Apple to Open Engineering Hub in South Lake Union

Apple is joining the Seattle’s tech core in South Lake Union, with plans to grow an office of up to 2,000 employees over the next five years.

 “These new jobs confirm what we already knew, we have the best talent and city anywhere,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. Apple’s expanded footprint in Seattle is another example of the growing opportunity that exists for residents of Seattle and the economic powerhouse our City has become.”

 The developer is putting two 12-story buildings at 333 Dexter, the site of the former KING 5 building, which is slated to include 635,000 square feet of office and retail space. Despite estimated numbers by Apple, the campus could fit 3,000 to 4,500 workers, meaning additional expansion is a possibility.

 The company first announced that they were looking to establish engineering hubs outside of Silicon Valley in 2018, including a new campus in Austin, Texas, and expanding their footprint in Seattle. Currently, Apple employs 500 retail and technical workers in the city including an office focused on machine learning at Two Union Square.

 Apple plans to hire 200 employees in Seattle by the end of 2019 when the new campus is slated to open.