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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPN_Project_Narrative_LMA_220527_v1 130 LAKESIDE • SUITE • 250 • SEATTLE • WA • 98122 • (206) 325-2553 • FAX (206) 328-0554 ARCHITECTURE • PLANNING • SPACE PLANNING • INTERIORS May 27, 2022 City of Renton Department of Community & Economic Development Planning Division 1055 South Grady Way Renton, WA 98057 RE: PRE21-000328 Blue Origin R&D Facility Project Narrative Below is the Project Narative for the Blue Origin Davinci Tenant Improvement and Fuel Cell Testing facility. The narative addresses item #3 of the Site Plan Review checklist. A. Project Name: Blue Origin R&D Facility Address: 1415 Maple Ave. SW, Renton, WA 98057. Site area: 81,893 s.f. B. Zoning: IM, Industrial, EA Employment Area. Adjacent Zones: IM to the east, west and south. I-405 to the north, then CA north of that. C. The site is currently leased to Blue Origin for use of mockup assembly, and use of existing office areas, consistent with zoning and previous light industrial uses. The site is fully developed with buidling, paved parking, walks, etc. D. Special features of the site include the neighboring freeway, I-405 to the north. A small stormwater swale is on the property, along the east property line. It fills from the north via a control structure, flows to the south, then enters a culvert at the south. The swale is approximately 85’ long. City of Renton, Planning Division Project Narrative, PRE21-000328 Blue Origin R&D Facility May 6, 2022 Page 2 of 2 Lance Mueller & Associates ARCHITECTURE • PLANNING • SPACE PLANNING • INTERIORS E. A geotechnical report has been prepared by GeoEngineers at the proposed testing container location, along with earlier testing mentioned in their report. 2,500 psf bearing capacity is estimated. Borings encountered deposits of loose sand with a layer of compressible silt. Ground water was observed at 5.5 feet below surface, and is expected to fluctuate seasonally. The site soils are susceptible to liquefaction from seismic activity. An understating of geological risk by Blue Origin is submitted. F. The proposal includes two scopes of work, a fuel cell test container on slab on grade, by BRPH, and their description is included with this. The modified container is a fuel cell testing lab, in the parking area, of 280 sf enclosed area on new concrete slab. A 20 foot high, pre-manufactured structural tower will support venting of hydrogen. This is the only new building area to be created on the project. The second scope of work, by LMA, is an interior tenant improvement in the existing building, with mezzanine addition, elevator, laboratory spaces, mockup assembly, and continued office uses. New HVAC units painted to match the surrounding roof surface will be added to the roof of the existing building. The property is currently secured by an existing fence and motorized gates at the two driveways. The fence at the north-east corner is incomplete. New chain-link fence will be installed to complete enclosure of the site. The existing gates will be replaced with new gates, operators, and controls. The existing waste and recycling areas are located at the northwest corner of the building, within a covered loading area. Waste and recycling are covered, fully screened on the west, south and east by the building. Views from Lind Ave, Maple Ave., and I-405 are further screened by existing perimeter fencing, topography, and mature planting in the required 10-foot landscape setbacks. A study is submitted for review. The existing building is 35,014 s.f., and the lot coverage with the container is 43%. The existing building height is 29’-0”. G. Blue Origin leases space at 1601 E. Valley Road and has a parking agreement at this location that will accommodate this project. For safe access between this project and the Valley Road property, we propose to extend the existing sidewalk on Maple Ave. SW south to SW 16th Street, upgrade the crosswalk with new accessible curb cuts, and a crosswalk across SW 16th Street with safety signals. This extension is in-lieu of street frontage improvements at this project. No improvements on Lind Ave. are proposed. H. The estimated cost of the container and slab is $300,000.00, the tenant improvement is $1.8 million for a total of $2.1 million. I. Excavation quantities for the test container is will be 10 to 12 cubic yards of asphalt and soil will be removed and replaced with a concrete slab for the fuel cell testing lab. City of Renton, Planning Division Project Narrative, PRE21-000328 Blue Origin R&D Facility May 6, 2022 Page 2 of 2 Lance Mueller & Associates ARCHITECTURE • PLANNING • SPACE PLANNING • INTERIORS J. The proposed testing container will be in the parking area, and the sidewalk extension will not cause any trees to be removed. The site is fully developed with mature landscaping, complying with current landscape setbacks. Because of these conditions, we have not included arborist and tree retention items, or landscape plans. A topographic survey is provided to show existing trees. K. Not applicable. L. Not Applicable M. Not applicable. Respectfully LANCE MUELLER & ASSOCIATES Kathleen Nagle, Architect KN:kn January 18, 2022 Project Title: Blue Origin Fuel Cell Test Lab Description of Work: This project involves the installation of a modified shipping container to act as a Fuel Cell Test Lab, in the parking area of Blue Origin’s facility located at 1415 Maple Avenue SW in Renton, Washington. The container is a modified 40’ ISO shipping container and is separated into two areas, a Fuel Cell Test Area and a Power Management Component Test Area. The areas are separated by 2-hour rated fire wall. The total floor area is approximately 280 sf and there are two means of egress in each area. To support the container, a concrete slab will be constructed. The Test Lab will have no interior gas storage, all compressed gases are exterior to the container, housed in K-Bottles. The compressed gases on this project are Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. There is a pre-manufactured structural tower onsite supporting the hydrogen venting. Perimeter bollards are to be provided along the west, south and east sides of the container/pad to provide protection from vehicular impact. The container and pad will be constructed over existing asphalt parking and will result in a net reduction of 1 parking space. The proposed construction is located out of conflict with existing property boundary setbacks as well as existing easements identified on the construction documents.