King County, located in Washington state, recently acquired the Red Lion Hotel in Renton for $36.2 million. The purchase was made as part of King County’s Health Through Housing program which aims to address homelessness by repurposing existing buildings.
The hotel, situated on 5.16 acres at 1 S. Grady Way, was sold by an entity affiliated with Dayabir Bath and Renton Hotel Investors LLC for approximately $161,607 per room. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal , King County had been leasing the six-story building since the start of the pandemic as an emergency shelter facility but it has been vacant since June 2022.
Despite paying a monthly lease fee of $330,000 for several months after it became vacant, King County ultimately decided to acquire the property instead of continuing with their lease agreement.
In addition to purchasing the hotel itself for $36 million dollars,the sale also included furniture and accessories worth approximately $200 thousand dollars.The transaction marks another step forward in King County’s efforts towards addressing homelessness through innovative solutions such as repurposing hotels like this one into housing facilities.Image credit: Renton Reporter
