Any time a local paper reaches the conclusion that an important local business is likely to move away, that falls into man-bites-dog territory. But there’s another bit more remarkable yet in today’s story by Tacoma News Tribune reporter Dan Voelpel on the strategic planning, and potential move, of Tacoma’s Russell Investments.
Russell is an unusual, maybe one of a kind thing in the Northwest – an investment company that is also a big employer, a direct major force in a local city’s economy: Its employment base was 1,100 just at Tacoma, and it has offices around the globe. Note the “was”, because the macro economy has led to scalebacks here too, by about 200 employees, a real hit at Tacoma.
But there could be more. Voelpel looked at the physical space and growth (or contraction) considerations Russell will have to be dealing with in the next few years, especially in the period right around 2013. Once-discussed plans for a Tacoma Russell tower probably have evaporated. But there was also this:
“In Seattle today, you can find a glut of vacant office space that could suit Russell’s needs and cost far less than paying the lease on a newly constructed office building. Most prominent of Seattle’s buildings? The former WaMu Center, a 55-story, 1.1 million-square-foot behemoth that became available with the demise of Washington Mutual Bank last year.”
Share on Facebook
