Microsoft Campus Expansion

KOMO News

Fortune

While Amazon is looking to set up a second North American headquarters to complement its Seattle mothership, Microsoft is taking a different approach to growth: it’s taking advantage of its existing 500-acre grounds in nearby Redmond, Washington and launching a major revamp of its existing campus.

The scheme will create enough space for a potential 17% expansion of Microsoft’s Redmond-based workforce, accommodating a maximum of 55,000 people, up from the current 47,000 headcount. Microsoft has been in Redmond since 1986, and this is the largest expansion of its campus in over a decade.

The software giant announced late Tuesday that it would begin the five-to-seven-year modernization program next fall. The project will give Microsoft 18 new buildings, along with 6.7 million square feet of renovated workspace in 12 existing buildings (the campus currently has a total of 125 buildings).