Once completed, the Des Moines Creek North industrial park could employ about 400 people, the port estimates.
National developer Trammell Crow has submitted the winning bid for building a 356,000-square-foot industrial park on Port of Seattle property south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Port of Seattle commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to lease the company 22.5 acres of undeveloped land north of South 208th Street and west of 24th Avenue South. The property is outside of Sea-Tac’s clear zone — the area around an airport’s runways that’s kept empty of all structures for safety.
Trammell Crow wants to construct two buildings suitable for light industry, plans show. Possible tenants include food processors, light manufacturers and logistics companies.
Once completed, the Des Moines Creek North industrial park could employ about 400 people, the port estimates.
Most Read Business Stories
“That’s a big dividend for the port,” said Dave McFadden, managing director of the port’s economic development division.
The project is part of the port’s ongoing effort to redevelop suitable properties outside of the airport’s clear zone. The agency bought numerous homes and businesses in the 1980s and 1990s to expand the clear zone and build a third runway.
Port officials have reached similar deals with developers for two other properties, one for the Des Moines Creek Business Park, also on South 208th Street, and the other in Burien’s Northeast Redevelopment Area.
In the latest deal, the port will sign a 55-year ground lease for Des Moines Creek North with TC Northwest Development, which is owned by Trammell Crow. The lease includes options for two 10-year extensions.
Rent for the port property increases to $831,974 a year when the business park is completed, with provisions for appraisal-based rent adjustments every 10 years. The lease payments could add up to $168 million over 75 years, according to a port memorandum.
Trammell Crow was one of four companies that submitted bids for developing the property. Bidders were evaluated on such things as how much they would pay on the ground lease, their development concept and their financing.