Boeing is poised to move approximately 1,400 jobs from its other Puget Sound-area sites to Kent. Kent Mayor Dana Ralph made the announcement in a recent report to the Kent City Council, and joined KTTH’s Jason Rantz Show to discuss it.

“The representatives from Boeing met with me about two weeks ago,” Mayor Ralph said. “They’ve got the space here in Kent and we’re expecting the first 800 sometime in the first quarter of next year.”

By the time they’re completely done, Boeing is estimating a transfer of between 1,400 and 1,600 employees, said the Kent Reporter. Mayor Ralph says that part of the decision to move jobs came after Boeing surveyed employees in nearby departments, and found that most of them live south of Bellevue and in the Seattle area, making Kent an attractive location as far as the commute goes.

Mayor Ralph is looking forward to this being one of the first steps in transforming Kent to a significant tech and business hub, with an active downtown life to cater to it.

“It gives us the opportunity to grow those service sectors that support those employees, so there are places for them to eat, and places for them to recreate in their time off,” she said. “We have been strategically planning a change in the Kent industrial valley for awhile now, and this I believe is that first tangible step in that process.”

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“The transformation is going to be significant. We’re moving away from that old warehouse that you’re used to seeing in the Kent valley, into things like tech jobs.”

The moves comes in the wake of a 2016 announcement in which Boeing announced plans to move nearly 1,000 positions from Kent to Tukwila between 2017 and 2020. How that earlier decision impacts the current one remains to be seen, but in any case Mayor Ralph says there will be a net gain of jobs.

Why Seattle area businesses are showing an increased interest in Kent

According to Mayor Ralph, Boeing is not the first Seattle area business to show interest in making the move to Kent. She’s seen an increase of interest from Seattle businesses, who have grown somewhat disillusioned with the business atmosphere here in Seattle, and has been proactive in reaching out to local businesses who may be seeking a new home.

“We’ve got a couple of examples of folks who have moved down to Kent in the last couple of years just for that reason, and our economic development team is busy courting businesses that are looking to make a change,” Mayor Ralph said.

What specifically is making Kent appealing to Seattle area businesses?

“Tax structure, infrastructure, we’re right in between the freeways,” she said. “It’s much easier to get in and out of Kent than it is to get in and out of Seattle. Most places have free parking, we’re right on the Green River Trail — the list is long.”