Renton, Washington, city officials recently voted to support efforts to turn the city into an epicenter for coronavirus vaccine production.

The city is home to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has pledged $250M for national vaccine research, and urged stakeholders and businesses to ramp up vaccine manufacturing for global distribution.

Renton is already a manufacturing hub and the home of Boeing’s 737 plant and truck manufacturer PACCAR. It boasts a 54,000-person, highly educated, well-trained workforce.

“At a time when we are seeing record unemployment, the establishment of this industry in Renton and King County could counter the trend and provide much needed new jobs,” King County Council member Reagan Dunn said.

The number of new unemployment claims in Washington state has skyrocketed to 636,000 since the week ending March 14.

Renton also has 800 acres of former industrial land ripe for tech office space development. Seco Development recently developed a 713K SF waterfront campus in Renton on Lake Washington.