1,400 Microsoft employees in Seattle

Happy news for condo owners: Microsoft announced today that they will be expanding its office space in Seattle, eventually adding almost 1,400 employees in the area. The expansion will include a lease of a 126,000 square foot office in the Westlake/Terry Building in the South Lake Union neighborhood and two other new locations in Pioneer Square and 505 Union Station. 

Related news:

Microsoft setting up new office sites in Seattle
Microsoft moving into Paul Allen project in Seattle
Microsoft plans expansion into Seattle

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Comments

[vc]

YAY. I just wish I were in one of the groups getting moved there... =)

[ken]

great news for condo owners indeed.

[Lance]

The owners of the Florentine are particularly well positioned to profit off of this.

[Andrea S.]

Actually, I think the Vulcan condominiums are the luckiest. Florentine is old and has had a few special assessments... whereas MSFT's usually want newer, cooler, hipper.

I would say that those condos they are selling down there probably will sell out faster than superglue drying to your fingertips!

[Abbotsford Condos]

Microsoft is also opening and office with 200 employees to start with in Richmond BC

[Lance]

I think the Florentines will do better than the Vulcans for a few reasons:

1. Less supply of units in Pioneer Square than Vulcanland

2. South Lake Union still feels very industrial / traffic constipated and not very liveable.

3. Younger MSFTees will be attracted to large open lower $/sf Florentine.

[ssilvy]

But these are all established MSFT employees being relocated, not new hires. In other words, most have local homes already, probably in more desirable areas than SLU. Then the subset who might wish to live in SLU need to find their own buyers somehow. Not everyone will want the hassle these days.

[Lance]

any self-respecting msftee who will be working out of one of the seattle offices would be crazy to continue living on the east side if they aren't in seattle already. furthermore, if you look at where all the mba interns every summer choose to live, it's clear many folks will be looking for a nice 2 bedroom in seattle. for sure, only a subset of the 1,400 employees will buy a condo in the next few years but that's still a nice chunk of buyers who weren't in the market before.