Renton: Is Jet City Finally Taking Off? -- Projects Bringing New Look To Blue-Collar Hub

Renton, the little city with industrial shoulders on Lake Washington's southern shore, suddenly is on the verge of coolness.

A brew pub opened several months ago. A wine bar and upscale restaurant are under construction. Most recently, a developer announced plans for a residential and retail project that could bring 150 to 200 urban dwellers downtown. A new downtown plaza complete with fountain and amphitheater also is in the works.

"There's a new energy and a new attitude in Renton," says Gene Sens, who is teaming up with local attorney David Loring to build the wine bar and restaurant.

That energy is a major boost for a city that for decades has struggled to shake its image as a blue-collar industrial hub that Interstate 405 commuters only passed by, says Lisa Lamoreaux, Downtown Renton Association vice president.

"There hasn't been a whole lot of reasons for them to veer off into the downtown areas," she said.

But the Jet City finally may be taking off.

Billionaire Paul Allen's plan to build a high-tech mega-campus in nearby Kennydale has, in part, spurred the downtown revitalization, as developers move to bring in businesses they hope will attract some of the 8,000 employees who will work there.

Business leaders think the new crop of high-end businesses will lure people into the downtown core and help reshape its drab image.

That image grew from the city's history as a coal-mining and lumber town turned industrial leader with the 1907 coming of Pacific Car and Foundry - now Paccar - which produced rail cars, and Boeing in 1942.

From coal and jets to high-tech, Renton could be at the start of a revolution of sorts.

But change has been slow in this city of 45,000, for various reasons, say city leaders, including lack of parking, chaotic one-way streets, and property owners who didn't bother to upgrade their buildings.

"It's an old, historic city, and the buildings have not been well-maintained," says Mayor Jesse Tanner. "You can actually see cracks running from the top to bottom (of some buildings)."

Some landowners who have recently sold their property to new developers say they're excited about the changes. Downtown needed "new blood," says landowner Louis Barei.

"Younger people who have fresher ideas can see potential that some older people do not see."

Downtown Renton also has lacked vitality because so few people live there.

For so long, the biggest obstacles to downtown growth were the five acres of valuable retail space eaten up by car dealerships, notes Sue Carlson, the city's economic-development director.

City leaders have long anticipated the dealerships' move to a recently built Automall - a strip along Rainier Avenue South and South Grady Way. Managers of the dealerships say they're excited about the new location because it's near Interstate 405 and there's more parking. The last car dealer, Sound Mazda, is to move there by the end of the month.

"This provides us the opportunity to fill in the gaps and create the missing pieces for a cohesive downtown," Carlson says. She and other city officials now are banking on several new projects to lift downtown out of its economic doldrums.

Last November, entrepreneurs Alison Horne and John Jankowski spent $1 million to renovate a historic brick building and create the restaurant and brew pub, Cedar River Brewing.

About a year ago, Loring and Sens, owner of Gene's Ristorante downtown, bought two buildings - about 15,000 square feet formerly occupied by Good Chevrolet - for a restaurant and bakery, and full-service wine bar. They're also remodeling four apartment units above one of the buildings. Loring plans to move his law practice to the site, and they hope to open their doors in August.

Two weeks ago, Seattle developer Don Dally presented plans to city officials to build a major "condo-style" residential complex of 104 apartment units downtown. It would sit above coffee-shop retailers and just a few blocks from a cluster of antique stores and two retirement complexes. Dally is completing a feasibility study for the $9 million project now.

"Even though it looks blighted now - and it's very hard to visualize downtown Renton turning into an area for urban apartments - we believe it would work," Dally says.

To help, the city is building a 1 1/2-acre plaza in the heart of town scheduled for completion next spring. The Piazza Project, at Burnett Avenue South and South Third Street, will anchor downtown businesses and provide a focal point with benches and trees, a fountain and amphitheater.

In addition, the city will redevelop a 15,000-square-foot building on the site for possible use as a public market or festival and banquet hall.

There's logic in Renton's renaissance. The city already boasts several splendid parks. The Cedar River Trail winds through downtown, part of the city's 450-acre Cedar River Greenway System. Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, which stretches along 55 acres of Lake Washington shoreline, is the launching area for the winter Clam Lights festival.

The annual Renton River Days festival downtown and the craftsman-style houses give the city its small-town feel.

And while the pell-mell growth of other suburbs so far has eluded Renton, developers now are taking advantage of its central location (a 10-20 minute drive to Seattle, the Eastside, or South King County cities), and its potential for growth.

"Renton is really one of the few remaining municipalities where there is significant room for growth and redirection," Loring says.

Renton also has much cheaper commercial real estate compared with other Eastside cities, says Ron Knight, a downtown real-estate agent. Retail and office space costs about $12 to $14 per square foot, roughly $3- to $8-a-square-foot less than in Bellevue or Kirkland.

Although it has taken a while to gain momentum, city officials think Renton's on the right course.

"Renton is about where Kirkland was 10 years ago," says Mayor Tanner. "I think it's going to boom."

---------------------- Piazza Party in Renton ----------------------

The city will host a "Piazza Party" from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 14 at Burnett Avenue South and South 3rd Street. Among the activities: Japanese Taiko drummers, garden exhibits and chalk-art and community-photo contests.