Facebook buys REI's unused Bellevue headquarters

Seattle is set to become Facebook's largest engineering hub outside of Silicon Valley as the social media company bought REI's unused Bellevue headquarters for $367.6 million on Monday. The Kent-based outdoor retailer expected to move 1000 corporate employees into the 8-acre headquarters in Bellevue's Spring District over the summer. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent low sales led executives to place the brand new campus up for sale in August in favor of smaller satellite offices and remote work. Facebook was rumored to be interested in buying the newly built site to add on to their nearby offices. The social media giant has leased over 500,000 square feet of office space in the Spring District that are currently being developed.