As the economy throughout the state and the nation continues to restrict, the city of Kent is no exception. However, according to officials within the city, Kent still has many building projects in the pipeline and is still in decent shape, thanks to a diverse economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly Kent has seen the effects of the recession along with the rest of the Puget Sound,\u201d said Ben Wolters, Economic Development Director for the city.<\/p>\n
But despite the downturn and the seemingly daily announcement of new layoffs, Wolters said the diversity in Kent\u2019s manufacturing sector allows the city to better weather the storm than some other municipalities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the recession is hitting industries across the board … we\u2019re not beholden to one particular industry and that diversity in our business is helping us weather – at least for now – what the recession is bringing to the rest of the country,\u201d Wolters said.<\/p>\n
Kent has also experienced a few layoffs of late in its manufacturing and industrial sectors, including 85 workers at the Starbucks roasting facility late last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re definitely seeing those effects,\u201d he said of the layoffs.<\/p>\n
According to Community Development Director Fred Satterstrom, the planning department has seen a drop in permits and applications since this time last year, but he was leery of comparing anything to the previous three years, which he called \u201cthe biggest building years ever in the history of Kent.\u201d<\/p>\n
But development started to fall off in the second half of 2008 as the economy began to sink. That said, however, Satterstrom said the city has more than $50 million worth of building projects in various stages of the approval process and awaiting building permits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a healthy amount of development that\u2019s happening at the current time,\u201d he said, but added that it is not like it was a year ago.<\/p>\n
Aside from projects in various stages of planning, Satterstrom said several large projects were recently granted permits and should start to build soon.<\/p>\n
Among the projects slated for construction are a 100-unit Hampton Inn hotel, to be built on South 212th Street near 64th Avenue South.<\/p>\n
Satterstrom also said his department recently issued a permit for the renovation of the now-defunct Kent Skate Center by the Top Foods on East Hill on Southeast 260th Street.<\/p>\n
According to Satterstrom, the renovations are a \u201cmajor tenant improvement\u201d that will result in 23,000 square feet of new retail space.<\/p>\n
Satterstrom also said a $10 million multi-story mini-storage facility is slated for construction near 237th Street and Military Road on the city\u2019s west side, as well as a pair of 50,000-square-foot commercial industrial buildings in the Aldarra Corporate park at 212th and the West Valley Highway.<\/p>\n
Though no building permit has been issued for the Aldarra buildings, Satterstrom said he expects one to be issued in the near future.<\/p>\n
Satterstrom also said residential building permits continue to be issued, though they too are down slightly from last year. Satterstrom said 12 permits were issued in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t fallen off the edge of the Earth,\u201d he said of the number of housing projects. \u201cThey are still being built.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolters remained positive about Kent\u2019s economy, citing the opening of the new ShoWare Center as bringing additional business to the shops and restaurants downtown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re certainly appreciative of the new business,\u201d Wolters said.<\/p>\n
Wolters added the city is hoping for its share of the economic stimulus expected from the federal government, which would be used on infrastructure improvements that Wolters said would make the city \u201cmore attractive\u201d to businesses.<\/p>\n
He also said he is actively recruiting companies to the area and hopes to have a major manufacturing\/warehouse deal locked up in time for Mayor Suzette Cooke\u2019s State of the City address in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat that tells me is while business is down across the board, the economy is still churning,\u201d Wolters said. \u201cEventually this recession is going to turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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