City hoping to keep FAA from flying out of town

The FAA currently occupies about 360,000-square-feet in several different leased locations in Renton. The new requirements are for a maximum of 300,000 rentable square feet of office and related space.

September 12, 2014 5:25 pm

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking a new office building in the Renton/Seattle area.

“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be consolidating its workforce in the Northwest Mountain Region in one facility to better deliver their mission to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world,” Stephanie Kenitzer, public affairs officer for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Northwest and Arctic Region wrote in an email.

“The consolidation will minimize redundant resources and increase operational efficiency,” she said.

GSA and the FAA are requesting a new lease to support approximately 1,600 employees. The FAA currently occupies about 360,000-square-feet in several different leased locations in Renton. The new requirements are for a maximum of 300,000 rentable square feet of office and related space.

“The FAA Regional Office campus in Renton currently house approximately 1,400 staff in four different but adjacent buildings,” wrote Allen Kenitzer, FAA spokesperson in an email. “This staff represent the administrative and technical support to support the National Airspace System in both the Northwest Mountain Region and the Western Service area. For example, the buildings house airport planners and inspectors, aerospace engineers, aviation technicians who maintain aviation equipment such as radar, air traffic management and aircraft safety inspectors.”

The maximum approved amount of rent for the space is $35 per square foot and GSA is responsible for the lease payments on behalf of the FAA. Then the FAA is responsible for reimbursing GSA.

The initial offers were due Sept. 9 and the FAA hopes to occupy their new space by Aug. 1, 2017. The requests for final proposals are due Jan. 5 and due Jan. 26. The final proposal will be awarded March 30.

The City of Renton is one of the local municipalities putting together a proposal for the building.

In a report to the City Council this summer, Economic Development Director Cliff Long said the city wanted to keep the FAA in town and was “working to do so.”

“It’s a very competitive process,” he said.