By Jack Stubbs
The Boeing Company has long been associated with Seattle and the broader Puget Sound region—and the aerospace giant recently sold 15 parcels, comprising approximately thirty acres of light industrial land, in Kent for for $60 million, King County records show. The buyer of the property was B9 Pacific Gateway Industrial Owner LLC, an entity based in Chicago.
The recent transaction included fifteen parcels that comprise vacant industrial land and various light industrial buildings totaling approximately 290,000 square feet, according to public documents. Some of the buildings, located at 20403 68th Ave. S., include the Boeing Tennis Club (Boeing Building 18-47), which was constructed in 1976 and totals 67,000 square feet, and Boeing Building 18-43, a 180,000 square foot engineering/manufacturing building constructed in 1966.
It is not entirely clear what plans the buyer, B9 Pacific Gateway Industrial Owner LLC, has for the recently acquired parcels, which are directly adjacent to an industrial/warehousing hub called Pacific Gateway Business Park. According to the property description on Segale Properties’ web site, Pacific Gateway Business Park is the fourth largest industrial warehousing hub in the nation and the second largest on the West Coast.
“Segale Properties’ 120-acres within Pacific Gateway includes both industrial buildings for lease and pad ready develop-able sites zoned for industrial and commercial use. The site is centrally located near Seattle, Bellevue and the Port of Tacoma with direct access to major highways, including I-5, I-405, and SR-167, and is four-miles from Sea-Tac International Airport,” the company’s web site states. “Pacific Gateway has spectacular views of Mt. Rainier and the Green River; convenient access to jogging and bike trails, bus routes, shopping, and restaurants.”
In June 2003, the Segale family, a long-time property owner in the Seattle and South King County area, announced its purchase of 120 acres at Pacific Gateway Business Park, which is a development of surplus Boeing Land adjacent to the Kent Space Center, according to a press release. Segale’s Director of Development and Marketing, Susan Carlson, said at the time of the transaction: “With the Pacific Gateway addition, we have 15 million square feet of potential space under a single ownership. That’s a powerful opportunity to create an extraordinary place that not only meets the needs, but the aspirations, of the region for the future.”
Boeing took root in Washington state in 1916, and is currently the largest private employer in the state, according to the company’s web site, with nearly half of Boeing’s global workforce located in Washington.
As a city, Kent has long been regarded as a hub for manufacturing and industrial activity in the Puget Sound region. In mid-December 2019, the Jeff Bezos-owned aerospace company Blue Origin spent $17 million, or around $177 per square foot, to acquire a 96,000 square foot heavy industrial/warehouse building located at 21719 84th Ave. S.
