By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Renton's twin economic engines for a long time have been Boeing and Paccar, which now produces Kenworth trucks. Renton swells to almost twice its size each day as tens of thousands of workers pour into town on one-way streets, some as wide as four lanes.

Boeing alone employs about 10,000 in Renton who support the 737 and 757 assembly lines.

Heavy traffic has been a sore point with North Renton neighbors, who have alternately fought and worked with the city to preserve their community of neat bungalows and duplexes.

The city also is working with King County's transit agency, Metro, to lure more commuters out of their cars. Almost $2 million will be spent downtown creating a transit hub that already is under construction.

Renton's economy may soon hit full throttle as a new generation of entrepreneurs and high-tech fliers like Mercer Island billionaire Paul Allen promise to add some sizzle to a meat-and-potatoes city.

Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, wants to build a grand office complex on 60 acres of Lake Washington shoreline northeast of downtown. To get a sense of the project's size, think of Kirkland's Carillon Point and multiply by 3.5, planners say.

The Port Quendall campus would add 3 million square feet of high-quality office space, surpassing that of even downtown Bellevue. Allen's 600 employees would occupy one-third of the space. The rest would be built and leased.

The $500 million to $700 million project hinges on the cleanup of one of Renton's most polluted industrial sites and the state's willingness to help rebuild the Northeast 44th Avenue interchange on Interstate 405.

About 20 acres Allen wants to buy was sullied by a creosote and coal tar refinery. The coal tar came from the former factory at Gas Works Park on Lake Union in Seattle.

"If it goes forward it would be a beautiful waterfront development with access to more than a mile of Lake Washington shoreline that has never before been open to the public. That in itself is a big asset," says Robert Cugini, whose family controls roughly half the site.

"The addition of the so-called high-tech jobs rather than more manufacturing would bring a completely different complexion to Renton's image."

The southern end of the Cugini property is occupied by a lumber mill, which the family bought in 1945.

Norma Cugini, whose son, Robert, helps run the mills, says her great-grandfather came from Cornwall, England, and worked in Renton's coal mines. Her grandfather worked at Pacific Car and Foundry and helped build tanks during World War II.

Her husband's family immigrated from Italy in 1922. Her husband's grandfather borrowed money to come to the United States and worked two shifts in the coal mines until he saved enough money to buy a horse. He worked his way into the mill business, Norma Cugini says.

"When the family bought the mill there were 13 mills in the immediate Seattle area. This is the last one," she says.

The family is engaged in ongoing discussions with Allen's staff. A final deal has not been reached but both sides are optimistic, Robert Cugini says.

Susan Pierson, Allen's spokeswoman, says "everything looks really promising right now."

Continued:

• Blue-collar city retains its character and spirit
• The challenges facing an 'older city'
• Dinner train put city on track toward revival
• Breathing new life into downtown hasn't been easy