Renton extends comment period for Quendall Terminals to Feb. 9

The City of Renton has received dozens of comments about a mixed-use development on Lake Washington and in an unusual move has extended the period for written comments yet again.

The project is called Quendall Terminals; it’s sandwiched between the Seahawks’ headquarters and an upscale residential neighborhood known as Barbee Mill.

The public is now commenting on the draft environmental review statementfor the project. The original deadline was Jan. 10. It was extended to Jan. 25 and now the new deadline is 5 p.m. Feb. 9.

Normally, such extensions don’t happen, said Alex Pietsch, the administrator of the City of Renton Department of Community and Economic Development.

But since a public hearing on Jan. 4, when oral testimony was taken, the residents of Barbee Mill and Kennydale have flooded the city with concerns about the project’s scale, including 800 units of housing, 245,000 square feet of office space and six- or seven-story buildings on 21 acres. There’s room for a restaurant and some retail space.

Residents worry the project would block views and create traffic congestion on Lake Washington Boulevard. The site is just off Interstate 405 in north Kennydale.

A locally generated blog and a website are providing information about the draft environmental review and a chance to comment.

This is the public’s first chance to comment on the proposal.

The 21 acres, listed as a U.S. Superfund site because of heavy industrial contamination from decades ago, is owned by the Cugini family of Renton and the Baxter family of California.

Copies of the draft environmental are available for review at the Renton Main Library, 100 Mill Ave. S., and the Renton Highlands Branch Library, 2902 N.E. 12th St., and at Renton City Hall, customer service counter, sixth floor, 1055 S. Grady Way, and on the City of Renton’s website rentonwa.gov.

Email comments to project manager Vanessa Dolbee at vdolbee@rentonwa.gov.