In December 2019, SECO Development grew Southport from 17.1 acres to 30 acres with the acquisition of two parcels: a 7.74-acre parcel immediately adjacent to Southport, formerly owned by Puget Sound Energy, and a 5.1-acre parcel just south of The Landing and across from the planned Top Golf development, in Renton. (Editor’s note: According to public records, the sites were purchased for $23.5 million.)
SECO just completed the first phase of Southport, a 2.4 million square foot mixed-use development with Class A office, retail, luxury residential, and the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington. Michael Christ, SECO Development’s owner and CEO, originally targeted the area in the late 1990’s for its waterfront location, quintessential views, and significant transportation infrastructure. However, since that time, Christ has come to see Southport as Puget Sound’s next technology hub for cloud computing during the coming decade. “Southport’s new 12.84 acres are a blank slate for tech companies to scale intentionally and responsibly to meet the ever-expanding needs of their workforce,” says Christ.
As the housing and transportation epidemic plays out in tech-hubs across America, Southport represents an attractive solution. Southport is the only centrally located community in Puget Sound boasting 8 highways and freeways within 8 miles of the development and can easily scale to meet the anticipated tech employer growth rates year after year throughout the next decade. It has close proximity to airports, unique transportation modes not afforded by other campuses (water taxi, seaplanes, and helistop), and has adjacencies to workforce housing (including home ownership and varied housing options) as well as retail, and passive and active recreational opportunities.
This is what Christ had to say about his motivation to expand Southport: “Renton’s diversity is what has kept SECO prosperous, interested and stimulated after relocating from Bellevue two decades ago. The community is a kaleidoscope of cultures and perspectives representing the driving force of our region’s largest tech employers.”
