GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Tarragon Closes on Former Borden Site

KENT, WA-The $100-million redevelopment of the former Borden Chemical site here gets under way today (June 30) with the closing of a 10.5-acre land sale on which the $39-million first phase will rise. A groundbreaking event is scheduled for noon at 2nd Avenue and Smith Street, adjacent to the Sounder commuter rail station and the project site. Scheduled to open next summer, the first phase will bring 150,000 sf of entertainment, lifestyle and specialty retail, restaurant and education uses and a 30,000-sf plaza at the center of the development. Anchor tenants include a 14-screen AMC Theater complex and a branch of Green River Community College. The developer is Seattle-based Tarragon Development. The leasing assignment is in the hands of Blatteis Realty Co.In addition to the anchors, tenants will include Johnny Rockets, The Ram, Zao Noodles, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Jamba Juice, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Hairmasters, and EB Games. In addition to these tenants, Tarragon says it is in negotiations with and/or has commitments for over 85% of the leaseable area in the first phase. The property is located between two of the city’s main arterials, Smith and James streets, and the commuter rail station. City officials envision the fully redeveloped site will include 470,000 sf of retail, office, residential, education and entertainment facilities. In addition to buying the land and handling some minor remediation, the city is contributing $2.3 million in infrastructure improvements, including a main street that will run through the project and connect to the city’s Downtown core.The City of Kent paid close to $18 per sf to buy out a successful and operating 18.2-acre chemical plant adjacent to the city’s Downtown core and now is selling it to Tarragon at a steep discount ($5 per sf) in order to implement its vision. “We could have sold for a lot more money if we sold it for a Wal-Mart or a sprawling two-story apartment complex, but that wasn’t really the vision,” city project coordinator Nathan Torgelson told GlobeSt.com in May. Tarragon has a series of rolling options to purchase the balance of the property based on fair market value at the time they commit to buying it. The company says it is already in negotiation for nearly 60% of the total shop space that would be constructed on the remaining property.Tarragon is a developer of commercial, industrial, mixed-use and multi-family real estate whose recent projects include Saffron, a retail and residential community in Sammamish, WA; several residential projects within Lakeland, a master-planned community in Auburn, WA; Valley South Corporate Park in Sumner, WA; and Lakeland Town Center in Auburn, which opened in 2002 with 132,000 sf of retail development.