Photo: Electrek
It appears Tesla may be ready to expand its presence in the Seattle area. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal (via Electrek), Tesla may be in the process of building a new location in a large warehouse, about 40 minutes north of Seattle in Lakewood.
At the site are two separate warehouse spaces being built; one at 470,000 square feet that has been confirmed for Amazon, while the other at 206,000 square feet is rumoured to be for Tesla, as negotiations are ongoing:
Denver-based Black Creek Group on Monday said it pre-leased a 470,000 square-foot building at its two-building Lakewood Logistics Center II campus to “a leading e-commerce provider,” and Amazon.com Inc. confirmed it is the tenant, saying the facility will employ hundreds of people. Real estate industry sources said Tesla Inc. is negotiating a lease for the other building, which is about 206,000 square feet. The center is at 14802 Spring St. SW.
The warehouses are being built by Black Creek Group, a Denver-based real estate developer which told reporters that Tesla was negotiating a lease for the smaller of the two warehouses, while Amazon had already pre-leased the other.
Tesla already has some ongoing operations in the Seattle area, including seven currently-operational stores and service centers, and plans to recruit local talent in the area for its video game studio.
Got mixed emotions over this. I'd love Tesla corp to be nearby but glad it's not really in Seattle proper. Eagerly watching this develop.
— ArmandRoseTesla 🤖 (@ArmandTesla) January 6, 2021
It’s unclear as of yet what the new warehouse will be for Tesla, though it more than likely will be used as a sort of production plant for specific parts.
In any case, Seattle’s not the only place where Tesla has expansion plans in motion. With a number of new service centers and showrooms, as well as Gigafactories being built in Germany and the United States, one would think the company has its hands full.
Still, the expansion to the northwest seems like a good move for the California-based company, and it will likely benefit the local residents too.
