At a time where Bellevue, Washington has been hit with a series of commercial real estate departures, tenant-focused commercial real estate firm Hughes Marino partnered with one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in the Pacific Northwest—Clark Nuber PS—to help them relocate their headquarters to a new location just across the street. Recently vacated by Microsoft, Clark Nuber will now occupy up to three floors of the fully renovated City Center Plaza building. They’ll be the first new tenant in the building—which now boasts over $50 million in improvements.

The move signals a new trend in commercial real estate in Bellevue: commercial tenants looking to capitalize on newly available and renovated space to attract employees back to the office with state-of-the-art amenities.

“Clark Nuber had been in the same building since 1990,” said Owen Rice, executive vice president of Hughes Marino in the firm’s Seattle office who led the partnership. “Even with their lease not set to expire until another two years, they saw an ideal inflection point to re-examine their footprint and reinvent the way they accommodate their workforce.” This extended timeline was ideal to negotiate favorable terms and ensuring a thoughtfully designed space.

While the pandemic and shift to remote work led many businesses to downsize and let leases expire, there’s now a growing push to invite teams back into the office, at least in a hybrid capacity. As part of that effort, companies are looking for modern amenities, superior features and spaces that foster culture and collaboration.

City Center Plaza is a testament to this new vision—a gleaming Class A+ skyscraper in the Central Business District with a sleek exterior, LEED Gold certification, on-site restaurants and café, and spectacular floor-to-ceiling views of Meydenbauer Bay, Lake Washington, Mount Rainier, the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges and downtown Seattle—plus an entire floor dedicated to new amenities, including a fitness center, locker rooms, meeting rooms, conference rooms and a tenant lounge.

Clark Nuber saw immediately that the renovated space offered an opportunity to provide a new experience both for their employees and clients—becoming a showcase for the company’s leading position and its focus on the future.

Hughes Marino worked with CollinsWoerman, a collaborative architecture, planning and design firm based in Seattle, to deliver an office environment that could accommodate all the elements Clark Nuber needed for their team’s flexible in-office schedule—including a mix of private offices, flex working space designed to let in sunlight and views, and inviting common areas to promote collaboration and sharing meals.

During the beginning stages of the design process, Erin Green, director of operations at Clark Nuber, expressed how important it is to ensure each seat honors the various ways different team members work.

“The pandemic taught us that people can be productive in a variety of ways,” said Green. “We seized the opportunity to rethink, reimagine and reshape our habitat.” The new office will see a different mix of private offices, open plug-and-play workstations and team rooms arranged in a way that “democratizes daylight,” showing how Clark Nuber puts their people first and truly prioritizes this new space for the betterment of their team’s culture.

“We are thrilled to announce Clark Nuber’s continued commitment to Bellevue with the signing of our new office lease at City Center Plaza. For over 70 years, Bellevue has been more than just our location; it’s been a part of our identity. By investing in a modern, dynamic workspace in the heart of downtown, we are reaffirming our promise to be at the forefront of innovation and service excellence for many years to come,” said Tom Sulewski, Clark Nuber’s president and CEO.

“For tenants, this market offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Rice said. “Not only a chance to reimagine how we design and build space for the team—but to capture terms that are absolutely tremendous.”

This article has also been featured on The Registry, CoStar and the Puget Sounds Business Journal.