SEATTLE, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Seattle has approved plans for a new headquarters for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation next to the Seattle Center.
The foundation's plan for the appearance of its 1-million-square-foot offices, as well as the time it will be built and plans for dealing with traffic during and after the construction were approved Monday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Tuesday.
The approved site plan includes two buildings that will contain about 600,000 square feet of offices to be completed between 2008 and 2010, and a third building with 400,000 square feet of offices to be added by 2021. The first two buildings will have 412 underground parking spaces and the third will contain 568 parking spaces, the Post-Intelligencer said.
"Obviously, we're delighted to have them in the city," said Alan Justad, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development. "It's very prestigious, and it looks like an interesting design."
