Image Credit: Discover South Lake Union
Apple is expanding its presence in the Evergreen State, signing a direct lease for nearly 193,000 square feet of office space in South Lake Union.
The deal, rumored since 2019, has finally materialized. Initially, it was speculated that Apple would purchase roughly 630,000 square feet of office space.
That’s a far cry from the nearly 193,000-square-foot deal the Cupertino tech giant actually signed. However, it still marks the largest new office space least since 2019, according to Komonews.
The office space is located at Arbor Blocks, West. Allegedly Meta had terminated its contract early to make space for Apple.
The report suggests city officials are excited by the prospect of Apple moving in and taking advantage of the available talent pool in Seattle. It isn’t stated why Meta left the spaces vacant early or how that impacted the region, but it seems Apple will fill whatever void was left.
Currently, it isn’t known what Apple will use the space for, though original reports suggested it would be for machine learning and Siri development. Current job listings in Seattle corroborate that notion, as many of its Seattle-based listings are for machine learning and artificial intelligence positions.
With over 30% of the office space in Seattle still vacant, Apple could easily expand in the future. Apple Intelligence, AI, Siri, and how they interact with the smart home are all growing interests for the company, and Apple will need office space for them.
In 2018, Apple had signed a lease for more space in Seattle’s Two Union Square. That deal brought Apple’s footprint to 70,000 square feet and enough room for up to 475 employees.
