Blue Origin is taking over an industrial building in Des Moines, Wash., where the Jeff Bezos-founded space company plans a mix of lab, development and light production work, KING 5 reported.
The 265,922-square-foot facility, known as Prologis Park SeaTac 3, was previously a Bartell Drugs distribution center just south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Blue Origin told the station the site is expected to support hundreds of employees at full capacity.
A state environmental application filed in September lists Blue Origin Manufacturing LLC at the building’s address, 21202 24th Ave. S., according to KING 5. A pre-application under review by the city indicates the property could be used for research and development of commercial satellites, the station reported.
Commercial real estate firm Newmark announced a lease for the entire building last week without naming the tenant.
“The manufacturing project that will be using this property is cutting-edge and we are excited about the job growth and possibilities that it represents for our region,” Newmark Executive Vice Chairman Thad Mallory said in a news release.
With roughly 33,000 residents, the small city of Des Moines is becoming something of an aerospace hub.
Blue Origin’s new site is around the corner from where Shield AI is building X-Forge 3, a 420,000-square-foot facility that will make the company’s X-BAT autonomous fighter jet. Shield AI said last month it expects to have 4,000 workers in the region by the early 2030s, and that it’s looking for another 1 million square feet.
“It’s all about labor and access to power,” Mallory told KING 5, referring to the advanced manufacturing projects coming to the area.
Blue Origin is headquartered in nearby Kent, Wash., about 5 miles from the Des Moines site.
The company is working to get its New Glenn rocket flying again after one exploded during a ground engine test in May, which damaged its Florida launch pad. New Glenn is slated to carry Blue’s Blue Moon Mark 2 lander on NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, a test in Earth orbit planned for mid-2027 ahead of a crewed moon landing targeted for 2028.
GeekWire has reached out to Blue Origin for comment and we’ll update this story when we hear back.
