June 18, 2024

Tesla plans take shape in Renton

Photo via CBRE [enlarge]

Looking north, the former Ryerson Metals is at center.

Plans emerged last fall for a Tesla dealership and service center in Renton. Elion Partners owns the former Ryerson Metals building at 600 S.W. 10th St., a little north of Interstate 405. City records say the proposal originated in late 2022. Elion bought the 115,000-square-foot building in early 2021.

After that, both CBRE and Lee & Associates were at different times representing the space.

The city of Renton recently deemed Tesla's permit application for a change of use to be complete. It says further that a SEPA determination of non-significance is expected. A public meeting will be conducted via Zoom on July 30. The public comment period ends on Wednesday.

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, ArcVision is the designer for Tesla. The project amounts to mostly cosmetic changes to the building and its large 550-stall parking lot, which will be repaved and reconfigured. Kimley Horn is the civil engineer and SEPA consultant, and Rippey Arboriculture is the arborist.

There's no contractor obviously attached to the project, nor any stated new timeline. Kimley Horn values the job at about $10 million.

Elion is based in Miami. The former Ryerson building, which dates to 1975, was rebranded as Elion Renton 405. A lease hasn't been recorded for the building, which sold three years ago for over $27.6 million.

Update: CBRE recently put the property on the market, with an asking price of over $51.1 million.