WSCPA to Sell Building

by Kimberly Scott, CAE

Due to a changing business model, the building is larger than needed and is an under-utilized asset. The current real estate market is strong in the Bellevue area, making this an ideal time to sell.

Selling the building is a great opportunity for the WSCPA to have an even more robust bottom line and to expand our ability to invest in new initiatives.

Why the Move?

The last couple of years have brought more change to our lives than we could have anticipated. I have heard from many of you that, due to the pandemic, your businesses have experienced change as well. One of the most common business changes is continuing a hybrid workforce and downsizing the business footprint. This is one of the key reasons we are selling the building.

Even before the COVID restrictions on in-person gatherings, there had been a steady decline in the number of in-person participants at continuing professional education programs held in the building. Instead, the vast majority of seminar attendees were virtual, leaving the classrooms, along with the substantial parking lot, nearly empty most of the year.

Thanks to the switch to virtual, you can now take most WSCPA seminars at a reduced cost. Through these transitions, our CPE program remains strong, and the WSCPA is financially in good shape.

When the pandemic required staff to work from home, the systems we had in place allowed staff to continue to serve you, the members, without disruption. We will be continuing to embrace the hybrid working model for office staff, meaning we now require less office space.

Vision for New Location

Though the new location will be smaller, there will be space for you to gather with fellow members for resource group or committee meetings as well as small classes and other in-person networking events or receptions.

You may have fond memories of the WSCPA building. Indeed, it has served us well for many decades. You can expect that some of those memories will be brought with us into our new home.

While the search has just begun for a new location, the new space will likely be in the same general area, ideally closer to transit and other amenities.

Once we are settled in the new location, be on the lookout for an invitation to an open house or other events to welcome you to the new WSCPA location—the home of Washington CPAs.