Renton Senior Center Renovation Waits on Federal Buy America Waiver for HVAC Parts

The renovation of the Don Persson Renton Senior Activity Center in Renton, Washington, is stuck waiting on Washington, D.C. City staff told the Renton City Council's Committee of the Whole on Oct. 12 that the job can't finish until the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) signs off on a waiver for HVAC parts that aren't made in America, the Renton Reporter reported.

The expected completion date is now February 2027. The center closed on April 15, and the city first planned to reopen it in Sept. 2026.

What's being built

The city's project page says the federally funded work centers on repairing the roof and upgrading the HVAC system. The city added its own money for exterior work: fresh paint, new siding, window replacements and a seismic evaluation.

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Staff have also listed possible future upgrades, including interior paint, carpet and resilient flooring, ceiling and lighting improvements, restroom work and seismic upgrades, according to the Reporter. Those are ideas for later, not part of the current contract.

Why it's stuck

The federal Build America Buy America Act, enacted in 2021, requires iron, steel, manufactured products and construction materials on federally funded infrastructure jobs to be made in the United States. Some of the HVAC components for the senior center aren't available from a U.S. maker.

"Once you put any federal dollars on that, it taints the whole project. So there's no way around that," public works administrator Martin Pastucha told council members. The city can't swap in general fund money for just the delayed parts.

King County applied for the waiver on Renton's behalf. Pastucha said HUD told the city a review can take anywhere from four weeks to five months, and the worst case is an answer in February. The city has bought everything else it needs. Facilities director Jeff Minisci said the HVAC items are "on-the-shelf" parts, so once they're ordered, contractors only have to receive and install them.

Sources differ on the funding

The Reporter describes the money as American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The city's own project page calls it grant funding from HUD. Both agree that federal dollars trigger the Buy America rule. The city page puts the finish at late 2026 or early 2027; the Oct. 12 council update said February 2027.

Seniors in the meantime

Programs have moved to the Renton Community Center, and the bridge group meets at the Kennydale Lions Park building. Recreation manager Alex Lee said the full schedule continues, though program participation has dropped 15 percent from 2025 to 2026.

Sources

• Senior center reopening in limbo as city awaits federal waiver, Renton Reporter
• Don Persson Senior Activity Center Renovations, City of Renton