Could State Farm Be Tacoma's New Russell?

Is State Farm Insurance considering an expansion to Tacoma? Could we see some life in the Russell building?

According to The News Tribune, the insurance company recently toured the Russell building as part of an “ongoing evaluation of facilities.” The TNT suggests that State Farm might be looking to expand beyond, rather than move away from its current DuPont offices, as a part of a nation-wide changes.

Specifics on the private Illinois-based company’s plans, including a timeline for decisions, are under wraps. Rumors that have percolated for weeks about State Farm’s intentions spiked at the end of last week, with several people believing the company had made a deal, or was working on a deal, to move into the Russell building.

Nationally, the company is leasing new spaces and hiring new employees. Locally, State Farm may be fishing for 250,000 to 600,000 square feet of class A office space. That much space would mean the whole Russell building, plus the old DaVita space from the Columbia Bank building on the low end, with the addition of another Russell-sized building to meet the high end.

Tacoma’s economic development director says the City isn’t negotiating directly with any large tenants, but that if they were to come our way, they could expect an expedited review process.

Can we be blamed for indulging in a little fantasy of the potential benefit of 1,000 to 2,400 new jobs in downtown Tacoma?