Amazon Abandons Another South Lake Union Office Space Amid Office Space Shakeup
Amazon is planning to vacate another office space in South Lake Union as it continues its retreat from leased properties across Seattle. The tech giant has been a tenant at the 81,000-square-foot office at 428 Westlake Avenue N since 2016 but declined a five-year lease extension that was set to expire in March 2027.
The company has relinquished over 1 million square feet of office space in Seattle since 2020. In 2024, the Westlake building Amazon occupies was purchased for $47.6 million by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a 42% price drop from its 2017 sales price of $81.5 million.
Amazon currently holds the most office space in the Seattle area with over 14 million square feet either leased or owned. However, the company has scaled back its lower-capacity spaces this year and plans to reduce its average office vacancy rate from 31% to around 23% by 2026.