Intelius is expanding operations in Bothell, with room to accommodate as many as 140 workers at the North Creek Campus facility. The company, which provides online background checks and record searches, plans to relocate 50 staffers from its Bellevue headquarters to the new facility some time next month. Another 40 workers who had already been working in Bothell as part of the company's acquisition of IntelliSense also will be transferred to the 25,000 square foot facility.

The move is somewhat unusual in that several technology companies in the region have split operations between the eastside and westside of Lake Washington in order to ease the commute times for workers. In the case of Intelius, the company wanted to consolidate its enterprise unit (which includes employee screening tools to small and medium businesses) in one location, said Chief Financial Officer Paul Cook. Since Intelius already had workers in Bothell, he said it made sense to expand there.  

In addition to the enterprise group, Intelius is moving its customer service operation to Bothell.

Cook declined to say how much they are paying for rent in Bothell, though he said it is cheaper than the $50 per square foot rate that they pay on the 16th and 25th floors in downtown Bellevue. There's also free parking, he said. With the new space now available in Bellevue, Cook said they have additional room to grow their consumer business.

"One of the big challenges we will have is maintaining a strong corporate culture between the two campuses," said Cook. In order to address that, offices have been set aside at the Bothell location so that executives can set up shop for a day or two each week.

Intelius -- founded in 2003 by former InfoSpace CEO Naveen Jain -- currently employs 195 people. And despite the downturn in the economy it continues to grow as consumers turn to its service to find records and conduct background checks on spouses, nannies, service providers and others. The company plans to increase both revenue and headcount this year, though Cook declined to offer specifics. 

Intelius filed to go public in January 2008, though it has yet to enter the Nasdaq. It reported revenue of $31.8 million in the first quarter of last year.