(WSB photo 7/23/26)
By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Something is afoot on the second floor of the commercial building across the street from Don Armeni Boat Ramp that is known as Denali. A reader asked what is going on. We’ve been trying to get the full details for more than a month, but the short answer is that the space at 1315 Harbor Ave SW is apparently the new headquarters of Outdoor Research, the outdoor apparel and equipment company that had its headquarters and retail store on 1st Avenue South until the location there closed permanently earlier this year. The longer story and the details of the full move have yet to be shared by the company, but here’s what we know so far:
Outdoor Research posted an announcement on its website in June that West Seattle would soon be home to its corporate headquarters “with a move-in target of late summer 2026.” The announcement noted that a hard look at their old location caused them to move up a timeline for relocation. “The new West Seattle facility offers improved infrastructure for our workforce and a location deeply connected to the Pacific Northwest outdoor lifestyle. Additionally, Outdoor Research will relocate its Seattle flagship retail store to a more central, high-visibility location in the city center.” Neither location has been announced, and repeated calls and emails to OR have yielded no official response so far.
Looking into public records, an electrical permit for the location notes Outdoor Research as the owner of the Denali 2nd floor space, which leasing agent CBRE’s brochure is marketing at 7,916sf. But there’s no building permit yet, and presumably, some kind of tenant improvements will be necessary to accommodate corporate staff. One more tidbit is that office furniture and people have been visible through the windows from the street for a number of months, indicating that some staff is likely already working out of the space. In the meantime, OR’s only brick-and-mortar locations are their outlet stores in Bellingham and Des Moines.
Outdoor Research’s origin story, coincidentally, begins on Denali—the mountain—when, according to the OR website, their founder Ron Gregg had to turn back from summiting because gaiters worn by a fellow climber failed. His focus on creating a foolproof gaiter for mountaineering led to the founding of OR. Could it be it kismet that a company that started with Denali is moving into Denali? We’ll let you know when the folks from OR get back to us.