By Gavin Curtis

In the Bellevue Central Business District, there are over 5,000,000 square feet of office projects proposed, in review or approved for construction. While these developments would significantly change the Bellevue skyline and add thousands of jobs to Downtown Bellevue, they also present major economic implications and potential opportunities for Bellevue office tenants.

These development plans signal the continued bullish mindset of commercial real estate investors, particularly betting on the continued growth of the FAANG’s (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) that are driving much of the West Coast economy. Although the financial markets are starting to slow down after one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history, there are still no clear indications of an office market correction in the greater Seattle area within the next year.

The returns and performance of these projects will be contingent upon large tech firms growing their presence in Bellevue. Google recently leased 80,000 square feet at the One Twelfth @ Twelfth office campus and Facebook recently leased 85,000 square feet across two Kilroy-owned buildings. Additionally, Amazon leased the new Summit III building, absorbing 377,000 square feet of office space being developed by Hines. Amazon now leases over 1,000,000 square feet in Downtown Bellevue. Beyond leasing activity, it is speculated that Amazon is a potential buyer of a large downtown office property/development site that is currently for sale.

Even if the FAANG’s or other large firms lease these large projects, there is the potential that they will be re-introduced to the market via subleases. The big question is: How will the FAANG’s perform through the next economic correction? And will they sublease large chunks of space? The next few years may provide the office options for medium sized firms that Downtown Bellevue has been starving for.

Stay tuned!

See a map above and list below of the +5M of projected office projects:

1. Cadillac Office Towers
    a. Developer: Trammel Crow
b. Two Towers, totaling 647,000 SF
2. 10630 NE 8th St
    a. Developer: Skanska
b. 500,000 SF of office and ground level retail
3. 606 106th Ave NE
    a. Developer: Onni Group
b. Three mixed-use towers including 850,000 SF of office
4. Bellevue 600
    a. Developer: Touchstone/Equity Commonwealth
b. Two towers including 800,000 SF of office
5. 555 108th Tower
    a. Developer: Vulcan
b. Potentially one tower, 937,000 SF of office with 33,000 SF of street-level retail
6. 201 106th
    a. Developer: Vulcan
b. 1 tower with 150,000-190,000 SF of office
7. Bellevue Plaza
    a. Developer: Vulcan
b. Three 16-17 story towers with 877,000 SF of office total
8. 305 108th
    a. Developer: Fana – Part one of three phase mixed-use developments
b. 10-14 story tower with 221,000 SF of office
9. Summit III
    a. Developer: Hines
b. 377,000 SF of office, leased by Amazon