Tower 333 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tower 333 |
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| Former names | Expedia Building |
| Alternative names | Technology Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | office |
| Location | 333 108 Avenue NE Bellevue, Washington, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 47°36′49″N 122°11′48″W / 47.61361°N 122.19667°W |
| Construction started | 2000 |
| Completed | 2008 |
| Cost | $100 million |
| Owner | Equity Commonwealth |
| Height | |
| Roof | 272 ft (83 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 20 |
| Floor area | 414,964 sq ft (38,551.4 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | LMN Architects |
| Main contractor | Lease Crutcher Lewis |
Tower 333 is a tall, 20-story high-rise office building located in the center of Bellevue, Washington, USA. From 2008 to 2019, it was home to the main offices of Expedia, a big travel company. Now, another huge company, Amazon, is planning to use the whole building starting in 2020.
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Building History
In October 1997, a local builder named Eugene Horbach suggested building a 19-story tower. He called it the Bellevue Technology Tower. This project was one of many new buildings planned in Bellevue during the "dot-com boom." This was a time in the late 1990s when many internet companies were starting up.
Challenges and Delays
The plans for the tower were very big. However, the "dot-com bubble" burst, meaning many internet companies failed. This caused serious money problems and delays for the building project.
In June 2002, Horbach's company could not pay back $22 million in loans. Groups that managed money for workers' retirement (called pension funds) took over the land where the tower was being built. To save the property from being taken by lenders, Horbach sold a large piece of land he had owned for 17 years. Sadly, Horbach passed away in January 2004.
Construction Continues
Even though there were delays, the digging for the building and part of the underground parking garage were already finished. In March 2006, new plans for the site were announced by a real estate company called Hines and Washington Capital Management. The city of Bellevue even talked about making rules that would require construction projects to be finished once they started, because of these delays.
New Tenants and Accidents
In August 2006, people heard rumors that Google might rent most of the office space in the building. The tower was supposed to be finished in October 2007. However, there was another delay when a large crane at the building site fell in November 2006. This accident sadly killed one person in a nearby apartment building.
In June 2007, Expedia announced that it would rent 16 floors of the building. Expedia also got the right to name the tower, so it became known as the Expedia Building.
Changing Hands Again
In April 2015, Expedia announced that it planned to move its offices to a different location in Seattle. The Bellevue building would then be rented to Amazon. Amazon signed a long-term agreement in August 2018 to rent all the office space in the tower. Expedia moved out of the tower in late 2019. Small updates to the building began when Amazon's rental agreement started in January 2020. Amazon plans to move its first employees into the building in late 2020.
Building Design
Tower 333 is a very modern building. It earned a Gold-level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). This means it was built using environmentally friendly methods and materials. It was the first new office building in Bellevue to get this high level of LEED certification. The building was designed by LMN Architects, a company from Seattle.
