Mortenson, Kidder Mathews Advance 150,000–300,000-SF Kent Manufacturing & Innovation Campus in Washington's Kent Valley

Mortenson Development, Inc. and Kidder Mathews are advancing the Kent Manufacturing & Innovation Campus (KMIC), a proposed build-to-suit industrial development in Kent, Washington that could deliver between 150,000 and 300,000 square feet of specialized manufacturing, research and development, office, and industrial space to the Kent Valley market.

The project, situated on a 9.3-acre site at the corner of West Meeker Street and Naden Avenue, is being developed in partnership with the City of Kent and has received SEPA approval, completing its environmental review under Washington's State Environmental Policy Act. Kidder Mathews is handling leasing and marketing for the campus.

Site, Scale, and Infrastructure

The KMIC site sits within what the City of Kent has identified as the Naden Avenue Assemblage, bounded by SR-167 to the west, West Meeker Street to the north, Willis Street (SR-516) to the south, and the Interurban Trail to the east. The location places the campus at the core of Kent's established industrial corridor with direct access to regional highway infrastructure and the 14-mile Interurban Trail connecting Tukwila, Kent, Auburn, Algona, and Pacific.

A key infrastructure advantage for the project is its proximity to a recently upgraded Puget Sound Energy substation capable of supporting up to 20 megawatts of power.

"Power availability is no longer just a utility consideration; it's a competitive advantage," said Matt Murray, executive vice president at Kidder Mathews, who leads leasing efforts alongside executive vice president Chris Corr and senior vice president Dane Dahline. "In nearly every conversation we're having with advanced manufacturers, electrical capacity is a key topic as automation, robotics, and other advanced production technologies continue to drive demand."

The campus is also designed to support employee experience, with planned features including abundant natural light and panoramic views of Mount Rainier, elements the development team says are intended to help tenants attract and retain skilled workers in competitive labor markets.

Demand Gap in Next-Generation Manufacturing Space

Since launching marketing and leasing efforts in spring 2026, the development team has engaged prospective users, tenant representatives, site selectors, and industry stakeholders across the region and nationally. Those conversations have helped sharpen the project's strategic positioning while surfacing what the team describes as a mismatch between available industrial supply and the requirements of next-generation manufacturing and innovation users.

"Prospective occupiers in the market continue to share with us and highlight an apparent mismatch between next-generation manufacturing and innovation space requirements and available industrial supply in market," said Jon Hines of Mortenson Development. "It's clear these fast-growing sectors and company leaders are faced with the tough decision of occupying existing available space that may not ultimately align with their long-term requirements, goals and talent attraction objectives."

That framing aligns with broader Kent Valley market conditions. The Kent industrial submarket is the largest in the Puget Sound region at approximately 48.9 million square feet, and vacancy in Kent reached 10.2% in the second quarter of 2026 — above the Puget Sound regional average of 9.5%. Average asking rents in Kent were approximately $0.93 per square foot per month on a NNN basis, below the regional blended rate of $1.06 per square foot per month. Net absorption across the Puget Sound industrial market turned negative in recent quarters, with the region recording approximately negative 1.2 million square feet of net absorption as leasing velocity slowed.

The development team's argument is that elevated vacancy in generic big-box product does not reflect conditions for power-rich, build-to-suit manufacturing space, where they contend supply remains constrained for specialized occupiers.

Aerospace and Defense Tailwinds

The KMIC team is positioning the campus to capture demand from aerospace, defense, space, and emerging technology sectors, citing a confluence of macro factors driving activity in those industries. These include increased spending forecasts for the next U.S. defense bill, growing NATO defense expenditures, a renewed global space race, advancements in low-earth-orbit technology, and a backlog of civilian aircraft and drones.

The Kent Valley is home to more than 200 aerospace-related companies, providing a concentration of manufacturers, suppliers, and technology firms that the development team says gives emerging space and advanced manufacturing companies access to specialized talent, expertise, and supply-chain partners. Recent initiatives in the region include the launch of a Space Northwest space business accelerator through a partnership involving the Commercial Space Federation.

The City of Kent has worked alongside the development team throughout the entitlement process and is offering incentives to support the project's target sectors, including a Business & Occupation (B&O) tax exemption for qualifying federal research and development contract revenue.

"The City of Kent has made a long-term commitment to supporting advanced manufacturing, aerospace innovation, and family-wage job creation," said William Ellis, chief economic development officer at the City of Kent. "Through our partnership with Mortenson and Kidder Mathews, we're creating opportunities for companies to move more quickly, access critical infrastructure, reduce development uncertainty, and build upon the talent and industrial ecosystem that already exists here today."

Advisory Team Expansion and Economic Incentives

The development team recently added Baker Tilly to advise prospective project partners on state and local tax and incentive considerations. Baker Tilly is available to evaluate Washington state and local tax considerations, identify potentially available statutory and negotiated incentives, and assess how planned investment, employment, and business activities may affect eligibility. The firm can also evaluate whether a development or tenant project may be a candidate for financing tools such as New Markets Tax Credits.

"As we've seen more interest and momentum from a wide range of users from different sectors, Baker Tilly has been a great partner to advise our prospective partners as they've advanced their economic due diligence and site selection evaluation," said Kyle Helm, business development executive with Mortenson.

Mortenson Development is the real estate development arm of Mortenson, a top-10 U.S. developer, builder, and engineering services provider. Kidder Mathews is the largest fully independent commercial real estate firm in the Western U.S., with more than 900 professionals across 19 offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Leasing inquiries for the Kent Manufacturing & Innovation Campus can be directed to Matt Murray at Kidder Mathews. Additional project information is available at kmicampus.com.

Sources

Kidder Mathews — New Details Released for Kent Manufacturing & Innovation Campus (September 2, 2026)