The plant is on the water at the south end of Lake Washington, within the City of Renton. The eventual surplus acreage is the furthest from the lake, closer to Interstate 405. Boeing spokesperson Chuck Cadena tells GlobeSt.com there is no timeline for the property coming to market, but adds that construction of new office space closer to the airplane assembly buildings will begin this summer.
A source at the city tells GlobeSt.com the property could be on the market within a couple of years. That allows time for Boeing to create new space nearer the lake for the consolidation, for the state-required environmental impact statement, which the City of Renton will oversee and Boeing will fund, and for the public process during and after as the City decides how the property will be rezoned.
As part of the EIS process, four alternatives were drawn up. One is the "no rezone" alternative. Under current zoning, approximately 1.4 million sf of light industrial could be built along with 260,000 sf of big box retail. Existing Boeing office space in the area totals about 480,000 sf.
Under one alternative plan, the light industrial zoning would be changed to allow low-rise office and retail. Under that plan, there could be as much as 520,000 sf of office and retail space instead of 1.4 million sf of light industrial. The amount of big box retail would remain the same.
Another alternative has the big box retail zoning changed to a "retail village" zoning and the light industrial changed to allow some mid-rise office buildings. Under this plan, there could be 468 units of housing and 640,000 sf of office and retail space where the big box retail zone is and instead of the light industrial space there could be 1.7 million sf of new office and lab space and another 644 housing units.
Yet another alternative has the big box retail zone changed to "town center" zoning, which would allow for 1.2 million sf of office and 500,000 sf of retail. It also has the light industrial changed to allow for nearly 3 million sf of new office and lab space and 373 residential units.
The alternatives with the "retail village" and "town center" zoning also propose new zoning for the full 280-acre plant, which Boeing says it will not be vacating for the foreseeable future. Under the full redevelopment scenario, new development could total anywhere from 11.3 million sf to 17.7 million sf and would include several million sf of office and lab space, more than 5,000 residential units, 630,000 sf of retail and 360 hotel rooms.
During the EIS Scoping period, which began March 10th and ends March 31st, the public can review the alternatives and include input on what environmental issues should be studied and analyzed in the EIS. Copies of the Scoping Notice can be viewed at the Renton City Libraries, on-line at www.ci.renton.wa.us, and at Renton City Hall at the Development Services Permit Counter. A public meeting will be held Tuesday, March 25 at Renton High School to provide additional information and take public comment on the scope of the EIS.
A Draft EIS is expected in late July with a 30-day public comment period following. The Final EIS document, due in the fall, will then be used in deciding on any zoning and Comprehensive Plan changes for the property. The cost of the EIS has not yet been determined. A city source tells GlobeSt.com the City and Boeing are currently negotiating the costs.
Cadena admits part of Boeing's impetus for the rezone is that it will increase the value of the land and increase its pool of potential buyers. He adds that the city also benefits by being able to help direct the future of a big chunk of prime city property.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
