Biotech giant Amgen has announced plans for a major expansion of its campus on the shores of Elliott Bay, following through on the original master plan of Immunex, the Seattle company Amgen, a California-based company, bought in 2002.
But unlike the land-use uproar caused by the original Immunex plans for an R&D complex northwest of the grain terminal, the latest announcement has caused hardly a ripple of neighborhood discontent.
There are currently 750,000 square feet of space in six buildings on the waterfront campus, and expansion plans call for adding another 550,000 square feet in three lab buildings and one office building on Pier 89, said Amgen spokeswoman Carol Pawlak.
Empty warehouses and some office space on the pier will be demolished to make room for the new construction, she said. "It's within the square footage of the original (Immunex) plan," according to Pawlak, who added that the arrangement of the new buildings has changed from the original Immunex layout.
A parking garage with space for more than 1,200 vehicles is also planned and will replace the surface parking, she said. However, Pawlak stressed, Amgen staff is discouraged from driving to work on their own with the use of subsidized bus passes, among other measures. "Sixty percent of our staff use something else besides single-occupancy vehicles," she said. "We plan to continue that."
The existing buildings on the campus reach a height of 65 feet, and the new construction will follow that limit, Pawlak said. That translates out to three floors beneath mechanical equipment for lab buildings, or four floors in the office building, she said.
Architectural plans are still preliminary, but the new construction will compliment the old, according to Pawlak. "It will be very much like the existing campus."
The cost of the new construction is also unclear at the moment, but the existing campus cost Immunex, and later Amgen, $625 million, she said. But based on costs per square foot of the existing campus, and not counting inflation, the new construction pencils in at roughly $456 million.
"We're growing our research areas," Pawlak said of the reason for the expansion in Seattle and elsewhere. Seattle was identified by Amgen as an excellent place for growth because it is an important biotech hub, she said.
A manufacturing facility in Bothell is also owned by Amgen, and the company is evaluating that space as well, Pawlak added. "But we don't have any announcement about that."
Amgen revealed in January that it was hiring 150 new staff members in Seattle, and the company will make room for them in the existing buildings, Pawlak said. However, the new complex will provide enough room for an additional 750 workers, she added.
When those additional staff members will be hired has not been determined. "Our business needs will drive our hiring," Pawlak explained. But construction on the new buildings is expected to begin this fall, with a completion date in 2010, she said.
Amgen held an open house on March 28 about the new construction for members of the Queen Anne Community Council, the Magnolia Community Club and the chambers of commerce from both neighborhoods. "We want to involve them in the process and make sure they're aware of our plans," Pawlak said. "It's really important for us to partner with the community."
Magnolia Community Club president Vic Barry couldn't make the open house, but he did get a tour and a briefing from Pawlak the week before.
Compared with other proposed development projects such as moving cruise ships to Terminal 91 in Interbay, the Amgen expansion is not a major issue, according to Barry. "I don't think it's that big a deal."
The community club is concerned about lights, noise and traffic during construction, and Barry said he asked that Amgen set up a noise hotline.
"But I think in the long run it will be an improvement to the waterfront because they're getting rid of those ugly warehouses." The expansion will also bring new, high-paying jobs to Seattle, he added.
There have been a few complaints about lights on the campus shining into homes above Elliott Avenue, said Queen Anne Community Council chair Ellen Monrad. But echoing Barry, she said she doesn't think the expansion is such a big deal. "I didn't find anything objectionable about it."
Monrad added that the effort to reach out to the communities was appreciated. "I think they're trying to be a good neighbor," she said.
The approach made sense, according to Monrad. "They didn't want to have the same problems Immunex had," she said of objections about everything from the height and bulk of the original complex to alleged biohazards connected to the research.
The project was also controversial because Immunex got the Port of Seattle land for a relatively cheap price, and because part of the deal included the city building a tax-financed $19 million overpass to the site.
That was then. No one these days seems to care about the Amgen campus being located in the area, and Amgen certainly seems happy.
Asked if corporate headquarters was satisfied with the research results coming out of the company's Seattle location, Pawlak said: "Absolutely. "We've had a wonderful two years at our site."
Magnolia News staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached by email at the address rzabel@nwlink.com or by phone at (206) 461-1309.[[In-content Ad]]
