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Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.

John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.

Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.

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Get the most up-to-date news, insights and analysis of Tacoma, Pierce County and South Puget Sound business.
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Posted by Kelly Kearsley @ 04:22:38 pm

DaVita – one of area's largest, private employers – is growing out of its downtown Tacoma digs and looking for new office space.

The search could take the company out of Tacoma.

"I’m not pinned down to an exact location," Jim Hilger, DaVita vice president and controller said today. "I don’t know what’s available and I don't know what's economically viable in terms of Tacoma versus Pierce County versus other counties."

Though headquartered in California, the health services company has its main business office in Tacoma. It employs 856 people here.

DaVita employees are now spread out over five downtown buildings and they are running out of room, Hilger said.

Where the company may end up is anyone's guess.

Hilger said the work the company does in Tacoma isn't site specific to downtown or even the region.

"We like the Puget Sound area and our (employees) are here, so we’d have to think very thoughtfully about moving that to somewhere else," Hilger said.

The company needs at least 200,000-square-feet of office space with room to expand and up to 1,000 parking spaces.

Dominic Accetturo, a commercial real estate broker with GVA Kidder Mathews in Tacoma, said there's opportunities for such a building in downtown Tacoma, though it would likely need to be built for DaVita.

Hilger said DaVita will consider all of its options including locating in other cities.

"The City of Tacoma will have to make a compelling case just like any other community has to when they want to attract or retain large employers," Hilger said.