City approves master plan for Des Moines Creek Business Park

by Jack Mayne The Port of Seattle Commission is expected to approve the final contract for long-term ground leasing of the 89-acre Des Moines Creek Business Park site this month. The Des Moines City Council approved the Panattoni Development Company’s proposed Master Plan of the property on Feb. 20 (see our story here). “There is going to be hundreds of good paying jobs that will come out of this, and it will be good for the existing businesses and future businesses of Des Moines,” Mayor Dave Kaplan said. The Port owns the property, thereby the reason the Port Commissioners but approve the ground lease. Panattoni’s preliminary development budget for the project is estimated at $100 million to $125 million. The development will include up to two million square feet of flexible-use, manufacturing, office, distribution and industrial business park buildings able to accommodate tenants that desire immediate proximity to Sea-Tac Airport for their business. Panattoni’s vision is to create a “Class A” business park for large-scale users seeking proximity to the airport and seaport. The build-out of the project is expected to be in several phases over seven years, with ground breaking for the first phase in the spring of 2014. Last June, the Port announced that it had selected Panattoni, Inc., a privately held real estate development firm headquartered in Newport Beach, California. “We welcome prospective tenants to consider this terrific location midway between two seaports, adjacent to the airport, and with easy freeway access,” said Bart Brynestad, partner in charge of Panattoni’s Seattle office. “The City of Des Moines is truly business-friendly and has expedited the approval process for the project,” Des Moines officials assisted by completing and issuing the final environmental impact statement and issuing it in 2007, so developers were not required to conduct a separate environmental analysis. The city also consolidated ownership of the complete site to the Port by transferring city roadways and right of way property. In addition, the city also began an $18 million road project last year. The Port and the developer will pay approximately half of the cost. Des Moines also offered a 20 percent reduction in permit fees, an incentive that is available to developers city-wide for large-scale projects.]]>

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