Apple is making a big expansion into Seattle, with plans to put 2,000 employees in two towers blocks away from Amazon's HQ

• Apple announced its expansion in Seattle to a 650,000-square-foot office space by the end of 2019.
• Apple will increase its presence in Seattle to 2,000 employees over the next five years. This is double its goal of 1,000 total employees in three years, announced in December 2018. The company will add 200 employees by 2020.
• The new office at 333 Dexter, in the shadow of Amazon's HQ, is composed of two, 12-story towers that are LEED platinum certified for sustainability.
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Apple is significantly expanding its presence in Seattle, announcing plans Monday to open a 650,000-square-foot office in the city this year, and expanding its headcount in the city to 2,000 employees over the next five years. Two hundred of those employees will be added by the end of the year.

Apple VP of Global Real Estate and Facilities Kristina Raspe announced the expansion at a press conference held by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Monday.

"Under this plan, Seattle will become a key engineering hub for Apple, with new positions distributed across many specialty engineering fields including hardware, software technologies, and services," Raspe said. "We're actively recruiting for many of our teams including engineering positions for iCloud."

The conference was held at 333 Dexter, the development that will become Apple new Seattle office. Ther property was rumored to become a Seattle office for a tech company, according to GeekWire. Facebook and Amazon were thrown around as potential occupants, according to The Seattle Times. The location neighbors Amazon's headquarters in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle.

The 333 Dexter property measures at 635,000-square-feet of space according to Kilroy Realty's press release - Raspe announced 650,000-square-feet during the press conference, a figure that likely includes what Kilroy categorizes as retail and outdoor space - over two, 12-story towers. The towers are LEED platinum certified for sustainability. According to Raspe, the towers will be powered by 100% renewable energy. Apple's office buildings will be just 500 yards from Seattle's Space Needle.

In December 2018, Apple announced that it would be building a $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas with room for 15,0o0 staff. In the same press release, the company focused on Seattle, pledging to build a new site and reach 1,000 total employees in the city before 2022.

At Monday's press conference, Mayor Durkan called Apple's expansion in Seattle, "a reminder that our city has become a real economic and technology superpower."

"We know that we also have to increase a lot of things in this city for it to work," Durkan said, acknowledging that innovation for more affordable housing and improved public transit are both vital.