By Lindsay Peyton

With the toss of a shovel of dirt came the promise of 600 or more jobs in Burien.

On Tuesday morning, June 6, the city’s mayor Lucy Krakowiak joined representatives of the Port of Seattle and Panattoni Development for a groundbreaking ceremony for “Seattle Gateway Center,” a 26.2-acre site that will house two Class “A” industrial warehouses.

“We stand here today to celebrate an important milestone in the redevelopment of the area into what will become an important job center in our community,” Krakowiak said.

Bart Brynestad, partner with Panattoni’s Seattle office, said the company plans to complete both buildings, totaling 458,500 sq. ft. of warehouse space, in early 2018.

Seattle Gateway Center 1, 14237 Des Moines Memorial Way S, will be placed on a 19.1-acre site. The building will total 325,290 sq. ft.

Construction will begin simultaneously on the 133,200-sq.ft. Seattle Gateway Center 2, which will be located at 1039 S. 146 St on a 6.71 acre site.

The development is part of the master planned area in the City of Burien is known as the Northeast Redevelopment Area (NERA), an industrial-zoned site adjacent to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Created in 1997 by the City of Burien in partnership with the Port of Seattle, the Northeast Redevelopment Area was meant to be a sustainable development, compatible with the needs of the airport.

Brynestad explained that Seattle Gateway Center will provide office and manufacturing space for businesses that serve the airport, including storage, processing, logistics and other services.

“This is a wonderful piece of land that hasn’t been utilized in decades,” he said. “We’re happy to bring it to fruition.”

He added that the two buildings should provide 600 to 800 jobs in the next three years.

“This is an investment of over $60 million we’re making and we’re happy to do it,” Brynestad said.

Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton also spoke at the groundbreaking. He stressed the port’s role in creating jobs in the region.

“For the last three years, we’ve been the fastest growing airport in the country,” he said.

Creighton noted the added value of sharing the benefits of that growth with neighboring towns.

“It’s particularly important that we work with cities like Burien on economic development projects like this,” he said. “With the regional economic book, the timing is right.”

Creighton added that the new development will support the growth of the airport by providing needed services and office space.

The Port’s agreement with Panattoni Development includes a 55-year initial term plus two 10- year extensions. An initial annual rent of about $1 million is set to increase every five years as well as Fair Market Valuations (FMV) every 10 years starting in 2021.

In the ground lease, Panattoni has also agreed to provide workers with prevailing wages and apprenticeships.

The construction of Seattle Gateway Center will incorporate measures to protect the environment, including the preservation and restoration of 1.87 acres of degraded wetland and wetland buffer.

Both sites will pursue LEED certification and include sustainable site measures focused on stormwater management through direct infiltration and regional water facility filtration systems.

There will also be a cool roof and concrete truck apron to reduce heat build up, and outdoor water use will be minimized through drip irrigation systems and drought-tolerant plantings.

High-efficiency exhaust fans and gas fired heaters along with LED lighting equipped with daylight and occupancy sensors will optimize core energy performance. Building materials used will be low-emitting and free of lead, cadmium and mercury.

In addition, construction waste diversion will be maximized throughout construction with on-site source separation of waste streams.

Nate Caminos, state director for U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, read a statement from the senator during the groundbreaking.

“As SeaTac continues to grow by leaps and bounds, we must ensure that surrounding communities are taken care of during this time of rapid growth,” she stated. I was proud to author the program that has helped this project move forward. This program demonstrates that airport- impacted land can be developed to the benefit of the surrounding communities and the region as a whole . . . As Washington state continues to grow as an international hub of commerce and tourism, we must grow in the most responsible and positive manner.”

For more information about the Port of Seattle, visit www.portseattle.org
For more information about the City of Burien, visit www.burienwa.gov.
For more information about the Panattoni Development Company, visit www.panattoni.com.