Amazon pauses development in Bellevue

Amid an ongoing shift to hybrid work, Amazon is pausing some development on its Bellevue campus.

As staff proceed to work at home and the corporate continues to guage what its workplace presence will appear like sooner or later, Amazon stated this week it’s altering its development plans so as to experiment and reimagine the setup of its conventional work flooring. 

“Our places of work are long-term investments, and we wish to guarantee that we design them in a approach that meets our staff’ wants sooner or later,” stated John Schoettler, vp of World Actual Property and Services at Amazon. “As we proceed to be taught, we’re pausing development to reevaluate the designs of a few of our tasks in Bellevue.” 

The announcement comes just some weeks after Amazon highlighted its progress in Bellevue, writing in a June weblog put up that it was poised to hit a milestone of 10,000 employees this summer season. The Eastside is “the place the vast majority of our progress is sooner or later,” Man Palumbo, Amazon’s director of public coverage for HQ1, informed The Seattle Instances final month. 

Amazon stated Friday its resolution to pause development doesn’t change its acknowledged dedication to bringing 25,000 jobs to the Eastside by 2025.

The paused tasks embody elements of the most important workplace developments underway within the area — Vulcan’s 555 tower, West Principal and Bellevue 600 — in accordance with a current report from business actual property agency Kidder Mathews. Collectively the three tasks whole practically 3 million sq. toes. 

Amazon stated it should nonetheless full the “core and shell” of most of those tasks, in addition to the foyer, communal areas and retail areas. These tasks embody the 555 tower, Towers 2 and three at West Principal, Tower 1 at Bellevue 600 and The Artiste. 

On the 42-story 555 tower, Amazon will full the working flooring as much as the nineteenth stage, however is pausing development plans for the second tower at Bellevue 600.

“The pandemic has considerably modified the best way individuals work,” Schoettler stated. “For our company and tech roles, we’ve adopted a hybrid mannequin that gives staff elevated flexibility — every workforce decides the stability between in-office and distant work that is sensible for them.”

“It’s early days, and like many firms, we’re nonetheless studying how these new habits might affect our workplace footprint.”

Regardless of uncertainty across the return to the workplace, firms have to date been holding onto workplace house in Bellevue. 

The workplace emptiness charge is 5.5%, the bottom within the area, in accordance with Kidder Mathews.

Inflation, labor shortages and different challenges are additionally dogging the development business. Kidder Mathews famous in its evaluation of the workplace market that whereas extra workplace tasks are deliberate, “Many Seattle builders are ready to see how market situations play out.” 

With roughly 55,000 employees, Seattle remains to be Amazon’s greatest campus. The corporate plans to create 25,000 jobs in its second headquarters in Crystal Metropolis, Virginia, simply as in its Bellevue location. Amazon’s 18 different North American tech hubs collectively embody 65,000 staff. 

Seattle Instances reporter Heidi Groover contributed reporting.