the company simply got tired of ongoing criticism from the members of the Seattle City council.
The question now in everyone's minds however is: Where will Amazon go then? And where will they be placing their new employees?
Well, per multiple reports, it may be Bellevue.
The possibility comes from Amazon already signing a 16-year lease for a Bellevue office tower that has the capacity to house around 4,500 employees. As a matter of fact, by the year 2020, the lease will include all of the building's 20-story office space. Additionally, the company is also reportedly planning to purchase the 10-story Bellevue Corporate Plaza nearby.
This marks the company's second major move into Bellevue, the city where Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos originally started the company, in his own garage.
