The recent trend has been for big regional companies to move their corporate headquarters from the suburbs to Seattle. Expedia is working on a new HQ campus in Interbay and Weyerhaeser decided to move from Federal Way to Pioneer Square. Even Google, which already had offices in Fremont, is sticking around and expanding to South Lake Union.
South Lake Union is the home of REI's flagship store, so it wouldn't have been too surprising to find out they wanted to be closer as well but leave it to the the outdoors equipment company to buck the trends. The 77-year-old company has decided to move their headquarters from Kent to Bellevue's new Spring District.
REI plans to move from their current home by 2020, where it'll be part of a massive $2.3 billion residential/office/commercial epicenter. The Spring District's light-rail station is also expected to open by 2023, making it a much more desirable location for companies.
It's a big loss for Kent, who counts REI as it's second-largest private employer behind Boeing.
· REI to move headquarters to the Spring District in Bellevue [PSBJ]
· Weyerhaeuser HQ Relocating to Pioneer Square from Federal Way [CS]
· Expedia Planning Massive Expansion For Interbay Campus [CS]
· Google Moving Into Amazon's Turf, Plans Four-Building Complex in South Lake Union [CS]