Lease signed on first Seattle location 1100 Dexter in South Lake Union

CommonGrounds’ first Seattle location adjacent to Facebook regional headquarters.

CommonGrounds Workplace has signed a 10-year lease for 31,781 square feet in South Lake Union’s five-story 100,951 square foot 1100 Dexter Building.

CommonGrounds is an enterprise-grade Workplace-as-a-Service company collaborating with office owners and providing flexible space and coworking solutions for companies of all sizes in multiple U.S. cities.

The lease encompasses the first floor and a portion of the second, in the modern glass and brick building built in 1997. 1100 Dexter is located in South Lake Union which has become home to many Silicon Valley and life sciences companies during its redevelopment. The neighborhood boasts numerous new residential communities, restaurants, retail and transit all within walking distance of our workplace.

This is the third CommonGrounds Workplace lease signed in 2019, as part of the company’s $100 million Series A funding expansion program. The company announced long-term leases in April in Midtown Atlanta and Los Angeles’ financial district. CommonGrounds also opened in Salt Lake City in March 2019 and is preparing for summer openings in Burbank, Fort Worth, Houston, Minneapolis and Portland.

“South Lake Union is a flourishing destination for life sciences and tech companies. We are ecstatic about beginning our relationship with Stockbridge and with 1100 Dexter as for our first Seattle workplace. The location is situated across the street from Facebook and within walking distance of Amazon, Google, Gates Foundation, Fred Hutchinson and the new Apple offices, “said Jacob Bates, Chief Executive Officer for CommonGrounds Workplace. “This type of atmosphere attracts some of the best and brightest. Our Workplace-as-a-Service platform will allow companies to be in immediate proximity to these and other enterprise companies to attract and retain talent.”

Since 2003, the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle has been undergoing a significant transformation. Once an area primarily characterized by older warehouses and maritime uses, it is now an emerging residential and employment center. The City of Seattle’s redevelopment plans includes office, residential, higher education, transit and parks. Over 42 acres have been developed to date delivering millions of square feet, 2,029 residential units and 44,000 new jobs, according to reports by the master developer. Major employers in the neighborhood include Amazon, University of Washington Medicine, Facebook, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Google, NBBJ, PEMCO, Apple and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

“We have designed and built CommonGrounds workplaces for all users with the craftsmanship, enterprise-grade technology and quality finishes to act as an extension for a major corporate occupier. Our environment, security, technology and services are what they would expect in a first-class headquarters,” said Bates. “We are able to accommodate a larger team’s unique space requirements using our Hackable EnvironmentTM. Our proprietary demountable wall systems by Tecno allow us to modify spaces, infrastructure and furnishings within weeks rather than months.”

The South Lake Union workplace is slated to be open in late April 2020 and will serve over 400 members.

Greg Inglin and Laura Ford with Colliers represented the owner, Stockbridge. Jim Suber with Strategic Real Estate Advisory and Eric Blohm of Savillis represented CommonGrounds in the negotiations.