03 Jun There’s a new tenant in town

DJC has an article today that announces Nuance Communications is leasing 46,000 square feet in Starbucks’ new office building.

According to their website, Nuance “is a leading provider of speech recognition, PDF converters, OCR solutions and document imaging solutions for businesses and consumers.”

“In 2008, after announcing it was laying off 550 non-store employees, Starbucks put the 505 First/83 King property up for sale and lease. It was a major blow to the neighborhood, which has had its share of bad luck over the last decade. Another setback came earlier this year when Elliott Bay Book Co. moved to Capitol Hill. Other smaller retailers also are leaving.

While the area is perceived to be unsafe, Kinzer said police stats indicate the crime rate in Pioneer Square is about the same as Wallingford’s.

Allison said he’s seeing more interest in Pioneer Square from a range of large companies.”