Expedia moving to downtown Bellevue next year

Expedia is moving its headquarters to downtown Bellevue.

The online travel company told employees this morning it plans to take the majority of Tower 333, a 20-story office building under construction at Northeast Fourth Street and 108th Ave. NE. The move will occur in November 2008.

Expedia is headquartered at Sunset Corporate Campus along Interstate 90 in Bellevue. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an email that Expedia's lease at Sunset is expiring, and the move to Tower 333 will allow it to "have all Bellevue employees together in a single location while supporting our future growth."

About 1,700 employees will move to floors three through 18 at Tower 333, which is being developed by Texas-based Hines. Scheduled for completion by year's end, it now takes on a new name: Expedia Tower.

Still, Khosrowshahi suggested the name may only be temporary and Expedia will finalize one closer to move-in. "Employee suggestions are welcome!" he said in the email.

Expedia decided to stay in Bellevue — albeit in a different part — after analyzing employees' home zip codes, Khosrowshahi said. The company found that 48 percent of its Bellevue-based employees live east of Lake Washington, 27 percent live west, 11 percent live north and 14 percent live south.

"While relocating is never ideal for everyone, we certainly took into account where our employees live and found that staying on the east side in Bellevue would cause the least disruption for the largest amount of employees," he said.

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com