Amazon plans major hiring initiative in Seattle suburb

An e-tail titan is bringing a lot of jobs to Bellevue, Wash.

Amazon says it is on track to hire more than 15,000 employees in Bellevue, located about 10 miles from the e-tailer’s headquarters city of Seattle, in the next few years. The company opened its first office building there in 2017 and currently has more than 2,000 employees in the city.

According to a corporate blog post announcing the planned growth in Bellevue, Amazon has designed its Bellevue offices with the goals of easy access to public transportation, fostering a sustainable lifestyle, and placemaking. This includes situating buildings will be no further than 0.5 miles from the new light rail station in downtown Bellevue and within 10 minutes walking distance of each other. All employees will receive free public transit passes and be eligible for company-subsidized ride share carpool options.

Amazon is also planning for all buildings to be sustainable and have a minimal carbon footprint, seeking LEED Gold certification or better for its own developments like the Bellevue 600 office tower, expected to be completed in 2024. The 43-story skyscraper, which will be Amazon’s tallest office building, should have enough space for about 4,200 employees. It is located on the east half of a property Amazon purchased in April 2019 for $195 million.

In addition, Amazon plans to build a “significant” common space along NE 6th Street in Bellevue to create a pedestrian connection and a new green area for residents, commuters, and downtown workers. The ground level will have thousands of square feet reserved for local retail and other uses, including a day care center to support Bellevue families. The development also includes a new meeting center to host company and community events.