Sound Transit to begin demolition of buildings for new parking garage

A Sound Transit contractor has started to demolish buildings this week along Railroad Avenue North in Kent to make room for a second Kent Station parking garage for Sounder train commuters.

Puyallup-based Absher Construction began Monday, Aug. 19 to demolish buildings at 621 Railroad Ave. N., 506 Railroad Ave. N., and 502 Railroad Ave. N., according to an Aug. 19 Sound Transit news release. The new $62.5 million garage is scheduled to open in 2027.

When complete, a new garage at East James Street and Railroad Avenue North, and a new surface parking lot at Railroad Avenue and Smith Street, will add over 400 new parking stalls at the station to serve Sounder S Line passengers and users of Sound Transit Express and King County Metro services, according to an Aug. 15 Sound Transit news release.

Washington Cold Storage used to operate a warehouse at 621 Railroad Ave. N., the largest piece of property along the road at just more than one-half acre. Sound Transit, mainly funded by local taxes, purchased the property in 2021 for $3.1 million, according to King County property records. Washington Cold Storage bought the property in 1995 for $862,600. The 18,864-square-foot warehouse was built in 1954, according to property records.

Sound Transit paid $575,000 in 2022 for the two properties at 502 and 506 Railroad Ave. N., according to King County property records, which included a boarded-up home, built in 1968 and a mini-garage built in 1954. Both properties are about 0.14 acres and were owned by the same individual, who paid $200,000 for them in 1992.