- Recently, outdoor sporting goods company REI announced it was selling its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. And Facebook is buying it for $368 million.
Recently, outdoor sporting goods company REI announced it was selling its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. The headquarters had not been used much before the sales process started. And earlier this week, it was revealed that Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was buying the property for $368 million.
This means REI made a profit from the sale of the headquarters. And this property significantly adds to the office space that Facebook has in the area as it leases three buildings nearby.
REI decided to sell the headquarters since its employees are now going to be scattered across multiple sites. But Facebook said that it wants to have places for its workers to be in close proximity as an option.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently projected that as many as half of its employees would work remotely over the next decade. But the company still wants to have many physical offices available for employees to get together and collaborate. Recently, Facebook also leased all of the office space in a former post office at Penn Station in the Midtown area of New York.
Facebook first expanded to the Seattle area back in 2010 with 3 employees in a Puget Sound office. And now Facebook employs over 5,000 employees across dozens of locations in Seattle Bellevue, and Redmond.
“Our growth over the last decade is a testament to the thriving community and immense talent pool that has welcomed us with open arms,” said Facebook’s director of North American real estate Nicholas Raby in a statement via Washington Post. “This purchase doubles downs on our investment in Bellevue and our commitment to the Pacific Northwest.”
