Apple to expand its footprint in Seattle with office lease

Apple Inc. is significantly increasing its footprint in Seattle as its expands on a previously announced plan to boost hiring, bringing an additional 2,000 jobs to the area in the next five years.

The iPhone maker signed a lease for office space at 333 Dexter, a 660,000-square-foot (61,300-square-meter) development in the South Lake Union neighbourhood being built by Kilroy Realty Corp., according to the office of Mayor Jenny Durkan.

"These new jobs confirm what we already knew: We have the best talent and city anywhere," Durkan said in an emailed statement. "Apple's expanded footprint in Seattle is another example of the growing opportunity that exists for residents of Seattle and the economic powerhouse our city has become."

For years, cranes have dotted the Seattle skyline as builders rushed to accommodate a swelling population and rapidly growing tech firms, led by Amazon.com Inc. That company now employs more than 45,000 at its headquarters in town and occupies about a fifth of the city's prime office real estate. Other firms have been muscling in to recruit from Seattle's deep well of engineers. Both Google and Facebook Inc. are leasing offices near 333 Dexter.

Apple has a relatively modest presence in the city of about 500 employees. In December, the company said that it planned to add 1,000 jobs in the area over three years as part of a national expansion that also includes spending $1 billion on a new campus in Austin, Texas.