Currently, Avalara is headquartered on Bainbridge Island, a lovely place with more than its share of artsy places and wine bars. But if you have ever visited, you know the ferry between the island and Seattle represents a challenge for air travelers since it runs about every 45 minutes—sometimes 40, sometimes 50, occasionally 60—and takes 35 minutes and you miss your ferry and chances of making it to the airport evaporate. Or you can drive the other direction, circumnavigating most of the sound, 80 miles or so. Avalara will be the anchor tenant, leasing the top six floors—100,000-sq. ft. with options to take on more. "We chose this location because of its proximity to public transportation, the football and baseball stadiums," CEO Scott McFarlane said in a prepared statement. I'm sensing a trend here. When Avalara moved into new space in Durham, N .C., it picked up a site whose windows look onto the playing field of the Durham Bulls. It originally entered the Raleigh-Durham area through the purchase of Tax Technology Services, which developed CertCapture.