April 3, 2015

Preparing campus for Expedia will require major rehab, new buildings

Photos courtesy of Expedia [enlarge]

Amgen’s buildings will be converted from labs to tech offices, and another 200,000 square feet will be added.

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Expedia officials said the waterfront campus will help recruit and retain tech workers.

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Expedia is looking at ways to ease the commute, such as using shuttles and incentives for transit, biking or carpools.

Expedia will move its headquarters from downtown Bellevue to Amgen's waterfront campus in Seattle by 2018.

The online travel company will pay $228.9 million for the 40-acre site, and use existing cash resources to fund the sale.

The sale is expected to close in the second quarter, Expedia CFO Mark Okerstrom said.

At a press conference Thursday morning, Expedia said it is making the move because it wants to own a campus rather than lease space in a skyscraper. Officials said the campus will help recruit and retain tech workers.

“Bellevue has been a great home for us, and it was tough to leave Bellevue, but the opportunity to own an iconic waterfront headquarters for us was too good to pass up,” Expedia President and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said. “We think it will be a magnet for top talent.”

Khosrowshahi said the company has 3,000 employees in its headquarters today, and expects to reach 4,500 in the next few years. Worldwide, Expedia employs more than 10,000 people.

Amgen will remain on the campus until the end of this year. When Amgen leaves, Expedia will start converting the buildings, which are mostly lab space, into modern offices. Okerstrom said the renovation is a big one, and could take 18 to 24 months.

Expedia officials did not say how much the work will cost.

The campus today has 750,000 square feet. Okerstrom said Expedia expects to build another 200,000 square feet there. Construction could begin on the new space by mid to late 2016 so it will be ready in 2018.

An Expedia spokeswoman said renovation and construction plans are just starting, and did not comment on whether the company has chosen an architect or contractor.

The move will be a big change for many Expedia employees. Khosrowshahi said nearly 75 percent of people who work in the headquarters live on the Eastside. Expedia is looking at ways to make their commute easier, such as using a shuttle like Microsoft's Connector and offering incentives for transit, biking or carpooling.

Amgen's campus has 1,100 parking spaces, and Okerstrom said Expedia will add more.

Several notable companies based in this area have moved their headquarters into Seattle recently. Weyerhaeuser's move to Pioneer Square will give its employees easy access to transit as well as restaurants and other activities in an urban area.

Expedia is taking a more isolated campus. The neighborhood around Amgen is not as central, and doesn't have the transit options of downtown and Pioneer Square.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said at the press conference that the city will look at improving transit options in that area, with funding from King County Metro Transit's successful 2014 ballot measure.

Khosrowshahi said Expedia will add some restaurants and amenities on the campus. He said he hopes that Expedia's move will be a catalyst for further development in the neighborhood.