Amazon Backs Out of Lease at Heart of Tax Fight With Seattle
- City dropped tax after Amazon threat to pull out of new tower
- Now Amazon is pulling out of Rainier Square lease anyway
A rendering of Rainier Square
Source: Wright Runstad & CompanyThis article is for subscribers only.
Amazon.com Inc., which scrapped a deal this month to open offices in New York after clashing with local politicians, is pulling out of a lease in Seattle that was at the center of a battle with the city council.
Last year, as the Seattle City Council was weighing a tax on large employers to fund affordable housing and homeless services, Amazon threatened to sublease its space in Rainier Square, a 37-story tower being built at 411 Union Street where it had taken more than 700,000 square feet, the entire office portion.