Tableau Software and Wave have signed leases for about 90,000 square feet each, according to an industry source with direct knowledge of the deals.
A plan to build Kirkland’s largest ever commercial development, totaling nearly 1.2 million square feet, is getting a big boost with long-term leases by local technology firms Tableau Software and Wave.
The two local tech firms have signed leases for about 90,000 square feet each, according to an industry source with direct knowledge of the deals. Those tenants will take nearly half of the 383,000 square feet of office space in the first phase of Kirkland Urban, a mixed-use project at 457 Central Way that will replace Kirkland Parkplace, most of which was built in the 1980s.
Under the city’s master plan, the entire development could be nearly 1.2 million square feet if fully built out, including 605,000 square feet of offices, up to 300 residences and more than 200,000 square feet of commercial space for retail, restaurants, a movie theater and a health club.
If completed, that would add a lot of new supply to a tight office submarket: Kirkland has only about 3 million square feet of office space, and the vacancy rate is around 7 percent.
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Seattle real-estate firm Talon Private Capital, the project’s developer, received approval last month from the city’s design review board for the first phase. A Talon representative couldn’t be reached for comment on Thursday.
In the first phase, the developer would enlarge the existing QFC grocery store and build two office buildings — one fronting Central Way, the other set back — each about 190,000 square feet.
Talon also would develop a 205-unit residential building near the southeast corner of Central Way and 6th Street, according to city records.
Tableau’s lease is for about 92,000 square feet, while Wave’s lease is for 88,000 square feet, the industry source said.
The companies are expected to move out of offices they occupy nearby. The Puget Sound Business Journal first reported the firms’ plans on Thursday.
For Tableau, the space will allow the data-visualization software firm to consolidate its Eastside offices. Last fall the firm agreed to lease about 24,000 square feet nearby occupied by a Microsoft Studios division.
Representatives for Tableau and Wave, a rapidly growing broadband provider, declined to comment on reports they had signed leases in the proposed buildings.
A Kirkland official said the city is reviewing the developer’s application for a demolition permit, which could be approved soon. Retail tenants like Hoffman’s Fine Cakes and Pastries moved out in December to a new location in Redmond.
Kirkland Parkplace Cinemas 6 will stop showing its regular lineup on Sunday. The movie theater opened in 1981 and has been under its current ownership since 2001, said manager Heather Jannsen.
“We’ve been a huge part of the community and we’ve loved it,” she said.
The cinema will hold its last screening at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The movie: “The Last Picture Show.”