November 12, 2024

7 acres in Renton could be yours to develop, but don't try digging below

Image via Cushman & Wakefield [enlarge]

Looking northwest, the site is near TopGolf.

Two years ago, AAA Management of San Diego paid $12 million for some Boeing property in Renton with pollution issues below grade. Two blocks with nearly 7 acres, north and south, are separated by North Sixth Street. There are two vacant office buildings on the south block, plus a large structured parking garage. The north block is surface parking.

AAA and architect Carrier Johnson + Culture then filed a two-building apartment plan at 535 Garden Ave. N. with 438 units, dubbed Ion Renton, which entailed the demolition of one office building and the preservation of the five-story, 948-stall garage.

The latter is key, because the land beneath is polluted from a variety of uses before the 1980s complex was developed. Both blocks are on the state Department of Ecology roster of polluted sites. Ecology says of the south block, “Ecology's 2001 Site NFA opinion letter and the 2001 Restrictive Covenant do not accurately represent current site conditions. Ecology will rescind the No Further Action determination.”

The north block still awaits possible cleanup, or not, with no NFA issued. The safest, easiest and cheapest option for both blocks is not to venture blow grade, and to simply cap the dirt before any vertical construction begins. In other words: Don't dig; you won't like what you find.

AAA is evidently walking away from the project, and Cushman & Wakefield put the property on the market last week, unpriced.

Over the summer, AAA initiated plans to demolish everything but the garage, including skybridges, and leave the rest of the site as bare slab. That now appears to have been a prelude to selling. The city of Renton issued a SEPA determination of non-significance for the demo plan in September, before the listing appeared. Who pays for the demo? That remains to be seen.

Cushman's Pat Mutzel, Jeff Cole, Nico Napolitano and Kristen Schottmiller have that listing, with no stated deadline for offers. The two blocks could be purchased separately or together. Cushman could also help with a loan. A fanciful apartment study posits a possible 750 units for both blocks, with parking and keeping the garage.

Meanwhile, over in Seattle, AAA and builder Petra are topped out on a six-unit, 168-story project in the Interbay area. The crane is gone, and Geo Queen Anne looks to be poised to open early in the new year.