Star Rentals is building a new central facility in Kent, Wash., and is preparing to move from its downtown Seattle headquarters after 55 years, Star president Bob Kendall told RER. Kendall recently told Seattle’s Daily Journal of Commerce that the company requires more space and also wants to operate in an area with less traffic than densely congested downtown Seattle.
As if traffic isn’t bad enough currently, Kendall said, soon the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel will open, and a new basketball arena might be constructed in a neighborhood that already has professional football and Major League baseball stadiums.
The nearly 17,000-square-foot building under construction will have twice as much space for the 40 employees who work in the headquarters and adjoining rental branch. The 3.5-acre site is more than three times the size of the current headquarters, with significantly more space for equipment storage and maintenance, Kendall noted.
Kendall said Star management liked the Kent site because of its central location, with convenient access to Interstate 5 and state routes 167 and 405. He expects the company to move some time in February and be ready to open by the end of March. Star Rentals will own the building.
Kendall added that Star owns the property next door to its current downtown headquarters and might build an express branch there in the future.
Star Rentals has 18 branches in Washington and Oregon and is No. 55 on the RER 100.