SECO Development broke ground recently on its spec 730k SF Southport Office Campus, featuring three nine-story towers in Renton (this time last year, it started work on the nearby hotel). SECO Development director of leasing and marketing Kip Spencer tells us that based on early interest, it’s clear that high-tech businesses value the lifestyle and economic benefits of the development, as a compelling alternative to Seattle, Bellevue and Kirkland. Among other features designed to draw in tech companies, the property features a fiber Gigabit Passive Optical Network and a redundant power grid.

Southport Office Campus' ace in the hole, however, will be the price, Kip says. The property will be able to offer rents that are 25% lower than downtown Seattle and Bellevue, some of the lowest tax rates in the region, and a significantly lower cost of living for employees, no small thing in the ever-more-expensive Seattle area. The development, which will also offer more than twice as much space as any other building or office complex in the area, will be completed in 2018.