A Growth Plan For The 'Software Development Capital Of the World'

Microsoft -- the world's largest software maker will submit a 25-page development agreement, to the city of Redmond, "laying the groundwork for construction that could accommodate 10,000 to 12,000 new employees on its 400-acre Redmond campus.

Microsoft also said it will spend up to $30 million on transportation, utilities and other infrastructure improvements near its campus. It plans to finance ways to ease congestion around state Route 520 -- the main connection between Microsoft's campus and Seattle -- with additional lanes on surrounding roadways, intersection improvements and a new east-west overpass over 520."

Since Microsoft relocated its headquarters to Redmond in 1986, the city's population has increased by more than 30 percent, and now tops 46,000. More than 5,000 Microsoft employees reside in the city. Almost half of Microsoft's worldwide employees work in the Puget Sound area. The company employs 28,000 workers in the region and nearly 30,000 in other locations. Last year, two-thirds of the company's total worldwide growth occurred in the Puget Sound region.

Also available is an interview with Brad Smith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Microsoft Corp. about the growth plan.

A detailed review of the plan is offered by the Seattle Times technology reporter: "Microsoft may also glide past a big hurdle for commercial development in the Overlake area: a growth plan that limits how many offices can be built before road projects are completed. By laying down its cards early, Microsoft is assured its campus growth won't be blocked by the Overlake plan's growth limits."