NBBJ Negotiating 85,000-SF Headquarters Relo

SEATTLE-The worldwide architecture firm NBBJ is negotiating an 85,000-sf lease that in December 2005 will move the company’s headquarters from Pioneer Square to a new 400,000-sf mixed-use development the firm is designing adjacent REI’s flagship store.

The developer of the project is a joint venture of Vulcan, PEMCO Insurance and Harbor Properties. Vulcan and PEMCO Insurance are the property’s landowners and Harbor is an equity partner. The development site is located between John and Thomas streets and Yale and Pontius avenues. A portion of the site is the vacated Richmond Laundry facility.

The deal is scheduled to close in February. NBBJ’s 430 Seattle employees are currently located in two separate office spaces in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood, where the company has maintained offices for more than 20 years. The vast majority of space it leases is at 111 S. Jackson, where the firm’s lease was to run out in December of 2004. NBBJ Principal Rob Swartz tells GlobeSt.com the company has negotiated a one-year extension.