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To accommodate everyone, Amazon will more than double its current office space. If the company exercises all of its options, it could spend as much as $1.5 billion under a 16-year agreement to lease 11 buildings in South Lake Union.

Construction begins this month, and Amazon’s 4,000 employees are expected to start moving in a little over two years to a campus that will eventually occupy six blocks. “The beauty of South Lake Union is that it gives us space for now and room to grow,” said Patty Smith, an Amazon spokeswoman.

The future of the South Lake Union district is bustling. Tenants of Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estate read like a who’s who of Seattle. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; REI, ZymoGenetics and Tommy Bahama will all call the area home. And in the last year, Microsoft signed a lease for 126,000 square feet of space; the Group Health Cooperative has moved its headquarters there; and the University of Washington’s School of Medicine is expanding its biomedical research campus to the district.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also putting up a 12-acre campus nearby and Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center is assembling a 1.5-million-square-foot research campus. [24x7]

Earth Class Mail's TV Debut
Seattle's Earth Class Mail, the subject of the upcoming reality TV series "Start-Up Junkies," is inviting members of the tech community to a sneak preview of the show Jan. 16th at 7:30 p.m. at the Microsoft Conference Center.

Those interested in attending should RSVP to jessica.grimes@earthclassmail.com.

The show, which will air on MOJO HD Jan. 24, is described as an inside look at startup life. Earth Class Mail, which has developed a system to view postal mail online, announced a $13.3 million venture round this week. Did the announcement make the cut for the TV show?"[24x7]

GolfTEC Tees up First of Eight Seattle-Area High-Tech Golf Improvement Centers
Puget Sound golfers have a new and high-tech way to improve their game as GolfTEC rolls out the first of eight planned area GolfTEC improvement centers at 255 Yale Street (across the street from REI).

Combining technology with personal coaching, GolfTEC is the leading national chain of golf improvement facilities “The golf market in the Puget Sound Region is incredibly strong,” said Brett Allen, owner of Jet City Golf, the Washington State franchise holder for GolfTEC. “Now, there’s a place to go year-round to work on your swing and improve your game.”

Built on a foundation of skilled instruction and advanced technology, the Improvement Center accurately portrays itself as the “Future of Golf.” Indoor, climate-controlled conditions allow year-round instruction in a safe, comfortable environment. The unique ability to review lessons on a personal website any time further enhances each client’s learning process. [24x7]