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May 5, 2016

Renton seeking a developer for its old city hall on a 3.8-acre site

By LYNN PORTER
Journal Staff Reporter

Photo courtesy of city of Renton [enlarge]
The site at 200 Mill Ave. S. contains the seven-story former city hall and parking.

Cosmos Development Co. plans to finish construction in October on a 101-unit apartment building with retail in downtown Renton.

These will be the first new apartments since 2010 in a downtown that Cosmos Executive Vice President Oscar Del Moro said has charming older buildings, a transit center and government officials who are working to make it more urban.

“We see it as a potentially emerging market, and we like that,” said Del Moro.

Lots of apartments have been built outside of downtown in recent years, but now the city wants to encourage more development in the core. It is seeking a developer for a 3.8-acre site at 200 Mill Ave. S. on the edge of downtown along the Cedar River.

Expressions of interest are due by May 26, according to a notice in the April 20 DJC. A tour is scheduled for today between 2:30 and 4 p.m.

The site is near Interstate 405 and contains a seven-story, 57,000-square-foot former city hall and parking. It is adjacent to Liberty Park and Renton Library, and near the Downtown Renton Transit Center. Renton School District plans to build a multi-story urban elementary school nearby. Office/commercial, hotel and multifamily with retail can be built there, and structures can be up to 95 feet tall.

Renton wants to see if developers are interested in repositioning the building and developing the rest of the property; redeveloping the full site; or coming up with other alternatives.

Qualified developers will be chosen to respond to a request for proposals the city will issue in mid-June, said Cliff Long, the city's economic development director.

Long said this is one of the few large mixed-use sites downtown.

“In Renton we don't have a lot of ready-to-go parcels for development in our downtown core, particularly of this size,” without tearing down some neat old buildings, he said. “We think it represents a great opportunity.”

The city of 98,000 is about 11 miles southeast of Seattle. Part of Renton is on Lake Washington, and the Cedar River runs through downtown.

Employers include Boeing, Paccar, Geico, Parallels, Providence Health & Services and Wizards of the Coast. Renton is also home to Seattle Seahawks' headquarters and training facility, and The Landing, a popular apartment, retail and entertainment area about a mile from the Mill Avenue site.

Renton officials are focusing on downtown. They are putting in pedestrian-friendly amenities, and have already created Piazza Park with space for community events such as Renton Farmers Market.

Johnston-Campanella-Murakami & Co. — the architecture firm that designed the Renton Library over the Cedar River — also designed the 200 Mill Ave. S. building, which opened in 1968. It was city hall until the city moved into its current municipal building in 1998.

The Mill Avenue building is about 70 percent occupied, with Renton Prep School and the City Attorney's Office as major tenants. It can be razed for redevelopment, Long said, but current shoreline regulations prevent another building being constructed on that footprint because it is too close to the river.

Del Moro said Renton has good employers, The Landing is a success, and the city is focused on making downtown more dense and vibrant.

He said his Bellevue-based firm is considering the Mill Avenue site.

“Right now our plate is pretty full,” he said. “We haven't said no and we haven't yes. We're evaluating. It has a lot of potential.”


 


Lynn Porter can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.




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