Boeing executives still deciding on old headquarters' future

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When Boeing announced it was moving its corporate headquarters from Seattle, its home since 1916, many people assumed the company's sprawling, two-building headquarters complex on East Marginal Way would be sold.

Local real-estate experts estimated it could fetch more than $40 million and said that despite its location in an industrial area across from Boeing Field, it had a lot going for it, such as a relatively close-in location and plenty of free parking.

But Boeing is studying other options for the 435,000-square-foot complex, which sits nondescript as ever, with no for-sale or for-lease signs, only a "Boeing Building 2-25" sign near its art-deco entrance.

Boeing will vacate the complex over the summer as it relocates to a Chicago office tower. A decision whether to keep, sell or lease the property is expected in the coming weeks, spokesman Ron Ciro said.

"If we didn't find a use for it ourselves, we'd probably sell," said Ciro. "Historically, that's how we've done business. But everything is on the table." Leasing is the least likely alternative, he said.

Ciro wouldn't say what Boeing might do with the complex if it kept it or how much it might try to get for the site.

The headquarters complex, set back from the street at 7755 E. Marginal Way S., is made up of two connected buildings - a four-story structure that opened in 1941 and a five-story building dating to 1953. The old headquarters building was in front of them until it was torn down in the 1990s, Ciro said.

Employees who will be making the move to Chicago will have quite a different view from their new offices. The front of the current headquarters faces Boeing Field, while the back overlooks an industrial area bordering the Duwamish River. In Chicago, Boeing will occupy the top 12 floors of a 36-story building that towers above the Chicago River. Boeing is leasing about 300,000 square feet in the building until 2016.Bill Kossen can be reached at 206-464-2331 or at bkossen@seattletimes.com.