2 Proposals Would Redevelop Old Renton Chamber Site

RENTON, WA — The City Council will on Monday review two proposals to redevelop the former Renton Chamber of Commerce building along Rainier Avenue North. The building has been used as a cold-weather shelter, food bank, and soup kitchen in recent years.

Under one proposal submitted by Newcastle-based Raven Real Estate Co., the building would be demolished. In its place, Raven would build a 58,000 square-foot multi-use building with room for offices connected to the airport, co-working space, and retail, like a coffee shop or brewery.

A second proposal would remodel the building to house a coffee shop and roastery owned by immigrant women called Yene Boona Café. It would be the second coffee shop in Renton to offer the Ethiopian coffee ritual after the new downtown Boona Boona Cafe.

The land and building is owned by the city and the airport. The Renton Chamber moved into the building in 1961, but left at the end of 2011 when a lease with the city expired. In 2016, the Renton Kiwanis Clothes Bank and Renton Ecumenical Association of Churches (REACH) began using the space for social service outreach.

City Council will only review the two redevelopment proposals on Monday, but no action is planned on picking one yet.