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An 18-inch gap under the security fence is large enough for adults and children to easily access the dangerous Garden Plaza buildings (often referred to as Park Avenue building). People are also using the retaining wall (on the far right) to step over the barbed wire here.
Every time I’ve driven past the derelict Garden Plaza buildings I’ve easily spotted one or more holes in the security fence. Everytime these failings are brought to the City’s attention, City leaders insist that permanent repairs by the building’s owner are imminently forthcoming, or an all-new fence is about to be installed that will be far more more impassible and secure than the previous one. But the result is always the same.
The latest barbed-wire-topped fence was the subject of a September Renton Reporter article, in which the Mayor addressed on-going neighborhood concerns about this building. The mayor assured the public the city had issued a firm deadline for construction of this new fence which was supposed to be “unscalable” (the article said “upscalable,” which I assume was a typo.)
I easily spotted the current fence openings from the road. A large gap at the bottom of the fence near a staircase provides enough room for even an adult to easily slide under; the bare spot in the fallen leaves shows the gap is in use. For those trespassers that don’t want to slide under, the concrete retaining wall enables intruders to take a large step over the barbed wire above the gap; the sagging barbed wire shows this is happening.
The public has been promised that this property would be secured. The unsecured property full of broken glass, open drops, and biohazards continues to be a deadly risk to curious children and people seeking shelter. It’s also a severe fire hazard for the neighborhood, and thrown objects from these buildings have put motorists at risk.
The owners of this property have had years to comply with city requirements. They are making a mockery of Renton’s code enforcement. Strong code enforcement could have saved these buildings when they first went into disrepair; now we need strong code enforcement to protect human safety.
The code requires all the doors and windows be secured on vacant buildings, with either their original materials or architectural panels that match the building design. It also requires that fire protection systems be maintained. The code includes no exceptions or special privileges just because the building might be torn down in the future. At some point every building will eventually be torn down– but it still has to meet code in the meantime. If the owners won’t do the work to meet codes, the city should do the work and bill the owners for it, putting a lien on the property if necessary–which is allowed under the law.
If you want to help you can email the Council and Mayor, and insist that code enforcement be taken seriously on these dangerous and blighted buildings: Send emails to: council@rentonwa.gov and mayor@rentonwa.gov.
For further background on this property and the relevant codes, click here.
This retaining wall provides an opportunity for intruders to step over the fence at the top of the stairs; the sagging wire shows it is happening.
These buildings are dangerous! No one should be entering this building site without authorization and appropriate protective equipment. Even standing next to the buildings could be deadly due to falling glass and debris.
Gee Randy, why are you surprised?
I know kids are still getting in to there as of a few days ago. Have the photographs of them downstairs where the basement floor is a burned out husk. They videoed a falling concrete chunk down the now empty ventilation shaft from the roof to the basement. The kids claim there’s less vagrants now.
Thanks for the update Anonymous. I shiver when I think of “the Omen” decapitation scene, and look at all the broken window panes ready to fall on people below. Obviously even a hard hat would not be enough to protect someone from this threat.
Year three am I right?
Yes, we’re about three years into the sad destruction of these buildings. It’s been 2 1/2 years since I reminded the Council and Mayor that they had the authority to save them, and if they waited it would soon be too late. And in January it will be a year since the Public Safety Chair used her social media to announce to everyone that she would imminently have the building secured.
Here is a sad reminder of how pretty the 10-16 building looked a little more than three years ago.
Do we know why Rebanco and Republic are allowed to store their garbage containers on the BNSF track along lake Washington boulevard? They’ve been there for a month and they stink. Thank goodness the weather isn’t too hot right now
So frustrating, isn’t it? Just what our premier Renton Park needs… a garbage train stored next to it. Our Mayor and Council need to push back on this. BNSF is storing these garbage cars here using the argument that they are allowed to store cars anywhere they have a dead-end track, as if Renton planned a freight yard next to Coulon Park. But this is only a dead-end track because BNSF sold-out the Eastside Rail Line for a cash-grab of taxpayer money given to them by the State Department of Transportation over Renton objections. The State DOT and BNSF killed our Dinner Train in the process. The garbage train just adds insult to injury.
Checking the federal presumption situation, as a city we have almost no way of moving these cars directly. We do however have the ability to specify that biologically dangerous situations need to be fixed. If that means the rail cars will be moved, then this is just a happy side effect.
Those stinky garbage containers have been there a lot longer than a month! It’s been all summer. Yes, the mayor and council should push back BNSF, do you think they’ve even contacted anyone in all these months? Our city electeds will cry they’re the victims and nothing can be done because of big bad BNSF. At least TRY, let the community know what is going to be done. Or is this our new normal in Renton? sigh… (What do you want to bet they are gone by the time the FIFA soccer fans arrive??? THAT is the priority of our mayor.)
I guess the best we can hope for is that the World Cup doesn’t get rerouted. That might be the catalyst that gets the city to clean up the blight (and the garbage train)! Maybe we can convince the mayor that the FIFA will be here in January!
Thank you again, Randy for keeping this in the public eye. I have written to Renton Responds, the Mayor, and City Council repeatedly. Renton Responds actually no longer responds to me. My last report of the front door being busted out was ignored. The Mayor told me that the city was not being aggressive with ION Renton LLC because they want to be “business friendly.” But what about the actual Renton-based businesses that surround the blighted ION Renton building? He has no answer for that. I spoke with one of the business owners today and she said that they see people in and out of the buildings in the early morning hours before the “pre-demo” teams come. I heard rumor the buildings are slated for demolition but if it were true I would think the city would be eager to get that information out. I’ve begged them to enforce city codes, and remind them of their 3200 sq ft ownership (enough to build a house on a city block) that is also subject to city code. I hope it doesn’t take some horrific accident to make the city do its job.
As for the garbage train, I asked the mayor about that some months ago at a “talk on the block.” He sort of threw up his hands. He seemed to shirk any kind of responsibility, and didn’t have any ideas of what might be done. I don’t think he cares to address it.
Hard to take you seriously when you went to bat for Carmen Rivera. You’re getting what you voted for.
??
From dinner train to garbage train in fifteen years.
HA!