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Open sections in the chain link fence around the site give quick access to the dangerous buildings.
A month ago the North Renton Neighborhood turned out in force at a Renton council meeting, to beg for action in resolving the hazards and blight caused by the dystopian Park Avenue Buildings. These formerly beautiful office buildings were allowed to swiftly fall into ruin over the past 18 months.
When the damage begun in 2023, many of us encouraged the city to save the multi-million dollar building complex by repairing the property at owner expense through the enforcement and abatement process defined Renton’s Code Section 4-5-130 . To meet code, the buildings needed some windows replaced, water dried out, some lights left on, and ideally (with owner coordination) a caretaker or non-profit tenant to keep the buildings looking occupied…the precise steps any good homeowner would take before an extended trip away from home. The City could take the action to abate the building, and the expense could be billed to the owner and/or placed as a lien on the property. The money would also come back to the city through property taxes many times over (as opposed to losing all property tax associated with the building, which is ultimately what happened).
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