The FAA’s regional office can stay in Renton and not move an inch.

Or, if the Federal Aviation Administration wants new vistas, the Boeing Co. – the world’s premiere jet maker – has a couple properties to show it, including at The Landing and at its Longacres site.

The FAA has set off a scramble among five cities in South King County to come up with a new location for a much-expanded regional headquarters.

Renton has been home to the headquarters for 20 years. The FAA now has about 1,600 employees in Renton, making it the city’s fourth-largest employer. Bringing in 400 FAA employees from California and Alaska will increase the workforce to about 2,000.

Renton has 10 sites that their owners or developers have submitted to the federal General Services Administration for consideration. The City of Renton acts in a support role.

The GSA is handling the search for the FAA and is not releasing any information now about the locations. The GSA is looking for sites in Renton, Kent, Tukwila, Seatac and Des Moines.

However, the GSA is clear in its expectations. A site can’t be in a 100-year floodplain, it must have a day-care center in a separate building and it must be near shops and public transportation.

Boeing’s 16 acres is across North Eighth Street from The Landing, with its retail shops and eateries. Boeing’s 737 production facility is roughly next door.

Alex Pietsch, the administrator of the Renton Department of Community and Economic Development, isn’t going to rate any Renton sites. But he likes what he sees.

“All the sites in Renton can accommodate the FAA and have great attributes,” he said.

Renton’s economic development officials have talked with Boeing about its two sites, Pietsch said.

The floodplain requirement is important because the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reassessing the extent of the Green River’s floodplain through the river’s valley. A new map is expected to be released sometime this spring.

A more extensive designated floodplain could have far-reaching impacts on further development or redevelopment of the Green River Valley and could mean thousands of dollars in flood-insurance premiums for businesses and residences.

Only one of Renton’s 10 sites may fall into a federally designated floodplain, the Regal theaters on East Valley Road, Pietsch said.

In contrast to Renton’s 10 sites, Kent has offered only one, just off State Route 167 near the Green River. The City of Kent is already preparing its arguments that the site is not in a 100-year floodplain because the freeway acts as a dam to protect it.

Kurt Hanson, Kent’s economic development manager, said the city, which owns most of the site, plans to raise part of the property so it’s out of a floodplain.

The site where the current FAA headquarters is located also is on raised property, so it’s outside a floodplain, Pietsch said.

Proposals were submitted to the GSA by March 1. Ross Buffington, a GSA spokesman, expects to notify competitors this summer which ones are still in the running. A decision could be made by year’s end.

FAA wants to move into an expanded facility in September 2014. Congress has authorized the FAA to spend about $24 million a year to lease a 519,000 square-foot-building.

Renton’s

FAA sites

• The FAA Building: Current home of the nearly 200,000 square-foot FAA Northwest Mountain Regional Office at 1600 Lind Avenue Southwest. Expansion is possible there.

• Southport: 17.5 acres at 1087 Lake Washington Boulevard N. on Lake Washington.

• Lakeshore Landing: 16 acres (total 21 acres) of Boeing property at Park Avenue North and North Eighth Street.

• Sunset Bluffs: 36 acres on State Route 900/Southwest Sunset Boulevard on northwest corner of Renton’s valley office and industrial area.

• Hawk’s Landing: 7.2 acres at 4350 Lake Washington Boulevard N., near the Seahawks’ headquarters.

• Former Sound Ford property: 8.4 acres at 750 Rainier Ave. S.

• Stoneway: 14 acres on Maple Valley Highway (former Stoneway concrete plant).

• Triton Towers expansion: 21.6 acres on South Grady Way at Renton Village.

• Longacres Office Park: 12 acres of Boeing property at Southwest 27th Street, visible from I-405.

• Regal East Valley Theaters: 12.3 acres at 3751 E. Valley Road.