Renton
The city of Renton’s slogan is “Ahead of the Curve” which is play on words highlighting Renton’s location just off the curvy section of Interstate 405. The marketing campaign has been enormously successful for the city—which also highlighted how Renton is a city with a growing and diverse economic base, a favorable business climate, and plenty of cultural amenities to appeal to young homebuyers.
In the past, the city of Renton boomed as the Boeing Company boomed, and its fortunes waned as Boeing’s waned. When city leaders started looking beyond Boeing as their major employer is when the city finally started to take off. Boeing still remains a strong employer in Renton, but it is now joined by other world-class companies such as IKEA, Wizards of the Coast, and Zones Inc. Additionally, the city is currently developing a large retail marketplace on what was formerly Boeing property. Construction is also set to begin soon on a brand new state of the art training facility and team headquarters for the Seattle Seahawks.
Other cultural attractions include the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train, which attracts nearly 1 million people each year, the annual Renton River Days festival, an annual Harvest Festival, its holiday crafts bazaar and Clam Lights event, and an outstanding community theatre scene.