One of Seattle’s heavyweight law firms is making a very public bet on downtown. Foster Garvey is packing up its current Seattle offices and heading for West8, the re-imagined 28-story tower in the Denny Triangle that used to house a big chunk of Amazon’s local staff. The long-term deal puts the firm on multiple floors in what counts as a rare big-tenant win for downtown landlords.
According to Connect Commercial Real Estate, Kilroy Realty has inked a roughly 52,000-square-foot lease with Foster Garvey that covers two and a half floors on a 13-year term. The firm is slated to start occupying the space in the third quarter of 2027, the outlet reports. In a year when big new office leases have been hard to come by in Seattle, this one stands out and signals that professional-services firms are still willing to pay up for high-quality space.
West8’s makeover and ownership
West8, at 2001 8th Ave, was purchased by Kilroy Realty in 2021 for about $490 million, according to Business Wire. Since then, the building has been repositioned with a major renovation. Kilroy’s property materials describe West8 as LEED Platinum and promote amenities such as a fitness center, rooftop deck and on-site childcare, the kind of perks landlords are leaning on to lock in long-term tenants.
The refresh has shifted West8 from an Amazon-anchored property to a multi-tenant office tower targeted at credit-worthy, service-sector tenants. In other words, less single-tech-giant, more diversified roster of firms that can sign the sort of long leases building owners crave.
What it means for downtown leasing
The timing is hard to miss. Downtown Seattle is still wrestling with elevated vacancy, even as a handful of top-tier buildings manage to lure new tenants. Cushman & Wakefield pegged overall downtown vacancy at 35.6% in Q4 2025, and CBRE research shows law firms were among the biggest contributors to office space reductions in the Puget Sound market last year. Against that backdrop, a 13-year commitment from a major regional firm looks especially meaningful for owners hunting stable occupiers and long lease terms.
“This lease execution underscores the strength of Seattle’s office market and the appeal of thoughtfully designed workplaces,” Kilroy chief leasing officer Rob Paratte said in a statement reported by Connect Commercial Real Estate. Property owners and brokers will be watching closely to see whether more professional-services tenants follow that playbook when it is time to upgrade or renew space in downtown towers.
As first reported by Puget Sound Business Journal, Foster Garvey’s move to West8 will serve as a useful test of how much appetite remains for long leases in top-tier Seattle office buildings as the market continues its post-pandemic recalibration.
