Renton, Washington

Renton is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated 11 mi southeast of downtown Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. While long an important salmon fishing area for Native Americans, Renton was first settled by people of European descent in the 1860s, and its early economy was based on coal mining, clay production, and timber export. Today, Renton is best known as the final assembly point for the Boeing 737 family of commercial airplanes, but it is also home to a growing number of well known manufacturing, technology, and service companies, including Boeing, GEICO, Paccar, Parallels, Inc., Providence Health & Services, and Wizards of the Coast. The population was 90,927 at the 2010 census. Renton currently contains the 8th largest population in the state, and the 4th largest in King County.

History
The town of Renton was founded as a farming site by Erasmus M. Smithers who discovered coal there and brought in Charles D. Shattuck as coal mine operator. Renton was incorporated as a city in 1901 (September 6) when coal mining and timber processing were the most important economic industries in the area. The town was prone to flooding from the Cedar and Black Rivers. In 1916 the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the surface of Lake Washington several feet which consequently eliminated drainage of Lake Washington through the Black River. The Cedar River was then diverted to drain into Lake Washington instead of the Black River. The culmination of these actions reduced the threat of annual flooding.



Paccar has traditionally been a large employer in the city as well with its Kenworth Truck plant located in Renton's industrial area on the south end of Lake Washington In 1907 the Seattle Car Mfg Company also known as the Car Company moved to a large manufacturing plant in Renton after demand for the company's railroad equipment exceeded the capacity of its Seattle plant. The Car Company was the only manufacturer of train cars on the west coast. Seattle Car expanded from building logging cars to many types of railway cars, in 1909 building passenger cars for China's Sun Ning Railway, and refrigerator cars in 1909. The Renton plant expanded to foundry capabilities in 1911, and Seattle Car and Foundry Co merged with the Twohy Brothers of Portland in 1917 and became the Pacific Car and Foundry Company or Paccar. During the great depression the Renton Paccar plant developed power winches for use in the logging industry. When World War II arrived the Renton manufacturing switched its production towards the war effort, and by the wars end in 1945 had built 1,500 Sherman Tanks. In the second half of the 20th century Paccar's train cars manufactured at the Renton facility were of such high quality that there was not enough repeat business, rail equipment in 1965 came to only 1/3 of the company's sales. The Paccar Renton plan manufactured structural steel until the 1970s recession, and in the early 1980s the Paccar Railcar Division; the last vestige of the original Pacific Car and Foundry Co closed down. In 1993 a new Kenworth assembly plant opens on the former site of Pacific Car and Foundry. The Kenworth truck manufacturing facility in Renton is named as a leader in King County's Best Workplace for Recyclers.

The population sharply increased during World War II when Boeing built their Renton Factory to produce the B-29 Superfortress. The factory has continued to operate since then, and still produces 737 aircraft. It also produced the Jetfoil and Pegasus class hydrofoils in the 1970s. As of 2001, 40% of all commercial aircraft in the air were assembled in Renton. Boeing remains the largest employer in Renton, which is home to over 10,000 employees and three of the aerospace giant's six major business divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Capital Corporation and the Shared Services Group. The local newspaper in the 1970s, the Renton Chronicle, proclaimed the city the jet capital of the world.

Game company Wizards of the Coast also is headquartered in Renton. Providence Health System has centralized is administrative offices in Renton.

Owing to its location at the confluence of three major freeways (I-5, I-405, and SR 167), Renton's economic development team has lured a number of specialty retailers that draw consumers from around the region, including Fry's Electronics and IKEA. Some retail establishments were unwanted though, and the city successfully defended zoning restrictions on pornographic theaters before the U.S. Supreme court in Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc.

Renton has a unique and well-loved institution in its library, built directly over the Cedar River. Designed by Johnston-Campanella & Co. in 1964, the Cedar River Library stretches 80 ft across the river, next to Liberty Park. The walkway in front of the library's entrance forms a deck from which salmon can be viewed as they make their way up the river, particularly during spawning season. Most recently, the iconic building has been the center of much controversy, with the City of Renton and the King County Library System developing plans to build a new library closer to the downtown core. Residents wishing to retain the library in its river setting sponsored a petition, and were ultimately successful in convincing City leaders to put the issue to a vote of the people. On August 7, 2012, Renton voters decided the fate of the library with Proposition 1, and found 76% of the voting population supporting the Cedar River location. Discussions continue between citizen activist groups, city leaders and KCLS over how the library plans will move forward in light of this change, and what affect it will have on the Highlands Library project.

New developments
Formerly synonymous with the large industrial companies such as Boeing, and Kenworth, a pattern of future development was established with the attraction of the first IKEA in the Pacific Northwest to Renton in 1994. February 2007 saw the expansion of the Federal Aviation Administration's Northwest Mountain Regional Office across the street from its current headquarters. A new branch of the Federal Reserve Bank now calls Renton home, beginning operations in the spring of 2008 on the site of the former Longacres horse-racing track.

To date, myriad development of major retail, residential, and revitalization projects are amidst planning, in construction, or have been successfully executed. Among which include Port Quendall, a land parcel in north Renton, that has become the new home to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC), housing the Seattle Seahawks Headquarters and training facility that opened in August 2008; before then, the Seahawks trained in Kirkland, Washington. The team's new state-of-the-art Renton facility, at an expansive 200000 sqft, is the second-largest facility in the NFL.

In the mid-1990s, Renton undertook a major redevelopment effort to revitalize its downtown core, which had declined in commercial prominence since the opening of the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila in 1968. The many car dealerships that had previously occupied the center of downtown Renton were encouraged through economic incentives to relocate to a newly created auto sales zone close to the I-405/SR-167 interchange. In place of the old dealerships downtown, a new transit center and parking garage were built in partnership with King County Metro. Simultaneously, a number of privately developed mixed-use residential and retail buildings were also built within a one block radius of the transit center, allowing for one-bus commutes to Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, and other employment centers. A new town square, The Piazza, was constructed next to the transit center, and an existing car dealership building was heavily remodeled into an events center, now known as the Pavilion Building. The Piazza is home to a weekly Farmers' Market during the summer months, as well as other community events throughout the year, while the city-owned Pavilion Building can be rented for parties, fundraisers, and other events, with onsite catering provided by a private caterer. Centered on former Boeing Co. property near the south shore of Lake Washington is a 68 acre development named The Landing. Designed as an "Urban Village," The Landing offers over a half-million square-feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space, along with a multi-level parking garage. Two high-end apartment communities at The Landing, The Sanctuary and The Reserve, contain a combined 880 residences, targeting a young professional demographic. The first commercial tenants of The Landing arrived in October 2007, and as of March 2012, 80% of the retail space was occupied. The nearby Southport development, located directly on the shoreline of Lake Washington, was once the site of the Shuffleton power plant until it was demolished in 2001. Southport is now home to The Bristol luxury apartments, but further development in the form of mid-rise commercial office towers is anticipated.

Geography
Renton is located at 47.48662°N, -122.19516°W (47.486622, -122.195163), on the southeast shore of Lake Washington.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.54 sqmi, of which, 23.12 sqmi is land and 0.42 sqmi is water, most of which is the Cedar River. Potential Annexation Areas (PAAs) include the communities of Fairwood southeast of Renton, the East Renton Plateau on the eastern edge of Renton, and West Hill northwest of Renton. These communities are large unincorporated urban areas that are encouraged by the King County Annexation Initiative to incorporate as cities or annex into neighboring cities. As of 2012 these three PAAs are not part of the City of Renton, and not included in its demographics or statistics.

Renton is among a handful of cities in the Puget Sound Region with an independent street grid system. Roads names beginning with sectional divisions (N 32nd ST) generally follow a latitudinal direction, while roads names ending in a sectional direction (Duvall Ave NE) generally follow a longitudinal direction. Many of the avenues in the city are named in honor of other cities in Washington. The city also has its own housing authority. This helps the city to avoid higher regional taxes. As a result, Renton property owners enjoy the smallest average tax increases in King County.

Renton is bordered to the north by the city of Newcastle, Washington. Along the east side of Renton is the border of the Urban Growth Boundary established by King County, as such there is no incorporated city directly east of Renton. The geographical characteristics of Renton's eastern border are varied and include (from north to south) the south flank of Cougar Mountain descending southward merging with the community of May Valley. The terrain then elevates south of May Valley to the communities of the East Renton Plateau before descending to the north bank of the Cedar River. Renton is bordered to the south by the city of Kent, Washington. The western border consists of the city of Tukwila, Washington, and finally the unincorporated King County community West Hill and Lake Washington to the northwest.

Demographics


As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $45,820, and the median income for a family was $55,747. Males had a median income of $40,765 versus $31,543 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,346. About 7.0% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 90,927 people, 36,009 households, and 21,849 families residing in the city. The population density was 3932.8 PD/sqmi. There were 38,930 housing units at an average density of 1683.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 54.6% White, 10.6% African American, 0.7% Native American, 21.2% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 6.2% from other races, and 5.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.1% of the population.

There were 36,009 households of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.3% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.16.

The median age in the city was 35.2 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 33.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.4% were from 45 to 64; and 10.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

Economy
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Capital, Providence Health & Services, and Wizards of the Coast have their headquarters in Renton.

Top employers
According to Renton's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Education
Renton Technical College, opened in 1942 originally as a war production school, offers associate degrees and certificates of completion in professional-technical fields.

Students in public schooling from Kindergarten to twelfth grade primarily attend schools within the Renton School District. Additionally, the Issaquah School District as well as the Kent School District serve small portions of unincorporated Renton neighborhoods.

The Renton School District includes the following high schools (graded 9-12):
 * Hazen High School
 * Lindbergh High School
 * Renton High School

Middle Schools (grades 6-8):
 * Dimmitt Middle School
 * McKnight Middle School
 * Nelsen Middle School

Elementary Schools (K-5)
 * Benson Hill Elementary School
 * Bryn Mawr Elementary School
 * Campbell Hill Elementary School
 * Cascade Elementary School
 * Hazelwood Elementary School
 * Highlands Elementary School
 * Honeydew Elementary School
 * Kennydale Elementary School
 * Lakeridge Elementary School
 * Maplewood Heights Elementary School
 * Renton Park Elementary School
 * Sierra Heights Elementary School
 * Talbot Hill Elementary School
 * Tiffany Park Elementary School

The southern region of the Issaquah School District includes the following schools in unincorporated Renton neighborhoods:
 * Liberty High School
 * Maywood Middle School
 * Apollo Elementary School
 * Briarwood Elementary School

The northeastern region of the Kent School District includes the following schools in unincorporated Renton neighborhoods:
 * Meeker Middle School
 * Northwood Middle School
 * Carriage Crest Elementary School
 * Fairwood Elementary School
 * Glenridge Elementary School
 * Ridgewood Elementary School

Sister cities
Renton, Washington's Sister Cities are Nishiwaki, Hyogo (established 1969), and Cuautla, Jalisco (established 2001)."

Transportation
Renton is served by King County Metro and Sound Transit Express buses. Clayton Scott Field (KRNT), located just north of downtown Renton, houses several facilities that offer charter services and flight training.

Notable residents

 * Jimi Hendrix, legendary rock guitarist/singer, buried in the city's Greenwood cemetery since 1970.
 * Brandon Roy, former NBA basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers, resides in Renton.
 * Jamal Crawford, NBA player for the Los Angeles Clippers,Grew up in Seattle, has a home in Renton and resides there during the off-season.
 * Clint Eastwood, famous actor and director, was a lifeguard at Renton's Kennydale Beach in 1949, 1950, and 1953.
 * Avery Garrett Former Mayor of Renton 1969; Representative of 11th District 1977 - 1984; Senator 1984 to 1985
 * Marshawn Lynch, Running Back for the Seattle Seahawks