“Pathfinder” statue of Clayton Scott standing in front of Renton’s Aerodyne complex where Mr. Scott had his last Renton office. Our airport’s official name is Renton Municipal Airport Clayton Scott Field.
For the third time in two years, a thriving decade’s-old aviation business is being pushed out of Renton Airport unfairly, with Renton airport officials giving fake or grossly misleading rationalizations. The latest falsehood is printed on a letter with the Mayor’s name in the letterhead. It appears to have been contrived by the Airport Manager and Public Works Director, and is easily disproved with a city document. It’s past time for Renton Council to investigate and stop this pattern, and require these city employees to stick to the truth. The continued dishonesty reflects negatively on city government, and leaves many residents wondering if there is a hidden agenda at the airport.
Renton’s Aerodyne hangar and office complex has hosted many thriving aviation business ventures and significant aircraft for 42 years. Clayton Scott, namesake for Renton’s airfield, had an office at Aerodyne. Aerodyne’s long success is linked to its many strong leaders and partners, including some powerhouses in aviation circles. The company and its leaders have promoted aviation in Renton, advanced aerospace research and design, supported aviation education, modeled high standards for aircraft service and maintenance, and demonstrated overall commitment to advancing safety and efficiency in air travel.
On a tour of Aerodyne’s hangar in 2019
But Renton Airport Management now wants Aerodyne’s facilities vacated by next month, to then sit abandoned and producing no aviation activity and revenue, probably for years. This is the path that the former Rainier Flight Services Headquarters, the Landing Gear Works Manufacturing Building, and the Landing Gear Works installation hangars have been on for up to two years and counting.
Aerodyne’s hangar (Photo courtesy of Gary Palmer)
THE PHONEY REASON FOR ENDING AERODYNE’S 42-YEAR LEASE:
Renton Airport Management sent a letter to Aerodyne stating that Aerodyne must leave specifically “to meet runway safety area requirements as they relate to the goals of the Airport Layout Plan.” But this is not true.
In my previous post, I described how “The Reserve at Renton” has been accused of being too quick to tow resident’s and customers vehicles away. This includes vehicles that are legally displaying the state disabled parking permit but do not also have a special “Reserve at Renton” issued parking permit. Disabled residents have reported paying between $500 – $900 to retrieve their towed vehicles.
A quick review of the State’s website says any person who meets the criteria for disabled parking must be allowed to use the parking free of charge, without time restrictions (except in the case of certain on-street parking). Hence, it’s not surprising that disabled motorists are taken by surprise when their cars are towed away by the “Reserve at Renton.” I’m not an attorney, so I’m not going to opine on the legality of this, but I think it is very confusing, and I think residents cars should not have been towed without warning if they had a valid ADA permit. Here is the wording in state law, which can be found here. (The exceptions mentioned are for on-street parking or fraudulent use of credentials, and don’t apply in this case).
RCW 46.61.582 Free parking for persons with disabilities—Exceptions. (1) Any person who meets the criteria for special parking privileges under RCW 46.19.010 must be allowed free of charge to park a vehicle being used to transport the holder of such special parking privileges for unlimited periods of time in parking zones or areas, including zones or areas with parking meters that are otherwise restricted as to the length of time parking is permitted, except zones in which parking is limited pursuant to RCW 46.19.050(5). The person must obtain and display a parking placard or special license plate under RCW 46.19.010 and 46.19.030 to be eligible for the privileges under this section. (2) This section does not apply to those zones or areas in which the stopping, parking, or standing of all vehicles is prohibited or that are reserved for special types of vehicles.
Screenshot from State Law
Cars transporting disabled residents and customers, in front of a storefront in the Reserve at Renton apartment building. Parking spots are marked per state law, but with an additional “Parking by Permit Only” towing sign on the bricks.“Parking by Permit Only” sign does not make it clear their permit is additional to State Disabled Permit; and I’m not sure if this is legal anyways for ADA parking required by the building permit
Double-permits hang in this car window as resident works to comply with apartment policy
Renton is increasing the price of small airplane tie-down spaces (front) by 74% this year. Rent for the T-hangars (back) is increasing by 42%. New rates are effective June 1st.
A statue of Clayton Scott, one of the Northwest’s great aviators who used to fly out of Renton, greets visitors to Renton’s Clayton Scott Field. Clayton Scott was inspired to fly in his youth after seeing the first barnstormers, and Renton’s Clayton Scott Field honors his love of aviation and spirit of discovery. Young people today are finding it increasingly expensive and difficult to follow in his footsteps.
In previous posts I’ve expressed concern that Renton Airport is pushing out propeller aircraft and ushering in more private jets in their place. In so doing, Renton Airport Management is making the airport less accessible for Renton residents, and losing sight of our community’s aviation goals as codified in our Renton Airport Sustainability Management Plan. It may not be long before Renton airport becomes an asset for Seattle and Eastside tech billionaires, while residents of Renton won’t be able to afford to use it. And every time Renton replaces a group of prop airplanes with another business jet we inch closer to having to extend the airport into the $500 million high school that is currently in planning.
This year’s rent increases of 74% for small airplane tie-down spaces and 42% for small T-hangars increases this concern. Renton’s tie-down rates will leapfrog those at Boeing Field; the new tie down rates for small airplanes will be a 33% more expensive at Renton Airport than at Boeing Field, even though Boeing Field offers two runways, a longer runway, and more services.
Airport Management has stated that these rent increases are needed to sustain the airport, but that is arguably because they have been driving out popular small airplane businesses like “the Landing Gear Works” and “Rainier Flight Services,” that were renting numerous facilities that are now vacant.
Some might say that anyone who is rich enough to afford an airplane can afford these rates, but that is not a clear picture of who is being impacted. Some of these airplanes are owned by Renton working people (or frequently several of them banding together) who maintain an airplane in order to advance their flight careers, commute to someplace remote, or fulfill important life goals; the large rent increase will impact them. As small airplane owners give up on Renton’s rates, private jet operators will rapidly move in to take over their real estate, and these jets will not be owned by Renton residents.
If we stay on this course, Renton will soon have the costs and negative impacts of running an airport, without the opportunity for Renton’s residents to use it ourselves.
Renton City Council has ultimate responsibility for airport leases, and anyone who wants to express concern about these increases should contact the council. Please see my post here regarding how to reach them.
Starting June 1st, small airplane tie-downs will cost $185.60 per month, and T-hangers will cost $580 per month (excerpt from Renton’s 2025-2026 Fee Schedule)In 2023-2024, small airplane tie-downs were $106.43 per month, and T-hangers were $409.43 per month (excerpt from Renton’s 2023-2024 Fee Schedule)Boeing Field tie-down rates of $124 per month are only 67% of what Renton will soon be chargingChart from Airport Director’s Report at May 13 RAAC meeting
I was recently copied on an email that Landing Gear Works President Tom Anderson wrote to the Renton City Attorney’s office.
In the email Mr. Anderson explains he just received a formal 3-day notice to pay or vacate on leases that cover two of his small airplane hangers. (He has also received a separate notice for another lease that covers his two other buildings, and one of those buildings is the subject of the ongoing roof-repair dispute).
Since his small hanger leases are not in dispute, he went to the Airport Management office and made payment in full for these leases, per the three-day notice. He said he had been trying to pay on these particular hangers since November of 2023, but the city kept lumping his payments together with his other leased building, and this 3-day notice finally separated the payments on the distinct leases. His payments were marked “received” by Airport Office personnel.
But following receipt, the Airport Manager was contacted by his staff via phone, and he directed his staff to return the payments to Mr. Anderson. This prompted the email to the Renton City Attorney.
This morning Mr. Anderson met the Airport manager at the Renton Municipal Airport office, shown here. The Airport manager keeps the office locked, and insists on appointments to meet with tenants. Tom had an appointment this morning.
Update 4/16/2024: A few hours after I posted this blog entry, Mr. Anderson was notified his employees’ credentials would be reinstated. Their passes worked this morning.
I received a phone call from Tom Anderson, President of Landing Gear Works, explaining that his employees have been locked out of accessing his east and west hangars. Their electronic credentials will no longer give them access.
Mr. Anderson has been working all day to get the credentials restored. According to Mr. Anderson, the Airport manager gave Mr. Anderson the brush-off this morning, saying the manager needed to talk to the city attorney and would get back to him in a couple of hours. Then he dodged Mr. Anderson’s calls until mid-afternoon. At that point he said the credentials would not be forthcoming.
Yesterday the Renton Mayor released an Airport statement explaining that council felt compelled to evict The Landing Gear Works (TLGW). He put sole blame on TLGW for falling behind in rent without mentioning the serious billing errors by his administration that plunged TLGW into rent arrears. I’m describing these errors here for the first time. (The Mayor also didn’t mention the failure of the airport manager to extend a long enough lease to make building repairs, per airport lease policy, and I’ve covered that here.)
In November 2022 the Renton Airport Business Manager realized he had a serious problem. He had been underbilling The Landing Gear Works (TLGW) for months for their hangars, workshops and offices on Renton airport. The lease rate had increased and the new amount was NOT reflected in the bills. The accounting error added up to five months of lease payments. The Airport’s error would be bad news for TLGW and would negatively impact their business, especially on the heels of the pandemic. It would have been courteous to call or visit TLGW to break the news, apologize for the mistake, and work out a plan. But instead, the Airport Manager just directed his accountant to send a bill for the corrected amounts.
His efforts to downplay the error resulted in predictable confusion in the offices of Landing Gear Works and Renton City Accounting.
When the bill for the error showed up in the accountant’s office at Landing Gear Works, she wrote back to the City “Is there a way to fix this statement to reflect the actual balance of $14709.22? In the meantime I will get another payment asap.” When she received a response from the city, she immediately forwarded it to President Tom Anderson with this email message: “I asked for a current statement from the City of Renton for the rent. This is what she sent.”
Tom Anderson’s shock is apparent in his email reply: ” This says we owe 50K !!!!!!!!! ”
The Airport Manager and his boss, the Public Works Administrator, obviously knew it looked bad. Whenever they told this story, they referred to it, unfairly, as the Landing Gear Works falling behind on rent, never mentioning the city’s own accounting mistakes that contributed to it. To this day I have not seen them publicly explain it to City Council or the Renton Community.
As Mr. Anderson was working to catch up from the city’s billing error, his roof began to leak. That is where I picked up the story in my first post on The Landing Gear Works.
Here is the statement from the city that started it all. The text in the first image reads as follows:
———- Forwarded message ———
From: <City of Renton Accounting>
Date: Thu, Nov 17, 2022 at 12:16 PM
Subject: RE: Airport Invoice
To: Accounting TLGW <accounting@thelandinggearworks.com>
Hello,
Please see attached statement. The statement was inadvertently generated from 2019-current. I’ve highlighted the outstanding balances on the statement, and below is a screenshot of your open items for ease of reading. It was brought to my attention under addendum 6 to LAG-13-005 there was a rent increase that was to take affect in March 2022. I have issued an invoice for the difference from March-December (attached), and your billing amount will reflect this increase on your monthly invoices moving forward. Invoices issued for September-November are due in full ASAP, but we can work out a payment plan for the back billing invoice. Please feel free to email or call with any questions or concerns. Thanks!
Mr. Anderson met with the Airport staff and they agreed on a plan. TLGW would pay the previously unbilled amounts over time. But the airport’s normal bills do not contain a lot of information, and the catch-up accounting proved confusing and time-consuming. The City made more errors along the way. Accountants at Landing Gear Works and the City struggled to coordinate how to apply payments to current rent vs back rent. The Airport Leadership, not TLGW, had created the billing confusion and abundance of overdue rent.
Typical bill received by Landing Gear Works. The Company paid these bills throughout 2022, only to be told they had fallen behind. This bill from February 2024 does not give any clue as to past due amounts.
The remainder of this article is a tiny sample of the actual back and forth emails between their offices. I’ve removed the names and email addresses of personnel.
In last night’s meeting, The Landing Gear Works president Tom Anderson said he welcomed the forthcoming discussion with the Transportation Committee, as recommended in the agenda bill 3532 attached to the consent agenda. Today Mr. Anderson learned that Council had approved the eviction without making the recommended referral.
The council voted unanimously last night, but due to an error in the printed agenda, the vote left observers uncertain whether Council had voted to evict Landing Gear Works or send the matter to Council Transportation Committee.
The confusion arose because the consent agenda action said “Council Concur” paired with the attorney request regarding Landing Gear Works, but the formal Agenda Bill 3532 that was attached to the item (and recycled from two-weeks ago) explicitly recommended Council refer the item to Transportation Committee.
I emailed the City Clerk to clarify whether Council had concurred with the Agenda Bill or the attorney’s recommendation, and was informed that it was the attorney’s recommendation. In other words, the Renton Council has voted to evict Landing Gear Works. Unlike the approach in past decades, the Council never discussed the issues with the tenant.
Since the Council acted unanimously without any public discussion, it is a reasonable assumption that the Executive Session last Monday concerned this topic. If so, it means that “public knowledge regarding the discussion is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the agency,” which is a requirement for holding such an executive session regarding an enforcement action per RCW 42.30.110 1(i) .
It’s never a good look for the city to admit they would probably lose if they were forced to discuss an issue in public. Such a move should only be taken in extraordinary situations, not to get out of discussions with a tenant about how to deal with a leaky roof. I think the Council should study all sides of how they arrived in this circumstance, and make any necessary changes, so that they aren’t afraid to discuss their lease-related decisions in public next time.
Mr. Anderson spoke last night about his repeated requests to lease a different space, and said the requests had been lost by the city. If the eviction goes through, eight living-wage jobs, a world-renowned high-tech Renton-made product, and tax revenues will also be lost by our city.
City Council item 6(c) references agenda bill 3532, and recommends council concurrence
Agenda Bill 3532 recommends the item be referred by council to Transportation Committee for discussion. But this is not what will happen.
Full background on The Landing Gear Works conflict with Renton Airport Management can be found here
The Gweduck (pronounced “gooey duck” ) is a Renton-built, Renton-designed amphibious, highly-advanced composite plane that burns a fraction of the fuel and is much quieter than earlier generations of similar planes. Building such a plane in Renton fit perfectly in our FAA-sponsored Sustainability Management plan. But a few years ago Renton Airport Management rejected a proposal to manufacture the plane here, and today Airport Management is evicting the Gweduck/Landing Gear Works engineering offices. The space appears to be targeted to even more private jets, dramatically out of step with our Airport Sustainability Management plan. Council is enabling it.
Twelve years ago Renton proudly stepped up to being one of the first airports in the country to create an FAA-sponsored Sustainability Management Plan. We were eager to demonstrate leadership in environmental sustainability, livability, and aviation innovation, and we requested and received a $150,000 FAA grant to create the sustainability plan– one of the first ten cities in the country to do so.
Creating the plan took hard work and coordination with many stakeholders. It’s a detailed and thoughtful 41-page plan, that shows Renton’s early and enduring commitment to protecting our climate, our natural environment, and our community’s livability– the issues our leaders claim they embrace right now.
Graphic from Airport Sustainability Management Plan
The problem is, I’m left wondering if our current leaders even know the Airport Sustainability Plan exists. They should know, since long-standing airport tenants, residents, and RAAC members keep bringing it up. And Airport Management should be showing how their decisions fit within it. Committing to this plan was a promise to both the community and the FAA.
Our Airport Management Team is currently bringing private jets to Renton and ejecting companies that improve efficiency of small planes. They seem eager to demolish the historic tower building, possibly to clear enough space for large private jets on the south-east corner of the airport, after leasing to a jet center on the west side a couple months ago. Private jets create ten times as much carbon as airline seats and other forms of travel, pay 2% of FAA expenses while generating 16 % of the flights, and are noisier than propeller driven aircraft.
Our City Council has not publicly questioned this unexpected heading. The Council appears to be boarding a rudderless plane, piloted by a crew that doesn’t know the approved flight plan.
The Renton Airport Advisory Committee (RAAC), our FAA-supported Community Roundtable, is supposed to be meeting at least quarterly, and far more often when there are issues like these. But Airport Management is responsible for scheduling RAAC meetings, and they have held just a handful of RAAC meetings within the last few years; and these meetings have been hindered by zoom technical issues. By ignoring our sustainability plan and not regularly scheduling and supporting RAAC meetings, our leaders have rejected our best tools for ensuring we have a sustainable airport, and a livable environment, into the future.
I’m asking city leaders to study this plan, discuss it, and recommit to it. This will include reinstating regular RAAC meetings, as called for in the plan.
The Airport Sustainability Plan is available here in the most recent form I could obtain by publication of this article. The Plan is mentioned on the Renton City Website, but I could not find a link to the plan on the city’s website at the time of this writing. So I’ve uploaded the final version as approved by RAAC in 2012, and it is available here. If/when I acquire a different later version, I’ll add it to this blog entry.
Introductory page from Sustainability Management Plan
Goal summary from Airport Sustainability Management Plan
Sofia Farret carefully prepares landing gear kits for shipping to customers. She also performs other critical aviation roles at Landing Gear Works. Ms. Farret has spoken to Renton City Council twice, including this past Monday night, asking for help in settling the lease issue.
Renton Airport management and The Landing Gear Works are engaged in a landlord-tenant dispute that’s made its way up to the Renton Council, dominating Monday’s audience comment period. Eight aerospace workers could lose their jobs, and they were asking for Council help. Council Members seemed to want to help, but have been reluctant to engage directly with Landing Gear Works.
Renton airport management is frustrated with Landing Gear Work’s claim that the company repaired their roof in lieu of rent payments. Airport management asserts the roof was Landing Gear Works’ responsibility under the lease.
Landing Gear Works company founder Tom Anderson asked Council for help in settling the lease disagreement at Monday’s council meeting. He said his offer included his providing “good faith funds.”
The president of Landing Gear Works, Tom Anderson, said the city only made the roof his responsibility a few years ago through unfair pressure, and he doesn’t understand how the city would expect him to install a new roof and make other long-term upgrades to a building when he can only get a one or two year lease. He says he’s been trying to settle these issues for months, including making payments if they won’t accept his repair receipts, but the airport office has been uncommunicative. He points out the Renton airport is on their third airport director in three years, and recently had no director for several months after the previous director attempted to manage our airport from his home in Utah.
My opinion is that Council Transportation Committee should meet face-to-face with Landing Gear Works and see if an agreement can be worked out before going down the expensive path of litigation. Under RCW 35A.11.020, Renton City Council has ultimate leasing responsibility for Renton Airport, and past councils have engaged in these discussions with tenants when necessary. I recommend Council not go down the eviction path until they’ve personally tried to work this out.
Recent councils have not experienced many landlord-tenant disputes at Renton airport, thanks primarily to the long, productive tenure of a former Renton airport manager who worked closely with all airport tenants, and ensured there were regular monthly meetings of an empowered Renton Airport Advisory Committee (RAAC). The RAAC combined the perspectives of airport users and representatives from Renton’s neighborhoods to build a thriving, compatible airport community, and they addressed tenant issues like roof maintenance productively and early. In my early days on council, Prior to formation of the RAAC, up to 25 percent of my council time was spent handling airport landlord-tenant disputes. Recently, frequent changes in airport management and infrequent RAAC meetings are bringing back landlord-tenant tensions at the airport.
Sergio Nunez, a ten-year employee of Landing Gear Works, asks the Council to help save his company.
Background on Landing Gear Works:
For 11 years Mr. Anderson and his company “The Landing Gear Works” have designed and built specialized light plane landing gear at Renton Airport. Mr. Anderson pointed out at the Monday meeting that he has deep roots in Renton; his Dad ran a Machine shop in Renton dating back to 1947.
The Landing Gear Works’ most popular product is a titanium landing gear system for Cessna 180 and 185 aircraft. These specialized landing gear are lighter weight and less susceptible to corrosion than alternatives, and are sought after world-wide by Cessna owners seeking improved performance and durability. They are not available from anyone else.
On a typical day, the Landing Gear Works will have two or three customer aircraft on-site receiving new gear, and will ship out additional landing gear sets to repair stations around the globe.
The products are made entirely in Renton, with major components fabricated in their airport workshop and other components coming from machine shops throughout Renton.
The shiny Cessna 180 titanium landing gear strut in front, available only from Landing Gear Works, weighs half as much as the approved steel strut behind it, and it is less susceptible to corrosion. The titanium gear reduces an airplane’s weight by 23 pounds, extending it’s range, adding cargo capacity, and reducing its carbon footprint. These are made in Renton.
The Landing Gear Works must maintain key approvals from the FAA to sell these products. The FAA has issued Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) approving the design, and Parts Manufacturer Approvals (PMAs) authorizing the manufacturing. Both of these approvals have to be rigorously maintained by Landing Gear Works, by showing they maintain high quality manufacturing processes and that their engineering team is responsive to in-service incidents involving their products. They have an FAA “continuing airworthiness” responsibility to care for the design, manufacture, and use of these products, as long as they are in service on airplanes.
One continuing airworthiness obligation is maintaining an approved spare parts supply. Needed parts must be readily shipped to anyone with an airplane on ground. FAA enforces this requirement to keep the world’s aircraft flying safely, and eliminate any temptation to use unauthorized parts in repairs.
An eviction of an STC and PMA holder (such as Landing Gear Works) with a mere thirty days notice is incompatible with meeting these Federal regulations and expectations. Ninety days for a move should ordinarily be considered a bare minimum, and more time would be better.
The Landing Gear Works maintains FAA-approved spares, manufactured in Renton, that can be quickly exported around the world to meet their continuing airworthiness requirements.
The Historic Building:
Landing Gear Works’ engineering and manufacturing takes place in a historic building at Renton airport. The “Old Tower Building” was built in 1943, and provided air traffic control when Renton was building up to one hundred and sixty B-29 superfortresses per month during WWII. Later, the building served as the Engineering Liaison office for Boeing’s flight line.
The Landing Gear Works occupies the old Renton Control Tower building, built in 1943.The view from Renton’s historic old control tower, looking over the Boeing flight line today. The black and white photo shows the view when Renton was producing 160 B-29 Superfortresses each month during WWII.The Landing Gear Works building still contains reminders of it’s long service for the Boeing Company. While at Boeing I personally spent long days and some overnights in this building as I worked with flightline “Liaison” engineers making adjustments to airplanes prior to first flight.
When Boeing gave up their lease on the building and turned it back to Renton, we searched for an appropriate aviation use that could occupy the building. The building does not have any hangar space and is designated in the FAA approved airport layout plan as “Aircraft Manufacturing.”
I remember when our long-serving airport manager enthusiastically announced he found the right company, with Renton roots and a high-end product. Landing Gear Works was to occupy most of the building, with the exception of the historic tower and some of the offices below the tower. At that time the city maintained the exterior of the building, including cutting the grass, picking up debris, and keeping the roof repaired. The airport manager also helped Landing Gear Works sublease three hangar spaces to install their equipment on aircraft.
Renton’s 2017 FAA-approved Airport Layout Plan available here, showed Building 36 (the old tower building) approved for for Aircraft Manufacturing (in green), which Landing Gear Works uses it for. Non-manufacturing use, general aviation, or non-aviation use would not be per plan.
The Landing Gear Works operated in smooth partnership with Renton for many years. The recent dispute took root when a later airport manager condemned the hangars used by Landing Gear Works and scheduled them for demolition, and insisted that Landing Gear Works must agree to rent the entire old tower building under a one-to-two year lease if they desired replacement hangar space.
Mr. Anderson says the city then stopped doing any repairs or upgrades to the building, asserting it had become solely a tenant responsibility. The roof began to leak in several locations, and a rusted AC unit broke from a wall in a storm and let water damage an office. The roof appears to be one or two decades past its design life, and is now subsisting only from frequent patching.
Normally, if the city expects a tenant to pay for long-term upgrades to a building, such as a new roof or HVAC system, the city will extend a lease for a long enough period that the cost of the upgrades can be amortized over many years. As a Council Member, I often helped negotiate these time frames, to ensure our tenants could amortize their improvements. That was apparently not done in this case. Landing Gear Works began to use a large percentage of their profits making short-term repairs to their building, not able to fund major upgrades without a long-term lease.
One of many manufacturing rooms. The large building comprises a compact factory, filled with carefully calibrated mills, presses, lathes and other machine tools that are used in manufacturing landing gear. Thirty days notice to move the FAA-approved operation is not respectful of the rigorous care and planning required for such a move.
The future for the historic Old Tower Building:
The Airport Layout Plan was updated in 2022. While the latest version is not yet on the City Website, I have included it below. The new layout plan shows that the historic old tower building along with several other buildings may eventually be demolished, and replaced with new hangars and offices. Ideally, new airport buildings would front the perimeter fence, so customers could visit a building without going onto the air side of the security fence. The layout plan shows such a configuration.
In the 2022 Airport Layout Plan, purple cross-hatched buildings including old tower building are designated for possible future removal, to be replaced by new hangar/workshop/office buildings shown in red along perimeter fence. Light blue area would get a revised taxiway.
Implementing this plan will require extensive coordination with leaseholders and other stakeholders to protect everyone’s interests. It will require a request for proposals, public review of options, planning, permitting, and FAA approval. Hopefully this plan will also include coordination with the Renton Historical Society and building architects, who should consider saving the historic tower cab and incorporating it into one of the new replacement hangars.
Finding an aviation tenant for a leaking office building that is planned for demolition will be difficult, and it’s possible the city could go months or years without income from this building. We can look a half mile east to the former Boeing Buildings on Park Avenue to see how poorly buildings can fare after a period without tenants. Unfortunately a recent airport break-in shows that the even the airport perimeter fence is not enough to stop intrusions on the airport.
I think Council and Landing Gear Works should sit down together and attempt to sort this out. If a settlement can be reached for Landing Gear Works to catch up on rent, with a possible allowance for continuing to nurse-along the aging roof, it would make sense to keep them in the building until demolition is near. If demolition will not happen for ten or more years, then a long-term lease that allows Landing Gear Works to install and amortize a new roof would make sense.
New titanium gear installed. (This photo is from The Landing Gear Works website)
