Google takes space in Fremont for expansion

Google is taking on additional office space in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.

Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., plans to sublease about 60,000 square feet from Getty Images at the Waterside Building on North 34th Street.

That amount of space would accommodate about 240 workers, according to commercial real-estate brokers.

Google now has an engineering center in Kirkland and sales offices at another building on North 34th Street in Fremont. The new space will be used for additional R&D engineers, said Sunny Gettinger, a Google spokeswoman. She declined to say how many people Google plans to add in Fremont.

"Seattle is just very rich in engineering talent, We're running out of space in our other offices there, and we're continuing to grow," Gettinger said.

Getty said in a regulatory filing Friday that the sublease will run for six years beginning June 1. Getty said it expects annual rental payments to average $1.8 million over the six years.

The sublease agreement, reached Monday, must still be approved by Getty's landlord.

In October, Getty announced a "realignment plan" that included job cuts and the consolidation of some leased offices. As a result, Getty took a $4.9 million loss on leased offices in Seattle. Getty now expects to reduce that loss by about $900,000 in the second quarter ending June 30, thanks to its sublease with Google.

Brokers said they heard last year that Google planned to lease most of Tower 333, a 20-story office building under construction in downtown Bellevue. But brokers said those plans are no longer in the works.

"For now they seem to be growing on both sides of Lake Washington in very attractive submarkets," said Oscar Oliveira, a broker with Colliers International.

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com