Adobe Systems Looks At Fremont Site

After years of looking for a bigger place to hang its hat, Adobe Systems Inc. may have finally found a home in Fremont.

The desktop-publishing company has not yet signed a lease. But it is working with architecture firm NBBJ and real-estate developer Quadrant Corp., which owns the property, to get a master-use permit for a 10-acre waterfront campus east of the Fremont Bridge along the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

The eastern half of the 20-acre Quadrant Lake Union Center is now home to graying warehouses and a few offices, a health club and a climbing gym.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Adobe has long looked for a new location for its 550 Seattle employees. The company, which has offices in Pioneer Square, acquired Aldus in 1994.

Quadrant and Adobe officials were quick to emphasize that a deal is not for certain. "There are many, many contingencies to the deal right now," said Barbara Chilcote, project manager for Quadrant Lake Union Center.

The companies will apply next week for a master-use permit for the area, which is bordered by North 34th Street to the north, the ship canal to the south and the Fremont and Aurora bridges.

Other major hurdles include negotiating a lease and ensuring the approval of the Fremont community, which is proud and protective of its eclectic flavor.

In the meantime, an Adobe spokesman said the company will continue to look at other potential sites in the area, including one near the Kingdome and one in the International District.

Nonetheless, the Fremont location is attractive for a number of reasons.

Chilcote said development could include a quarter-mile extension of the Burke-Gilman Trail, to run along the water rather than behind warehouses, as it does now.

Tentative plans also include a public plaza and a long stairway leading south to the water's edge from North 36th Street and Fremont Avenue.

The first phase of the Adobe development would include two buildings, with about 300,000 square feet, Chilcote said. Adobe staff would fill about 250,000 square feet of that. A second phase would include construction of a 100,000-square-foot building.

An open house will be held Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Lake Washington Rowing Club to discuss the project with the public.