Can Bellevue handle half an Amazon HQ? Mayor says yes

Carolyn Adolph

April 25, 2019 / 3:01 pm

caption: Amazon bought the 10-story building at 600 108th Ave. NE in Bellevue on April 24, 2019. It paid $195 million for the 3.5-acre property, according to public records.

Amazon has put together enough space in Bellevue for half a headquarters.

The company bought property at Bellevue’s transit center this week. It’s a 10-story office building, but the property could be redeveloped for a much larger office tower.

It’s the latest in a wave of tech jobs coming to Bellevue, and coming with those jobs will be demand for homes and mobility.

Part of the answer according to Bellevue Mayor John Chelminiak: the redevelopment of Wilburton, near a future light rail station.

“Most people would know that as the Bellevue auto row," Chelminiak said. Light rail will run close to Amazon's downtown Bellevue campus: Service starts in 2023, which Chelminiak said dovetails into future growth "to a certain extent."

Another issue will be harder to solve: affordability. Chelminiak said the city has an ambitious affordable housing plan, though it "lost focus" on it. “I think we may need to be a bit more ambitious about it," he said.

New tech jobs in Bellevue mean more choices for tech workers. Emeya Chaudhari, a software engineer, works near Amazon’s Bellevue campus. He noted that “even if the jobs are in Seattle, the opportunities are still there.”

It is one big tech market.