Google’s massive new campus in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood is still a few years out, but that hasn’t stopped the search giant from growing in its current neighborhood of Fremont.
GeekWire has learned that Google has subleased a building from Tableau Software and may be close to taking space in another. Google confirmed that it has signed a deal to sublease the former Sound Mind & Body Gym space, which Tableau transformed into approximately 50,000 square feet of tech office space in 2014 for its engineering team. Tableau has vacated the space, and Google is doing minimal renovation work with the hopes of getting people in as soon as possible, though the company does not have a definitive date.
The multi-million dollar Gensler-designed renovation of the former gym was a big deal in the neighborhood, and Tableau made sure to retain a few key pieces of the building’s past life. The wood court is prominently displayed along accent walls and conference room floors, and the team preserved the gym’s locker room, making it easy for staffers to clean up after biking, running or kayaking to the office.
Tableau, which snapped up pretty much all available space in the neighborhood over the last few years, has offered up a few different properties for sublease, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal, as it moves employees into its new office in the Northedge building and another project under construction in the neighborhood. Tableau has made available two floors in its headquarters Lakeview Building at 837 N. 34th St. as well as space at a building at 1441 N. 34th St. that it leased in 2015.
GeekWire is awaiting comment from Tableau and will update this story when we hear back.
Google declined to comment about discussions for the space at the Lakeview Building and added that it has not talked to Tableau about the space at 1441 N. 34th.
Tableau gobbled up all that office space over the years to keep up with its exponentially growing headcount. In late 2015, then CEO Christian Chabot told GeekWire that Tableau planned to bring on another 1,000 employees in 2016 — 600 in Seattle — a big increase over its headcount at the time of 2,800. Then last May, the company decided to scale back those plans by about 50 percent.
According to its most recent earnings report, Tableau’s worldwide headcount at the end of 2016 was 3,223, up from 3,008 at the end of 2015, but down from the third quarter of 2016 when it employed 3,280 people.
These deals come as the company prepares to move thousands of employees to the South Lake Union campus. The entire campus in the neighborhood will have more than 600,000 square feet of office space for Google on two city blocks with apartments above. Paul Allen’s Vulcan Real Estate is developing the blocks for Google, and Vulcan’s Lori Mason Curran previously told GeekWire that construction will take place in phases, beginning early this year. The buildings should be open in phases as well between fourth quarter of 2018 and the second quarter of 2019.
It is unclear whether Google plans to retain a presence in Fremont when the South Lake Union campus is done.
Google and Tableau are among a growing cadre of tech companies with offices on both sides of Lake Washington. Just over a year ago, Google opened the expansion of its Kirkland campus. Also in early 2016, Tableau confirmed plans to lease three floors, totaling 92,000 square feet, at a new mixed-use development in Kirkland called Kirkland Urban.
