Amgen's waterfront plan may double Helix staff

An expansion at Amgen's Helix campus on Elliott Bay could make room for 750 additional researchers and staff — nearly doubling the number working there today and solidifying a major pillar of the state's biotechnology industry.

The world's largest biotech company said Tuesday it will tear down vacant warehouses on Pier 89 and build three laboratory buildings and one office building, adding 550,000 square feet as part of a global push to expand research and development.

"Our business will drive our hiring," said Amgen's Seattle-based spokeswoman Carol Pawlak, "but we're building this laboratory space in anticipation of that research growth."

The company expects to break ground this fall and complete construction in 2010, though the project is still in the planning stage.

Biotech and city leaders cheered the news.

Jack Faris, president of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association, said Amgen's decision is "a vote of confidence in our community as a place to be and to grow. This is a company that could be anywhere it wants to be."

Mayor Greg Nickels welcomed the additional jobs and investment the expansion will bring to the city.

"Seattle is fortunate to be home to so many researchers and companies working on breakthroughs in health and science," he said in a statement.

"Biotech provides good-paying jobs and employs people with a wide range of skills and experience."

Pawlak said Amgen's expansion will follow the guidelines of an existing master-development plan filed with the city when Seattle-based Immunex conceived the campus as its headquarters.

The growth will occur in the same area, but the buildings may not have the same alignment as contemplated by Immunex, which Thousand Oaks, Calif.,-based Amgen bought in 2002.

"The site's very beautiful and functional, and we want to create the same mix," Pawlak said.

Amgen followed through on Immunex's plans to build a research facility that would inspire scientists. Labs have views of Elliott Bay; a pedestrian bridge mimics the double-helix structure of DNA, from which the campus draws its name; art work and architectural details remind scientists of their work and foster collaboration.

Immunex was drawn to the site in part by government carrots, including cheap public land and a $19 million bridge over railroad tracks. Pawlak said she doesn't know of any plans by Amgen to seek additional public subsidies for this expansion.

Immunex and Amgen spent $625 million on the existing campus.

Amgen hasn't put a price tag on the expansion, and lab-space costs vary considerably. Local specialty contractors and real-estate brokers said $200 a square foot is a fair estimate for lab space, above and beyond the cost of bricks and mortar.

"I always like to hear about more jobs," said state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, whose Seattle district includes the Helix campus. But she noted that the potential of 750 new employees at the campus will probably raise traffic concerns for some in the area.

Pawlak said Amgen is already building a new parking garage with space for about 1,200 vehicles.

Ed Fritzky, former Immunex CEO and retired Amgen board member, said he was thrilled to hear of the expansion, noting the Helix campus has more than fulfilled the expectations of Immunex management.

"What would really get me excited is if we could look back five years from now and say that the science achieved in those buildings leads to breakthrough products," Fritzky said.

Benjamin J. Romano: 206-464-2149 or bromano@seattletimes.com