Russell Investments has decided to relocate its headquarters from Tacoma, Washington to Seattle. The firm will move to 1301 Second Ave. next year.

Russell's parent, Northwestern Mutual, is purchasing the 42-story Chase Center (previously known as the WaMu Center), the Seattle Times reported. The tower will be renamed Russell Investments Center.

Russell has been based in Tacoma since its founding in 1936.

"After a thorough search and analysis of multiple sites in the Puget Sound region, we came to the clear conclusion that this is the right decision to best serve the long-term interests of our business, both from an economic and qualitative standpoint, and particularly given the unique conditions of the commercial real estate market in Seattle," said Russell president and CEO Andrew Doman.

Russell employs 900 people in its Tacoma headquarters. Tacoma reportedly offered incentives worth more than $148 million in an effort to get Russell to stay.

Seattle, for its part, did not offer tax incentives, Mayor Greg Nickels told Reuters.

"This is a business decision by the Russell company. We did not contact them, they contacted us," Nickels was quoted in the report as saying.

Kinzer Real Estate Services led the site search with assistance from Seneca Real Estate Group Inc., NBBJ and Sellen Construction Company. Russell was also assisted by external counsel Davis Wright Tremaine and McCullough Hill, PS.  

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