Google set to double its Kirkland, Wash., office
The Web giant says it will expand its campus, which is just down the road from Microsoft's headquarters, as it beefs up its engineering group.
KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Google, which is already bursting out of its campus in Mountain View, Calif., is set to double its space here as well.
The Web giant's campus in this Seattle suburb is about 180,000 square feet. Google will lease the new space from SRM Development, which owns the site adjacent to its current campus here and will build the new space. Google said construction will begin in January and should be completed in 2015.
"We are excited to expand our presence in Kirkland, where we have one of the largest engineering offices outside of our headquarters in Mountain View," the company said in a statement.
Google already employs more than 1,000 workers in three different cities in the region -- Kirkland, Seattle, and Bothell. It opened an office in Kirkland in 2004, in part, to draw talent from rival Microsoft, whose headquarters are in neighboring Redmond.
The Kirkland office is purely an engineering operation, the home to teams that produce products such as Google+ and Chrome.
At a press conference this afternoon, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee touted the expansion, particularly the new jobs that will come to the region.
"I know it's just the beginning of great horizons for Google here in Washington," Inslee said.
Google expects the new site to get LEED certification for energy efficiency. Chee Chew, a former Microsoft engineer who is the director of Google Kirkland, said the company is hoping to achieve either gold or platinum level, the highest level of sustainability.
SRM plans to build two structures, connected by an atrium. The buildings will have two floors of office space above ground, and two levels below for parking.
Update, 5:25 p.m. PT: Adds details from the press conference.