The University of Washington is growing up and out. Aside from purchasing the Safeco building — now called UW Tower — the University is now leasing 10,000 square feet of space in the Eastlake Center II at 2815 Eastlake Ave. E.

Located near the I-5 freeway and Lake Union, the building is owned by the Blume Company, which owns and manages commercial real estate in greater Seattle.

"The UW had several leases in another building that was sold. We were asked to quickly move out," said Steve Kennard, assistant director of asset management at the UW Real Estate Office.

The other building was in Fremont on Canal Street, and the owner sold it so that the building could be turned into condominiums.

The departments that were moved were two of the University's School of Medicine departments, specifically the cardiology and psychology departments, Kennard said.

Two things that precipitated the University's choice of the Eastlake II building, he said, were location and timing. It is conveniently located near other departments of the School of Medicine, and the building was available for the departments to move quickly. The University's lease of part of the Eastlake Center II is for three years.

The building was built in 1989 and has three stories with about 46,000 square feet of rentable space.

According to the University of Washington's Real Estate Office Web site, the University leases more than 1.3 million square feet of space in Seattle, in the greater Washington area and in a variety of other places.

The Blume Company is developing 1100 Eastlake, a technologically advanced office and biotechnology building. With five floors and 183,574 square feet of space, the new development is near the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The University has no plans to move any departments into 1100 Eastlake at this time, Kennard said. The Blume Company declined to comment and instead referred inquiry to the UW Real Estate Office.

Students seemed indifferent about the move. "If the school needs the office space, it's a good thing," said Business School student Beau Figliola.

[Reach reporter Erinn Unger at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]