Focus: Construction & Real Estate in the Tri-Cities

Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities A 2023 specialty publication of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Home construction leveling out after speed bumps

Rising interest rates don’t dampen cautious optimism

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A 2023 specialty publication of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

In this issue 4

Residential Market

22 Port of Pasco

42 City of Kennewick

8

Commercial Real Estate

28 Higher Education

46 City of Pasco

12 Port of Benton

34 K-12 Education

53 City of Richland

18 Port of Kennewick

40 Population Stats

58 City of West Richland

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ABOVE: Construction on the roundabout at the intersection of Highway 240 at the Hanford site and Highway 225 outside Benton City.

COVER: Housing construction in the Red Mountain area of West Richland.

Photos by Scott Butner Photography Focus: Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities is a publication of Mid-Columbia Media. All rights reserved. Contents of Focus: Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities are copyright by Mid-Columbia Media. Every effort will be made to assure information published is correct; however, we are not liableFocus for any errors | Construction or omissions made+despite Realthese Estate efforts.

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Residential Market Home construction leveling out after speed bumps

BY SARA SCHILLING

For Jason Wilkinson, one of the best parts of being a homebuilder comes at the end of the process.

“It’s when I hand keys to the buyers, knowing they’re going to make memories in something I built. That’s really satisfying to me,” said the co-owner of the TriCities-based Prodigy Homes Inc. Wilkinson started the high-end home company with his wife, Jasmine, in 2007. Prodigy has gained a reputation for craftsmanship and racked up accolades since its founding, including taking top 4

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

honors in the “Best Workmanship” category at the Parade of Homes for 10 years running.

Still, there have been ups and downs.

Higher mortgage rates Like other homebuilders in the Tri-Cities and across the country, Wilkinson said business this year has been a bit sluggish, largely because of higher interest rates. A 30-year mortgage averaged 7.19% in late September, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. “The summer was pretty bleak,” said Wilkinson, who also

serves as vice president of the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities. But he said buyers are adapting.

“I think it’s starting to level out,” he said, noting that buyers are getting used to higher rates and are learning about options and steps to mitigate. He also pointed out that home prices continue to go up, so buyers trying to wait out higher interest rates may not save in the long run by holding off.

Building permit statistics in the Tri-Cities show a drop in singlefamily home permits issued so

Multifamily housing construction along Burns Road, west of Broadmoor Boulevard in Pasco. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

far this year compared to recent years. As of August, about $253 million in permits were issued in the greater Tri-Cities area, from Prosser to Connell. That compares to about $313 million for the same period in 2022 and about $385 million for the same period in 2021.

‘Life events market’ Travis Davis, a broker with Coldwell Banker Tomlinson and president of the Tri-City Association of Realtors, said the market for selling homes also changed this year, driven by higher costs.

“Things have kind of moved into a ‘life events market,’ for lack of a better term. If people don’t have a reason to move, they’re not making the decision to move. I’d say that’s largely because of the cost of a new mortgage. People haven’t gotten used to the idea of 7% interest rates,” he said.

As a result, people aren’t putting houses on the market at the same rate they once were.

“They may want to upgrade their house or downsize, but they’re saying, ‘Wait a minute, my mortgage was locked in four years ago at 3% and it doesn’t make any

sense to sell the house,’” he said.

Davis expects 2024 to be a stronger year for new residential construction compared to existing homes changing hands.

“I think the used-home market will be down, and I definitely see the new-home market picking up,” he said. “For the most part, I think you’re going to see probably flat-line units compared to 2023, but your mix is going to be more new construction. You’re going to see more stuff being built, and you’re going to see some lower price points for new construction.

It’s just going to take some time.”

Focus | Construction + Real Estate

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$822 million

Value of single-family homebuilding permits through August 2023

Multi-unit housing development at Road 68 and Argent Road in west Pasco. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography 6

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

So far this year, a total of 2,189 homes have been sold, according to data from the Tri-City Association of Realtors. That is down from 2,920 from the same period in 2022.

In a recent study, the National Association of Realtors found that higher mortgage rates and home prices and lack of available homes in their price range were the biggest barriers for prospective buyers.

Wilkinson, from Prodigy Homes, said he’s optimistic about the coming year.

“After going through the year that we did, I’m excited to see what 2024 holds in store for us.

I think it’s going to be on the uptick. That’s going to be great for everyone in this city,” he said.

“Construction in the Tri-Cities has always been a big staple of the economy. It’s going to be good for everyone.” ●

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Commercial Real Estate Atkins Nuclear Secured’s $20 million technology center off George Washington Way in north Richland. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Rising interest rates don’t dampen cautious optimism

BY SARA SCHILLING

The story of commercial construction in the Tri-Cities right now has a simple theme: Things may have cooled a bit due to factors such as higher interest rates, but there’s no reason to panic.

“Although we may see a little bit of a slowdown in the pace of new work, I do believe there’s enough going on in the 8

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Tri-Cities that we shouldn’t see any drastic negative impacts to anybody anytime soon,” said CJ Black, project executive for the Pasco-based Elite Construction + Development.

His company has a healthy list of projects going on or in the works, Black said.

Among them is a mixed-use development in the Southridge area of Kennewick called The

Falls on 24th, which will feature residential units, storage, a clubhouse and street-front commercial space.

The first phase of The Falls is expected to wrap up in summer 2024.

Other projects include a new pre-engineered metal building, or PEMB, going up in the Road 68-Rodeo Drive area of Pasco.

The primary occupant will be a

levels made gains in August.

All three readings are above the threshold of 50, which indicates expectations of growth over the next six months, the group said in a statement.

“There’s no sign of a construction recession in the near term.

If anything, contractors are more upbeat, as policy and technology shifts along with economic transformation are creating substantial demand for improvements and growth in America’s built environment,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu in the statement. “While a plurality of contractors expects only small improvements in sales, profit margins and staffing over the next six months, even incremental improvement is remarkable in the context of tightening credit, higher project financing costs and lingering fears of recession.”

Major projects

sports training operation.

The wider view Statewide, employment in construction is up 4,000 jobs year-over-year, led by an increase of 4,300 specialty trade contractors, according to the state’s most recent monthly employment report.

Nationwide, contractors are working through backlogs, according to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). And overall, the group’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing

Some major commercial construction projects are planned or are in various stages of completion in the Tri-Cities. In Pasco, Local Bounti is working on a $40 million commercial greenhouse complex, Darigold is building a new $600 million production facility and Amazon has finished two distribution centers that are expected to bring in 1,500 jobs.

Reser’s Fine Foods is building a 70,000-square-foot addition to its processing plant north of Pasco.

In Richland, ATI Inc. Is expanding its titanium melting plant, and Atkins Nuclear Secured is building a new $20 million technology center.

Reasons for optimism Derrick Stricker, a designated broker and the founder and chief executive officer of Stricker CRE in Kennewick, said this year has been marked by quarterly waves.

He saw a quiet first quarter, fol-

lowed by a “gangbusters” second quarter where “everyone who was waiting on the sidelines came out to play.” After a quieter third quarter, typical of summer months, he’s gearing up for “a fourth-quarter close-out,” he said.

Stricker urged “optimism with historical caution,” he said.

“I don’t know why we shouldn’t be optimistic given the true conditions of what I see and what we see in the commercial real estate world,” he said.

“Let’s be cautious of things – just because things look cheap here or vacancy is low ... doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. But I think this is a great market to go play in and I think this is a great time for actual seasoned local and regional commercial real estate investors or users/business owners that are making a play. Our overall economy is strong in the Tri-Cities.”

While the Tri-Cities isn’t immune to economic ups and downs, it is traditionally insulated to some degree because of the steady federal government presence and continued growth.

“That being said, obviously we’ve seen a few challenges over the last couple of years, primarily in the supply chain and higher interest rates,” said Joel Bouchey, regional director and public policy coordinator for Inland Northwest Associated of General Contractors.

For the most part, the supply chain issues have resolved, he said, noting that while electrical equipment is still sometimes held up, “we’re seeing less and less of that every month.”

And while the rise in interest rates has impacted developers and businesses, “we’ve seen people generally getting back on board with moving forward with their plans,” he said.

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Amazon warehouse complex in east Pasco on South Road 40. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Reser’s Fine Foods at 5526 N. Capitol Ave. in Pasco. | Photo by Kim Fetrow Photography / Courtesy Port of Pasco 10

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Tri-Cities area is seeing the most growth commercially in industrial buildings and flex spaces, Bouchey said. And while there is a small uptick in the number of vacant commercial spaces, it’s “certainly not like other regions,” he told the TriCities Area Journal of Business.

In terms of the outlook for commercial construction locally, “I would distill it as steady and cautiously optimistic,” Bouchey said. “For all that you continue to see in the national headlines, economists say, ‘We’re expecting a recession, we’re expecting a recession,’ I’m not seeing anything that’s trending towards that. I think most people have just adapted to the new financial situation, have altered their plans accordingly or found the additional funding and are making it happen.” ●

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Port of Benton About 1.3 million tons of cargo is shipped yearly out of Richland on the Port of Benton’s short line rail, making it the second largest tonnage for a short line in the state. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Rail priorities keeps port on the right track

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

After years of successful legislation to regain control of its local railways, the Port of Benton spent the last year repairing the rails so it could shift its priority to leveraging this asset to its fullest capacity: providing access for rail customers currently in Richland’s Horn Rapids area along with lucrative future investors.

Most recently completing a railroad tie replacement project, the port now has plans to invest $3.7 million in work on rail crossings and track maintenance at Highway 240, Airport Way and Saint Street in the upcoming year.

“We continue to look for ad12

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

ditional federal grant funding to fully support the rail,” said Diahann Howard, executive director for the Port of Benton.

“The funding would be another enhancement that would further get our rail stabilized and make more projects go forward.”

The 16 miles of short line rail owned by the port, called the Southern Connection Rail Line, remain a critical part of the local economy in that “both Class I’s (BNSF Railway and Union Pacific) serve customers directly and it drives competition,” Howard said. “It’s a very, very positive thing.”

About 1.3 million tons of cargo is shipped yearly out of Richland on its short line rail, making it the second largest

tonnage for a short line in the state.

“It shows the significance of the value-added agriculture industry that’s already predominant here in Benton and Franklin counties,” Howard said.

Railroad crossings that intersect with vehicle traffic continue to see enhancements to make them smoother and to move the rail cars through faster, lowering the wait time for vehicles and enhancing overall safety.

“Additional projects we hope to bring include us working toward quiet zones, to limit the impact to the surrounding community,” Howard said. “We want to ensure we have a robust, safe and reliable system because so many of our clients and

industries depend upon this, and they will be able to grow and expand if they are able to get their products onto the rail and through the gateways, to the east, or wherever their final destination is.”

Howard pointed out this efficiency helps ensure the industry’s success, which can translate to local jobs, “the ultimate success story.”

A Port of Benton asset since 1998, the rail line is part of an overall $90 million in assets held by the port. The port covers 2,756 acres and growing, along with two regional airports, and a proposed annual budget around $15 million.

2 airports The port operates both the Prosser and Richland airports, and recently invested $3.2 million on improvements at the Richland Airport, including

an extensive lighting project.

Similar updates are expected in Prosser beginning in the spring, with an overall project value around $1.5 million.

One of the Richland Airport’s biggest customers is Life Flight Network, and Howard said the site’s master plan is positioning the airport at Terminal Drive for more general aviation, including growing its corporate customer base.

“More businesses might have an aviation need or they’re possibly more advanced manufacturing or even in related aerospace corporate companies.

We’re looking for that growth to occur, and that all ties into the bigger vision we all have in the region for advanced manufacturing and clean energy,” she said.

Clean energy One of just a few ports in

the nation authorized to handle nuclear waste, spent fuel and radioactive materials, the Port of Benton is administering a grant from the state’s Department of Commerce to facilitate the growth of projects related to nuclear energy as part of its VERTical Innovation Cluster, with the “vert” implying green, or clean, energy.

The goal is to “drive innovation, solve challenges that limit the industry’s growth and pursue market opportunities,” Howard said.

Together with the city of Richland, the port is marketing the Northwest Advanced Clean Energy Center, a 1,641-acre site intended for industrial, manufacturing and research companies in need of parcels exceeding 200 acres.

“The open industrial property is going to be further

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The Port of Benton is completing work around its barge slip and high dock in north Richland. | Courtesy Port of Benton

multiplied, and we are a great location logistically for valueadded advanced manufacturing users to be located here and supporting our existing agriculture,” Howard said.

Excitement exists around a huge potential landowner, Atlas Agro, a Switzerland-based company that proposed building a $1 billion zero-carbon fertilizer plant on 150 acres of port land in the North Horn Rapids Industrial Park.

The project isn’t a done deal but Atlas is moving forward on its feasibility study.

“We’re thrilled to report our 14

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

front-end engineering design study is progressing as planned and set to conclude by the end of this year,” said Dan Holmes, president of the North American division of Atlas Agro.

The city of Richland plans to build new sewer infrastructure to expand the industrial park, a move that will support the potential plant. The state Community Economic Revitalization Board approved a $4 million low-interest loan for the work.

By barge Howard said the port also is completing work around its

barge slip and high dock as part of the effort to bring Atlas to Richland.

“We just want to make sure our assets are ready to serve those levels of industrial companies going forward and that ties to the overarching effort we have been leading to secure the supply chain around advanced nuclear reactors,” she said.

“Our collaboration with the Port of Benton, city of Richland, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) has been instrumental in resolving logistical and operational chal-

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Vintners Village development in Prosser is in its second phase and still signing new tenants. | Courtesy Port of Benton

lenges at the site,” Holmes said.

“The synergy between these organizations has been invaluable, and we’re particularly excited about the barge and rail access they’ve facilitated.”

Reflecting on growth The port celebrates its 65th anniversary on Nov. 4 and the milestone has given leaders the chance to reflect on some of the growth and impact of the district that now covers two-thirds of Benton County, including Benton City, Prosser and part of Richland.

The port cites 10,000 jobs as being supported directly and indirectly by companies within its boundaries, which generate $564 million in revenue yearly.

Driving economic growth in Prosser is another key initiative, with the port’s effort to keep building out its thriving Vintners Village, a project that now is in its second phase and still signing new tenants, most recently Enodav Wine Co. The village is a hub for wineries, restaurants and shopping, drawing regular, regional tourism, and the port has new ideas 16

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

to pull additional visitors to the area.

“We’re working with vendors right now and in conversations with the (river) cruise lines about tour buses that can possibly come to the Prosser area weekly to increase that experience of farm-to-table,” Howard said.

The port also is citing its success stories in helping transfer assets to the private sector, pointing to the recent $1.7 million purchase of a former portowned building on Logston Boulevard by its tenants, owners of Bombing Range Brewing and The Dive, which have expansion plans for the site.

“We think it was a phenomenal success seeing both of their businesses grow from startups to the building now for them to purchase and expand,” Howard said. “It’s really exciting and so is the potential for new jobs they’re bringing.”

The port has big plans for 2024, including the acquisition of the former commercial airport terminal at the Richland Airport Business Park using a $1.1 million low-interest loan.

The building once housed a rental car facility and restaurant and was most recently used as an office building.

The port is planning a memorial for former sailors who served aboard the submarine USS Triton whose sail and conning tower are located at the port-owned USS Triton Sail Park. As part of the event, the port hopes to document sailors’ stories from Operation Sandblast, the first underwater expedition to circumnavigate the globe.

The port also may exchange industrial properties with the city of Richland, which could lead to the formation of an inland port focused on growth and expansion of the rail, and why this asset remains a key focus for all aboard.

“It could allow for a company to put their product on rail here in Richland and go directly to the ship in Seattle or Tacoma, creating import-export opportunities that could be leveraged right in north Richland,” Howard said. ●

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Port of Kennewick The Port of Kennewick expects to announce another purchase and sale agreement for Vista Field property by year’s end.

Photo by Kim Fetrow Photography / Courtesy Port of Kennewick

Vista Field readies for take off

BY LAURA KOSTAD

It’s been quiet at Vista Field since the Port of Kennewick laid down infrastructure.

But there are now tangible signs that development is coming: The port commission approved its first sale at the 103-acre former airport.

Amber Keller, owner of Blueberry Bridal Boutique at 8901 W. Tucannon Ave., Suite 155, in Kennewick, submitted a letter of intent to buy a shovel-ready parcel to expand her wedding dress, bridesmaid and accessories shop.

“Being the first private development at Vista Field allows us to set the tone and establish ourselves as a pioneer in this exciting new space. It’s a chance to be at the forefront of this transforma18

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

tion, to contribute to the growth of the area, and to build a strong foundation for our business within a thriving community,” Keller said.

She called the area a prime location that would be accessible for local and out-of-town customers.

The move represents a significant step for the business. It is designing a 5,000-square-foot bridal shop featuring a larger, more modern space to offer a wider range of services and merchandise, including hosting events.

The timeline for building the new shop is uncertain. “I’m actively working on the project, and I’m dedicated to moving forward as efficiently as possible,” Keller said.

Strange times indeed Concerns about inflation, ongoing ups and downs of supply chains and high interest rates have created a “strange time, economically speaking,” said Tim Arntzen, Port of Kennewick’s executive director.

But these uncertainties do not seem to be deterring interest in the lots at Vista Field. Arntzen said his team is fielding earnest interest from four or five other prospective developers.

“Some are very small, and one would be considered very large for any other place in the community. My real estate person and myself have been working on these letters of intent and hopefully will be presenting them to the commission soon,” he said.

“I’m quite optimistic that we’ll be able to announce another purchase and sale by the end of the year,” he said.

Vision for aircraft hangars The port also has been doggedly pursuing design options for breathing new life into the three former aircraft hangars flanking Crosswind Boulevard at the southern gateway to Vista Field.

Arntzen said the port’s original vision was to turn them into leasable spaces for restaurants, microbreweries or other suitable businesses but due to changes to the state’s building codes, this possibility became “economically impossible.”

After some careful navigation of the updated codes, Arntzen and his team landed on a solution.

“The last thing we wanted to do is tear them down because they are the last little bit of history

of the airport,” he said. “We’re going to deconstruct them somewhat – take some of the siding off and convert them into public amenities.”

He said these re-envisioned spaces will offer indoor-outdoor flexibility and have the potential to host events, pop-up markets and offer spillover for the outdoor stage planned between the two hangars.

To help make this vision a reality, the port applied for a Benton County Rural County Capital Fund grant and received $3.4 million.

The grant also will support the construction of several restrooms, storage areas, a pergola, sound wall and band stage and will create a sheltered courtyard featuring lighting, industrial fans, landscaping and wayfinding signage.

Construction is anticipated to begin in March 2024.

“As we go forward with Vista

Field, we want to be cognizant of Vista Field’s history and its significant role in World War II. Vista Field was a practice area for pilots from the Pasco Airfield.

They would land on metal decking made of steel planks meant to simulate the deck of an aircraft carrier and later those pilots went on to the Pacific Theater,” Arntzen said.

Some of this metal decking still occupies Vista Field.

The port commissioned an aviation history report of the area to better understand the story of the airfield’s ties to World War II training and find a way to incorporate “the unique, former decking material into the plaza area between the hangars,” said Tana Bader-Inglima, the port’s deputy CEO. “(We) researched aviation displays and located two rare Avengers that could be used to create a static display for Vista

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A $6.4 million shoreline restoration project on Clover Island in Kennewick, undertaken in partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers, stabilized the shoreline and opened up new leasing opportunities for upland properties. | Photo by Kim Fetrow Photography / Courtesy Port of Kennewick

Field,” she said.

Other additions on the horizon include joint use parking lots on schedule for permit submittal before October, as well as Daybreak Commons, which will serve as a public space at the northern entry to Vista Field and support residential development.

Clover Island After 15 years, the port celebrated the completion of restoration work along Clover Island’s shoreline with its community partners. Restoration efforts not only improved the appearance of the island’s shores and shallows and enhanced amenities for visitors to the island, but also brought back more natural habitat for the wildlife.

The $6.4 million project was undertaken in partnership with 20

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

the Army Corps of Engineers.

The restoration also provides shore stabilization, opening up new leasing opportunities for upland properties.

In line with efforts to promote more visitors to the island, the port invested in a new mobile stage to support tenant Clover Island Inn’s concert series.

“The Clover Island Inn, as concert promoter, has long used an improvised stage which was unsuitable for some national acts,” Bader-Inglima said.

Recognizing the longstanding, positive economic impact of the concerts, the port commissioners agreed to buy a professionalquality mobile stage, which is under construction, with delivery planned for spring 2024.

Across Duffy’s Pond, visitors to

Columbia Gardens will observe the ongoing construction of the new brick and mortar home of Swampy’s BBQ along Columbia Drive. Swampy’s was the port’s first food truck tenant at the nearby food truck plaza and first private investment in a Columbia Gardens parcel.

Five parcels still remain available for sale.

Other new additions to Columbia Gardens include new wayfinding signage and a demonstration vineyard that complements the four wineries that call the redevelopment home.

The port’s 2023 operating budget is $4.35 million and its capital budget is $4.7 million. It expects to receive about $4.9 million in property tax revenue this year. ●

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Port of Pasco Tri-Cities Airport will see additional improvements in coming months to accommodate baggage loads, additional jet bridges and taxiway improvements. | Photo by Kim Fetrow Photography / Courtesy Port of Pasco

Tri-Cities Airport soars toward record-breaking passenger levels

BY LAURA KOSTAD

Earth continues to move across Port of Pasco properties as the port-owned Tri-Cities Airport steadily returns to prepandemic travel levels.

The port is at 100% capacity at its Pasco Industrial Center (PIC 395) and nearing capacity at the Reimann Industrial Center and needs to buy more land.

Tri-Cities Airport Randy Hayden, the port’s executive director, said June 2023 marked the first month since the pandemic that the airport surpassed its record-year of deplanements, or the number of people arriving, in 2019.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

June 2023 saw 40,162 deplanements while 2019 recorded 39,711 total.

He said that though the yearto-date numbers were lagging behind 2019 numbers, “we do expect that this year will be the highest numbers in passengers.”

Hayden said he hopes this and promising load factor numbers will continue to attract more new flights and airlines to PSC. This metric measures the percentage of available seating capacity filled with passengers.

In 2022, flights out of Pasco were over 90% full, higher than that of any other airport in the Pacific Northwest, he said, with most of the airlines tracking in the high 80% range.

“If you’re around the low 80%, that’s considered pretty good. So low 90% is great for airlines and marketing, though not so great for passengers,” he said.

It’s a conundrum, because while load factors have been high at PSC, despite a steady increase in the regional population and corresponding uptick in passenger counts, Hayden said the share of the population flying out of Tri-Cities Airport is decreasing.

“If you go back to 2015 or 2017, about 40% of passengers still flew out of Pasco. Last year it was 32%,” Hayden said.

“People are driving to Seattle, mostly because they can’t get the flight they need … If more seats

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Upcoming Tri-Cities Airport improvements include replacing a portion of the runway and aviation apron. | Photo by Kim Fetrow Photography / Courtesy Port of Pasco

were available here, more people would stay to fly out of Pasco.”

This is another factor airlines consider when looking at adding them and servicing new airports.

A nationwide pilot shortage also plays a role, especially with smaller aircraft like those departing PSC. To maintain service, some airlines flying out of Tri-Cities have traded their smaller aircraft for larger ones, which offer more seats per flight, allowing the airlines to condense their flights without sacrificing passenger counts.

Hayden is hopeful that a Dallas-Fort Worth direct flight will still materialize with the addition of American Airlines’ new direct flight to Phoenix. DallasFort Worth is one of American Airlines’ hubs.

One incentive to attract new routes is to subsidize them for the first year they operate with the help of a $750,000 federal grant. The funding allows airlines to offset the cost-to-profit deficit to operate flights until the new route becomes more established and self-sufficient.

Despite current challenges, Hayden is optimistic. “There are a lot of airports that have not come back from the pandemic and that have lost airlines, so we 24

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

feel fortunate to be on the side of gaining new routes,” he said.

On the facilities side, Buck Taft, Tri-Cities Airport director, said the port is currently in the design phase for expansion of the baggage makeup area, the non-public space where baggage is sorted. “(It’s) currently too small to handle the larger aircraft and additional aircraft we now have,” he said.

Three additional jet bridges at some gates also are being designed so passengers no longer have to walk across the tarmac to board their plane.

Improvements to taxiway G are now completed, opening future aeronautical development areas while at the same time improving the safety of general aviation activity.

Taft said this year the port will shift PSC’s north-south runway approximately 300 feet to the north and replace some pavement on the general aviation apron, in addition to adding on for future development.

Airport area developments This ties in with activity at the Airport Business Center where soon Rickenbacker Drive will be connected to Varney Lane to

the east, which is predicted to drive additional interest in the airport-accessible properties along Argent Road.

Though a previous deal with Solgen Power didn’t pan out, Hayden said other developments are in the works.

Most notably, Musser Bros.

Inc. has been developing the corner of Morasch Lane and Rickenbacker Drive to build a new home for its Estate Details arm, an auto detail shop that will serve both Trucks and Auto and the public, as well as a couple of additional commercial tenants.

Another airport-anchored business development the port is working on master planning is an Aerospace Innovation and Manufacturing Center on 460 acres of infield land adjacent to the runways with the help of a $416,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce.

“Aerospace is rapidly evolving, including advancements in

A new $600 million Darigold production facility is under construction in north Pasco. | Photo Kim Fetrow Photography / Courtesy Port of Pasco

electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft, private space exploration, vertical take-off and landing vehicles, autonomous flight systems and uncrewed aerial vehicles. Modern aerospace companies are developing impressive new technologies for civil, commercial and military markets. The right projects will be very successful in Pasco,” said Hayden in the port’s spring newsletter.

tions, a logistics provider.

As progress continues on Darigold’s new milk dehydration plant, the port is actively talking with potential tenants for the remaining 150 acres at Reimann.

“We’re out for new land,” Hayden said, adding that the port hopes to acquire land in the vicinity of Darigold so it can use the infrastructure already extended there to service the site.

Industrial land at capacity

On the waterfront, the master planned transformation of Osprey Pointe into a vibrant mixed-use development is moving forward.

The port approved JMS Construction’s master development agreement on Aug. 9, allowing the contractor to move forward with the first phase of the project, two four-story mixeduse buildings which will feature three stories of apartments with commercial space on the ground floor.

In stark contrast to low occupancy rates at port industrial facilities just a few years ago, Hayden said that the Port of Pasco is at 100% capacity at its Pasco Industrial Center (PIC 395) and nearing capacity at the Reimann Industrial Center.

United Parcel Service (UPS) bought 11 of the remaining acres, while 17 acres are under contract with Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. and another 25 acres with APG Land Acquisi-

Osprey Pointe

A detached townhome development featuring two-story condominiums is also in the works.

JMS announced in September 2023 that it signed franchise agreements for two hotels, Wyndham and Wyndham Garden.

The long dreamed of marketplace is still on the development schedule but further down the list of priorities, as the developer continues to work on a costeffective way to proceed with the project in light of new state energy codes.

The master development agreement approved by the Port of Pasco includes 24 separate projects scheduled to be completed in 2036.

The Port of Pasco’s 2023 operating budget is $23.6 million and its capital budget $46.7 million. Income from property taxes totals $2.7 million. ● Focus | Construction + Real Estate

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Higher Education Washington State University Tri-Cities in Richland. | Courtesy WSU Tri-Cities

Colleges boast higher enrollments but no major capital projects

BY JEFF MORROW

Washington State University Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College officials have been working on smaller, infrastructuretype projects. And both campuses boasted higher student enrollment numbers in fall 2023.

Here is a look at what’s happening on their Tri-Cities campuses:

WSU Tri-Cities For the first time since fall 2017, enrollment on the Washington State University Tri-Cities campus has grown.

Enrollment figures for fall 2023 are 1,441 students, an increase of 0.8% over last year, said Leslie Streeter, WSU Tri-Cities director of marketing and communications.

That’s also a 25.7% increase in new first-year students, and 28

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

6.6% increase over new transfer students.

There was also an increase in new master’s and doctoral students, at 7.1%.

Out of the six Washington State University campuses, WSU Tri-Cities has the highest increase in first-year and transfer student enrollment.

A campus director of admissions was hired in 2022 to focus on enrollment and the team’s efforts to directly connect with local high school and transfer students have proven to be successful.

“Through increased use of technology, we were better able to keep in contact with interested students and help them through the admission process. We also held more on-campus events this past year that gave students and their families an opportunity to

visit our campus and receive oneon-one help applying for both admission and financial aid in partnership with the financial aid office. Helping students receive a WSU education right here in our community is our No. 1 goal,” said Jamie Owens, campus director of admissions, in a statement.

As a whole, the number of first-year students in the entire WSU system numbered 4,249, an increase of 6.5% from last fall and the largest since 2019.

The operating budget for WSU Tri-Cities is $23 million for the 2023-24 school year.

No major projects are ongoing on the north Richland campus.

But there were a few smaller projects from last year, including some that are still ongoing: • Repairing the stairs outside the main entrance of the Floyd Building.

• Installation of the Cougar Pride statue.

• Completion of the Career Center buildout.

• Chiller replacement in the Consolidated Information Center (CIC) building. This project was expected to be completed by the end of September 2023.

• Installation of a new bathroom on the second floor of the CIC building, which is expected to be completed by the end of October 2023.

Columbia Basin College Columbia Basin College officials saw a 12.7% increase in student enrollment numbers when classes began Sept. 18. The college welcomed 5,362 full-time equivalent students (FTEs).

On the first day of school last year, the college recorded 4,758 FTEs, a measure to calculate how many students would be attending, if all were enrolled full time.

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Columbia Basin College in Pasco. | Photo by Tyler West / Courtesy CBC

“We are excited to see our Day 1 numbers for fall 2023 nearing fall 2019 (pre-Covid) which had 5,474 FTE on Day 1,” said Elizabeth Burtner, CBC’s assistant vice president for communications and external relations.

CBC’s big project in 2022 was the completion of the CBC Student Recreation Center building, which offers plenty of athletic facilities and exercise areas.

But Burtner said the Hawks have had plenty of other projects completed in this most recent biennium, or two-year period.

The college reopened its CPCCo Planetarium earlier this year after a two-month break for upgrades, including new projection and lighting systems in the theater and a revamped lobby that now has learning elements.

On the Pasco campus, the college: • Replaced aging sections of domestic water lines.

• Completed road replacement.

• Replaced or repaired mechanical equipment.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

• Repaired roofs on the T and H buildings.

• Renovated the library.

• Designed a new Equity Center. This is not its final name.

On the Richland campus, the roof on the Health Science Center building was replaced.

For the next biennium there are plenty of capital projects in line, first and foremost involving the T Building.

That’s where the school is in the midst of renovating space for the new Equity Center. In June 2023, CBC’s Board of Trustees approved spending $650,000 to meet overruns of the $1.5 million project.

The Equity Center will provide space for increased cultural understanding and support services for diverse student populations.

The school received $605,000 in Title V grant funds, as well as $245,000 in local funds.

The school reached out to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to secure the remaining $650,000 to finish the

project.

School officials also want to design and complete a renovation of the science wing of the T Building.

In addition, there are plans to replace an aging section of sewer and domestic water lines; replace and repair more mechanical equipment; and repair or replace parking lots on the Pasco campus.

School officials also have their eyes on two future projects.

The first project to receive funding is to design and construct a new Center for the Arts and Innovation building.

That project is “estimated for July 2025-June 2029, but dependent on legislative funding,” Burtner said.

The second future project must secure funding to design and build a new Center for Applied Science and Agriculture. But that also is dependent on legislative capital funding levels. ●

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

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K-12 Education Construction activity at Pasco School District’s third comprehensive high school, near Road 60 and Burns Road.

Builders are using a robotic lift-assist unit that speeds the placement of concrete blocks. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

New schools, lots of planning underway

BY JEFF MORROW

Tri-Cities public school districts continue to keep a close watch on their student enrollment numbers to best plan for future growth.

In Pasco, construction has begun on a third comprehensive high school, while plans are being developed for a possible third comprehensive high school in West Richland.

Kennewick voters approved a three-year levy in February, and projects from its last bond have largely been completed.

Here is a look at what’s happening around the region:

Pasco School District The Pasco School District welcomed 18,795 students for the 2023-24 school year.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The district, which oversees a general operating budget of $313.4 million, was finishing up previous bond-approved projects earlier this year.

Its transportation facility and maintenance bay was completed in spring 2023.

The two projects were a combined $3 million ($1.6 million for the maintenance bay, $1.4 for the transportation facility). The buildings are 29,997 square feet.

The updates added two pullthrough bus mechanic bays and improvements to the current maintenance facility.

The transportation facility is a new building to replace the old transportation office and drivers’ area.

These projects were part of the 2017 voter-approved bond.

In February 2023, voters ap-

proved the latest bond measure.

The biggest project in that bond is a third comprehensive high school, which will house 2,000 students and be 299,413 square feet.

It will be built on land that the district owns. Construction started in July 2023.

The project, which costs $185.3 million, has a planned opening in fall 2025.

Another project from the bond is a small, innovative high school called the Career and College Academy.

It is being developed with input from business and industry, families and students.

The project is in the planning stages, with a groundbreaking set for April 2024.

Cost is $37.9 million.

Plans are to open the

Richland School District’s future third high school will be on Keene Road, near the district’s Teaching, Learning & Administration Center in West Richland. The school board has not yet decided on when to ask voters to approve a bond for the construction.

Courtesy Richland School District

65,000-square-foot school – which should house 600 students – in fall 2025.

Another project will be $2 million for a softball field and facility improvements at Pasco High. Construction is set to begin in spring 2026, with completion in the fall the same year.

Currently, Pasco High softball players have to practice and play their contests at the softball complex near the HAPO Center.

A fourth project from the bond is the $12 million in career and technical education (CTE) enhancements and modernization of spaces at both Chiawana and Pasco high schools.

Finally, the bond earmarked $7.5 million to buy land for future school sites when they are needed.

Richland School District The Richland School District has a projected enrollment figure of 13,720 students for the 2023-24

school year.

“Based on those numbers, our operating budget for the year will be $215 million. Keep in mind these numbers can change depending on actual enrollment,” said Shawna Dinh, public information officer for the district, in early September.

In February 2023, voters approved a $23 million, six-year capital projects levy.

The levy is paying for safety

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The replacement of Ridge View Elementary School at 7001 W. 13th Ave. is nearing completion and should be finished by December 2023.

Courtesy Kennewick School District

and other improvements at the district’s older schools, including more secure entrances and building layouts, as well as surveillance cameras and advanced security systems.

The schools being improved include Richland and Hanford high schools; Carmichael, Chief Joseph and Enterprise middle schools; and Jason Lee, White Bluffs and William Wiley elementary schools.

The elementary school improvements were completed in September 2023.

The middle school improvements are expected to be completed by September 2024, while the high school projects have a September 2025 completion date.

The levy also will pay to train staff on the new systems.

In addition, levy dollars will be used to develop plans and design (with costs to be determined) for a third comprehensive high school.

NAC is the project architect.

The future third high school will be on Keene Road, near the district’s Teaching, Learning & Administration Center in West Richland.

The estimated capacity of the 36

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

school will be 1,800 students, and the design is expected to be completed by December 2024.

Levy dollars also are being used for the development and design of a joint campus facility for River’s Edge High School and Pacific Crest Online Academy.

Design West Architects is the project architect, and the completion of this work is expected to be in May 2026. Officials expect the building’s student capacity to be 400.

An addition is planned at Three Rivers HomeLink. Design West Architects is the project architect, and the completion of this work is expected to be in May 2024.

The district also has some facility improvements projects that either have been completed or are near completion.

The district built a $407,600 greenhouse at Richland High School to be used for agriculture classes. The 1,500-square-foot greenhouse was completed in August 2023. Design and construction were handled by PBS Engineering and MH Construction.

In September 2021, the district

bought a two-story former church on the corner of Thayer Drive and Williams Boulevard.

A $265,300 remodel project has enabled the facility to function as additional instructional space for Three Rivers HomeLink, with plans to have it serve as flexible space for other schools and programs in the future.

Kennewick School District The Kennewick School District’s enrollment numbers were close to 19,000 students in the 2022-23 school year.

“We are expecting the same for the 2023-24 school year,” said Robyn Chastain, executive director of communications and public relations for the district.

That would be an increase from the 2020-21 school year, when the district enrolled 18,574 students.

Currently, the general fund budget for the district is $320 million for 2023-24.

After two failed levies in 2022, voters approved a three-year, $72 million educational program and operations levy in February to help pay for student learning, security, maintenance and instructional support, as well as support

Focus | Construction + Real Estate

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for special education, athletics and extracurricular activities.

Meanwhile, the final projects from the last bond passed by voters have either been completed or are near completion.

The district finalized construction at Tri-Tech Skills Center.

The project, which cost an estimated $3.8 million, added two classrooms with adjoining lab space and support space for a total of 9,500 square feet.

Construction on the project started in October 2022 and was completed and ready for occupancy in August 2023.

The project was necessary to accommodate growth in the preveterinary tech and pre-electrical programs and also provided more suitable instructional space.

The replacement of Ridge View Elementary School is nearing completion and should be finished by December 2023.

The new 30-classroom building is replacing the former 20-classroom building on 13th Avenue in Kennewick.

This is the last project listed on the 2019 bond that was passed by voters, and it has an estimated cost of $31 million. Construction began in July 2022.

As part of the 2019 voter-approved bond, the district earmarked money to build Elementary #18, but only if it is needed.

At this point, it is not.

“The next bond will be dependent on the district’s enrollment and state construction assistance program funding,” Chastain said.

“The district’s current enrollment and the state construction assistance program that relies on current and projected enrollment does not support the construction of a new elementary school.” ●

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2023 population estimate 3,810

Benton City

4,960

Connell

86,470

Kennewick

81,280

Pasco

6,445

Prosser

63,320

Richland

17,840

West Richland

TOTAL STATE Population:

7.9 MILLION

City ranking

Franklin County KENNEWICK

15 th

16 th

RICHLAND

WEST RICHLAND

largest city in state

21

st

largest city in state

largest city in state

62 nd largest city in state

*Out of 281 cities in the state Source: Washington State Office of Financial Management Graphics by Vanessa Guzmán 40

Population: 101,100

PASCO

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Benton County

Population: 215,500

Percentage change in population Kennewick

1.4%

Pasco

1.4%

Richland

1.8%

West Richland

2.5%

2022-23

2022-23

1.51%

1.35%

Benton County

Franklin County

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41

City of Kennewick The $200 million Resort at Hansen Park, bordered by Columbia Center Boulevard and West 10th Avenue, is still under construction.

Photo by Rachel Visick

New housing, commercial projects fuel demand for services

BY LAURA KOSTAD

Steady population growth fuels the need for steady infrastructure expansion as new housing, retail and commercial developments follow the influx of new residents to the Tri-Cities’ largest city.

The latest population estimate shows Kennewick up more than 1,100 residents, or 1.3%, over last year with a total population of 86,470, making it the 15th largest city in the state.

While single-family construction has dropped region-wide, Kennewick issued 50.7% more building permits for single-family homes through August 2023 compared to the same period the previous year. The city hasn’t seen that kind of home construc42

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

tion growth in this same period since 2019.

And more homes are coming.

Plans are underway to develop Urban Trails, a planned residential development by Mitchell Creer LLC on the south side of Bob Olson Parkway at Wheat Road near Desert Hills Middle School. The developer proposes 1,333 multifamily homes, 445 townhomes, 100 large singlefamily homes and commercial buildings on 152 acres over the next five to 10 years. Plans for the project were submitted in September 2023 for review under the state’s Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

The $200 million Resort at Hansen Park, bordered by Columbia Center Boulevard and West 10th Avenue, is still under

construction. At full build-out in 2025, it will feature a total of 10 properties, 605 apartment units, 97,000 square feet of commercial space, an apart-hotel and a 23,000-square-foot clubhouse with pools and recreational facilities.

A mixed-use development under construction in the Southridge area of Kennewick called The Falls on 24th will offer 107 residential units and street-front commercial space. It’s at the corner of 24th Avenue and South Quillan Place, near WindSong at Southridge Memory Care.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed next summer.

This past year saw the start of several projects across the city to improve existing infrastructure

Road projects Two major intersection improvements were underway in

ne w Ken ick fall 2023 to alleviate traffic 23 Population 20 construction on the west side of the city.

Work began in April 2023 on the Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard intersection, which will add double left turn y ho amil me pe lanes, double f e through lanes The and right turn $3.8 lanes at all million approaches to project, the city’s busiwhich est intersec*Year to date includes through August tion. design, The city engineerof Kennewick ing and estimates more than right of way 85,000 vehicles pass acquisition, also through the intersection each day involves widening all the – roughly the population of the corners to accommodate the new city itself. lanes, a new traffic signal and “(The) project will increase new streetscaping. safety, capacity and functionality,” The project is expected to be Lusignan said. completed by January 2024.

Sing l

86,470

2023: 220 2022: 146 2021: 165

its rm

and add more public amenities.

“There’s a lot of forward thinking and planning that goes into looking at infrastructure and how it’s going to support the growth of the community. But even more important is ensuring that we can continue to grow and keep the maintenance up for the infrastructure we already have, but also for the (future) growth,” said Evelyn Lusignan, city of Kennewick’s public relations and government affairs director.

The city of Kennewick manages a $503.4 million budget, with a $112 million capital projects budget making up about 22% of its total adjusted budget.

About $66 million of the capital budget comes from utility funds, including water and sewer.

Focus | Construction + Real Estate

43

A mixed-use development called The Falls on 24th is under construction at the corner of 24th Avenue and South Quillan Place in Kennewick.

Photo by Sara Schilling

Work also has started at Deschutes Avenue and Columbia Center Boulevard in preparation for the future addition of a third lane in each direction on Columbia Center north of the Deschutes intersection to Quinault Avenue.

This first phase includes a new traffic signal system to accommodate a new right turn lane for westbound traffic turning northbound. Then a roundabout will be installed at Colorado Street and Deschutes.

The $2.9 million project is expected to wrap up in late March or early April 2024.

Utilities above and below The replacement of Fire Station 1 and administrative facility off 10th Avenue, between Dayton Street and Auburn Street, a $10.4 million project, was nearly complete in September 2023.

The new station replaces its predecessor at 600 S. Auburn St., which originally opened in 1977.

Lusignan said the old building will no longer be used by the fire department and will be incorporated into a future “civic campus” master plan, which will include 44

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

replacement of the aging city hall.

Meanwhile, below ground, the city of Kennewick is closing in on the completion of the first phase of it its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project, which will replace or retrofit all water meters across the city with remote read technology that reports usage in real time to both the city and customers.

“This will be important for conservation efforts,” said Lusignan, who added that vigilant customers will also be able to detect problems sooner in the case of water leaks or meter equipment malfunctions.

So far, some 14,000 meters have been upgraded, she said, with the second phase beginning soon.

Plans are still moving forward on a cutting-edge transformation of the city’s aging wastewater treatment plant into a grade A fertilizer-producing greenhouse facility, which will generate new revenue for the city from the sewage waste it collects, processes and expects to sell.

Dredging of the plant’s two

lagoons is underway in preparation for construction, set to begin in spring 2024.

“Our utility workers are the unsung heroes,” Lusignan said.

“There is nothing more vital to the community than clean water and that when you flush it, it goes away. There is so much hard work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that everything is handled properly.”

The infrastructure below the ground is easy to overlook, “but a significant amount of investment goes into those services. They are top priorities for the city,” Lusignan said.

Pickleball capital One of the city’s most eagerly awaited projects of 2023 was the completion of a $1.3 million pickleball complex at Lawrence Scott Park at Canal Drive and Kellogg Street.

The park was previously home to three pickleball courts, but the expansion added an additional 12 championship-quality courts, as well as a 74-by-45-foot picnic shelter pavilion and new restrooms.

“This complex makes Kenne-

wick the pickleball capital of the state,” Lusignan said.

With 15 courts, Lawrence Scott is now the largest outdoor pickleball complex in Washington, the birthplace of pickleball, and now the state’s official sport, Lusignan said. For comparison, Spokane’s largest complex features 10 courts and Seattle has eight.

The project was completed in partnership with Club 509 Pickleball, which proposed the idea to the city and helped recruit Toyota of Tri-Cities and Retter & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty as sponsors.

Lusignan said that not only does the new complex provide more resources for the growing community of pickleball players in Tri-Cities, but it also opens the door to new economic development opportunities as the city can now host tournaments and other big events.

More than 85,000 vehicles pass through the Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard intersection daily. A $3.8 million project to improve the busy intersection is expected to be completed in January 2024.

Photo by Rachel Visick

Lusignan said the new complex also enhances the overall quality of life in Kennewick.

“We are making investment in all aspects, whether it’s infrastructure to support growth or investing in amenities like pickleball courts to make the city a great place to live. New recreation

opportunities that provide some diverse options for all ages help when marketing to visitors and new businesses. When businesses look to locate here, they’re not just looking at growth, but asking, ‘Is this a place people want to raise a family?’ They have to be able to retain employees,” she said. ●

Focus | Construction + Real Estate

45

City of Pasco Multifamily housing construction along Burns Road, west of Broadmoor Boulevard in Pasco.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Multifamily housing to play role in region’s transition into thriving metropolitan area

BY SARA SCHILLING

In Pasco, the watchword at the moment is planning. And transition.

The city that’s already experienced transformational growth in the last decade-plus is poised to gain even more residents over the next 20-plus years.

And that’s on the mind of city officials as they make decisions 46

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

about policies, infrastructure, services and more.

“For some time now, Pasco has been forecasted to grow and grow and grow and grow,” said Jacob Gonzalez, Pasco’s community and economic development director. “So, I think what you’re seeing is a transition from the kind of development that we got used to the last several decades

and now planning for the community that’s here now and the communities and businesses that may call Pasco home in the future.”

Housing needs changing Pasco currently is home to more than 81,000 people. A decade ago, that number was around 60,000 people and by the year 2045, Pasco is expected

to have about 140,000 residents, Gonzalez said.

That’s about 72% growth over the next two decades.

And housing needs are changing.

Single-family homes have been the staple for the last 10 to 20 years.

But “what we’ve seen over the past year or so is a decrease in single-family construction and Focus | Construction + Real Estate

47

West Pasco continues to be a hot spot for new housing starts, especially in the area surrounding Broadmoor Boulevard.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography 48

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

a dramatic increase in multifamily,” Gonzalez said. “We are seeing a significant amount of development applications for townhomes, for duplexes, for different cluster-type developments – a mix of single-family and townhomes together in the same development.”

This year, single-family home construction through August is the lowest it’s been since at least 2018 during the same period, with the city issuing 54% fewer building permits.

In all, about 3,500 to 4,000 new housing units are in some stage of development in the city – either under construction or in the review and approval process. At least half are a combination of multifamily units.

Gonzalez said the increasing cost of housing and the community’s rapid growth are factors in that change.

Several multifamily housing projects are going up along Sandifur Parkway and Burns Road, he said. And about 450 units are being built in the Broadmoor area – a blend of market rate and senior housing.

“We’ve also got a lot of in-fill townhome development, which is exciting to see, on Road 90 and Road 92, and some in-fill development along Road 68 and Argent Road, just south of Interstate 182. Some good quality multifamily market-rate apartments are being built right now in that important corridor,” he said. “I would expect to see a lot of those vacant lands, in the next year or so, begin to fill up with a combination of higher-density residential and the supporting commercial services.” The city has already made updates to its zoning code to create more opportunities for varied development, including relaxing rules around accessory

Local Bounti’s commercial greenhouse is taking shape along South Elm Street and East A Street in Pasco. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

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49

Sing l

The city is seeing a glut of industrial development in various stages of completion, from Amazon distribution centers to a milk processing plant and a greenhouse complex, among others.

Amazon has built two distribution centers on the east side of town, although an opening date hasn’t yet been announced.

In a statement, Amazon spokesman Steve Kelly told the

81,280

2023: 161 2022: 175 2021: 293

it rm

Industrial boom

Journal of Business Pasco that the facilities “are included 23 Population 20 in our plans and remain an integral part of our future in Washington.

While we don’t have launch timey ho amil me pe f lines to share at this e time, progress is being made at each facility and we’re looking forward to working with our local partners to hire 1,500 people.” *Year to date A couple miles north along through August Highway 395, Darigold is building a $600 million milk producleafy tion facility that’s expected to greens open in 2024. Local Bounti also sold plans to open its $40 million through grogreenhouse complex in east ceries.

Pasco in 2024. The facility will “Industrial development is cultivate live lettuce, herbs and

s

dwelling units (ADUs), which are sometimes called “motherin-law apartments” or “backyard cottages.”

City staffers also are working on a Housing Action and Implementation Plan, which is expected to go before the Pasco City Council for consideration later this year.

Multifamily housing construction along Burns Road in Pasco.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography

really picking up steam. We have to thank our partners with the Port of Pasco and Franklin County for continuing to foster a business-friendly environment,” Gonzalez said.

Growth is the story In this time of transition, Gonzalez said community input

50

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

is vitally important. “A big thing we’re working on in City Hall is making sure we’re listening to the needs of our residents and not turning a blind eye to those conversations that we’re going to need to have as the city continues to grow,” he said.

That means reaching out and

using clear communication, among other things, he said.

That will be key as the forecasted growth comes to bear.

“I don’t want to speak for our neighboring communities, but I think growth is the story of our region. The area is going through a very long transition into a thriving metropolitan area,” Gonzalez said. “And I think we’re trying to get the right policies in place right now to ensure that when that growth does hit, we’re ready for it. I think we’re seeing some of those results already with the change in permitting types that we’re seeing in the city and the appetite for industrial developers and companies looking at this region and Pasco as an attractive place to establish themselves.

We want to keep that up without losing sight of the residents who are here and the businesses that are here today.” ●

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

City of Richland Atkins Nuclear Secured’s $20 million technology center off George Washington Way in north Richland.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Tax breaks drive big business growth, expansion

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

Richland sees green on the north end of town – in the form of clean energy, new jobs and the sale of large parcels as the city works to woo big industry.

The city recently secured a $4 million low-interest loan from the state’s Community Economic Revitalization Board to extend sewer lines in North Horn Rapids Industrial Park. Infrastructure improvements could help land a $1 billion project by Atlas Agro North America Corp. in Richland.

The Swiss company proposed a zero-carbon fertilizer plant on 150 acres, bringing 160 livingwage jobs. The low-interest loan is being matched by $1 million in local resources.

Atlas Agro also would take advantage of a new tax break intended to lure manufacturers to

set up shop in Washington.

To qualify for the tax exemption, a business must create a minimum of 25 living-wage jobs and make improvements valued at $800,000 or more to undeveloped or underdeveloped property. The city’s Targeted Urban Area (TUA) includes Horn Rapids and some of the airport properties.

“The city basically throws in our portion of the tax on the improvements only for 10 years while they still pay for their property taxes,” said Mandy Wallner, economic development manager for the city of Richland.

ATI Inc. will become the first to use this benefit under a massive expansion plan recently announced for Richland with a price tag estimated by city documents at $111 million.

The Dallas-based company has a 25-year presence in the city and plans to double its titanium melt-

er operations, bringing upward of 100 new jobs with its first phase next year. It serves the aerospace and defense industries.

“We appreciate the region’s strong support and are honored to be the city of Richland’s first recipient of the manufacturing property tax exemption,” said ATI board chairman and CEO Bob Wetherbee.

The incentive allows the city to be more competitive in attracting businesses to town.

“This piece of legislation created this opportunity for essentially a local incentive, which our state is known for not having,” Wallner said. “Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Montana and Oregon have been ones that we primarily come up against, and for us to compete and recruit some of these major industrial projects, we have to have some sort of an incentive.

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Construction underway on apartments along Bradley Boulevard in Richland. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

funds, which a lot of times you see or would like to see, but the city got behind putting our portion toward it, and we’re hoping the county also does its portion.”

Richland hopes to offer this benefit to attract other manufacturing companies.

When built, ATI expects to use green energy – in the form of hydroelectric power – to run its newest facility, falling right in line with the city’s partnership with the Port of Benton to promote the Advanced Clean Energy Park, a site that includes large parcels covering 200 acres or more at the north end of the city that has an estimated population of 62,000.

Where’s the beef plant?

Richland is anxiously awaiting Beef Expansion LLC, doing business as Old Trapper, to begin building on its 20-acre site along First Street and Kingsgate Way, a project that is expected to bring at 54

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least 100 jobs with it.

Richland typically expects dirt to start moving within 18 months of issuing a building permit and that window has passed, but the Oregon-based company received an extension to set up a jerky factory in Richland. Future phases could triple the initial job forecast.

Another Oregon-based company is also expanding to Richland, as N.W. Metal Fabricators Inc. looks to add its powder-coating expertise to a five-acre site on Polar Way while keeping metal fabrication at its current spot in Hermiston.

“We chose Richland for a couple of reasons,” said Aaron Karlson, president and owner of N.W. Metal Fabricators. “We are excited about the growth of the Richland and West Richland communities and feel like a powder coating business will be a good fit. We like the proxim-

ity to businesses located near the Richland Airport and Hanford site. Other powder-coating facilities are located in Pasco, and we believe there is a need for these services in Richland.”

Karlson said the business had looked at an expansion prior to the pandemic and then put the plans on hold before reaching back out to the city in 2022 to buy 5 acres.

General contractor Hummel Construction will build the 15,000-square-foot facility with a plan to break ground before the end of this year.

“The facility will be capable of small and large projects, as well as high volume manufacturing projects. We’ve designed the building and equipment to be versatile,” Karlson said. The move is expected to bring about a dozen new positions, which is more than a 25% increase over its current workforce.

Affordable housing In addition to commercial growth, Wallner said another major Richland priority is housing.

Wallner said finding “attainable housing,” or workforce housing, is a challenge as such projects mostly rely on private investment from developers who don’t always find the projects profitable.

“I think the dichotomy statewide people are having is, ‘How do you incentivize development to be affordable?’ We’ve had a few opportunities where people have pitched doing affordable housing options, but the city would need to buy the difference. So, you might offset the price by this much, but then in five years it’s not affordable housing,” she said.

Apartment growth Finding what she calls “true gem” projects that will be affordable in perpetuity is key, but right now the city’s solution seems to be apartments.

The number of single-family and multifamily homes built in Richland is down significantly at this point in the year compared to the same period in previous years.

As of the end of August, the city issued 157 permits for singlefamily homes, compared to 229 for the same period last year, and 268 in 2021.

Multifamily dwellings are back to a level similar to 2021 when five permits were issued. So far, Richland issued three multifamily home permits, compared to 19 at this point last year.

Wallner said homes in Badger Mountain South area are selling at a pace of about one a month.

An overall slowdown in residential growth is buoyed by commercial growth within Richland, which recorded 55 new construction permits through August, compared to 44 last year and down slightly from the 59 issued Focus | Construction + Real Estate

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Richland

23 Population 20

from the building boom seen in 2021, when 1,629 were issued at this same point in the year.

New apartments are under construction in multiple areas of the city, hoping to fill some of the affordable housing need, including a project on Columbia Park Trail, and a new development called Desert Sky that will result in 227 units.

Cedar and Sage Homes is building an estimated $40 million development of 160 units called The Bradley Apartments along Bradley Boulevard, just south of the luxe multi-unit complex at Park Place that was years in the making.

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2023: 157 2022: 229 2021: 268

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*Year to date through August

in 2021.

Tenant improvement permits are pacing similar to previous years with 74 issued so far.

This helps balance out overall construction numbers at 1,445 permits issued so far through the end of August, compared to 1,455 the previous year during the same period, yet down measurably

Busy thoroughfares These apartments will back up to George Washington Way, a

main thoroughfare through Richland that’s the focus of the city’s public works department, which is looking to improve the busy street’s safety where it enters the city at Columbia Point Drive and further north, near the Uptown Shopping Center.

The city expects it would cost $16 million to improve downtown Richland connectivity by converting George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue into one-way streets starting at the George Washington Way-Jadwin intersection north to Symons Street. Traffic would travel north on George Washington and south on Jadwin.

“We’re going to do another public engagement on the couplet, because we did the last one four or five years ago, and that’s long enough to forget about it,” Wallner said. “We want to make sure everybody knows about it.”

Funding is still being worked out, but construction is likely to begin in 2025.

It’s in the same part of town

The $20 million Atkins Technology Center is adjacent to the existing Atkins Engineering Laboratory and Washington State University Tri-Cities Wine Science Center. It will feature 16,000 square feet of open, collaborative office space and another 16,000-square-foot high-bay testing area for developing innovative nuclear and environmental cleanup technologies, digital solutions, robotics and engineering net zero advancement.

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where Richland has studied parking as it relates to central areas like The Parkway.

“As it turns out, there’s enough parking downtown, it’s just in all the wrong places,” Wallner said. “So, we’re kind of trying to figure out how to make some shifts. There’s a consultant we’re working with who helps us put together what those studies look like with a redevelopment slant, seeing if properties are underutilized or not dense enough.”

Richland is also wrapping up a lengthy effort to connect Tapteal Drive with Gage Boulevard, which required property acquisitions from both private and public owners.

Considered a vital project for the best use of current properties and future development on Tapteal, the city expects the $7.5 million Center Parkway North extension to be open to traffic in October 2023. ●

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City of West Richland Homebuilding slows as commercial construction hums along

BY KRISTINA LORD

The Tri-Cities’ fourth city reports a robust year of commercial development even as home construction cools.

The city issued 52% fewer building permits for single-family homes through August 2023, compared to the same period last year.

But city officials remain optimistic and so are the developers who have commercial construction projects underway.

The city of 17,840 residents grew 2.5% from 2022-23, adding 430 more people who call West Richland home.

Many of them likely bought homes in the sprawling Heights at Red Mountain Ranch, an Aho Construction development off 58

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Van Giesen Street. New home construction there is still underway, though the pace has slowed.

“We just issued them a handful of permits last month. So they keep going. It used to be we’d issue them a handful of permits a week and now it’s down to about the same amount per month,” said Eric Mendenhall, the city’s community development director, in mid-September.

Progress inches forward on the massive development proposed on the Lewis & Clark Ranch land, owned by Frank Tiegs LLC, generally located south of the Yakima River and north of Heights at Red Mountain.

The city is trying to determine the water availability and capac-

ity needed to serve the future development, which could top out at 3,000 homes. It hopes to have an answer before the end of this year, so it can complete a draft environmental impact statement (EIS).

The EIS process provides opportunities for the public, local, state and federal agencies, and tribal governments to participate to help identify possible adverse environmental impacts, reasonable alternatives and possible mitigation.

Once this step is complete, “they can start subdividing and moving forward with the development,” Mendenhall said.

The Costco effect Though Costco is considering Richland for a possible second

A home for Trader Joe’s?

17,840 y ho amil me pe f e

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2023: 42 2022: 87 2021: 205

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Mendenhall said if Costco does open a store in Richland, it would be a good time for Trader Joe’s to consider West Richland for its next grocery store.

“Our demographic is the demographic they look for. We’ve got a lot of Ph.D.s in our community,” he said.

He thinks an ideal location would be across the street from the new HAPO Community Credit Union currently under construction at 6185 Keene

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tersection which is currently a four-way stop.

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Tri-Cities location, the city of West Richland is paying close attention.

“If it builds behind Target, then all of that whole area’s transportation network system is going to need to be upgraded,” Mendenhall said.

West Richland is in the midst of installing a new intersection with traffic signals after ripping out an aging traffic circle to reduce backups and delays at Bombing Range and Keene roads. The busy intersection handles traffic from the Queensgate retail area, Badger Mountain South and all the new development west of the city.

The city’s long-range plans also include putting a signal at Kennedy and Dallas roads, an in-

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Multifamily housing boom in West Richland in the Heights at Red Mountain Ranch area. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

*Year to date through August

Road.

“All the frontage improvements are completed and ready to go. I think that would be a Focus | Construction + Real Estate

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Housing construction in the Heights at Red Mountain Ranch area of West Richland includes both single-family and multifamily homes.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography

great spot for it. When the new high school comes, you’ve got all that family traffic too,” he said.

Richland School District voters approved a capital levy in

February 2023 which earmarks dollars to design a future high school on land behind the Teaching, Learning & Administration Center on Keene Road in West

Richland. The school board has not yet decided to put a bond on the ballot to build the new school.

Development in this area on the west side of the city along Keene continues to hum along with the completion of a SunMarket gas station and convenience store and Firehouse Subs restaurant at 6255 Keene Road.

HAPO is building its new branch next door.

Dutch Bros bought property in the same neighborhood too, likely anticipating the opening the future high school, Mendenhall said.

Benton REA plans to build its new administration center on 18 acres near the new police station at Van Giesen and Keene.

“When Benton REA comes and they drop the facility out there, that’ll be another push on the needle. Because if they come

The city of 17,840 residents grew 2.5% from 2022-23, adding 430 more people who call West Richland home.

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and the school district comes, then I can see all sorts of restaurants popping up. And then even down the road seeing a hotel come in,” Mendenhall said.

New commercial buildings have sprung up near Yoke’s Fresh Market at Bombing Range Road and Paradise Way. The newly opened Croskrey Plaza, a $3.5 million development, is home to the city’s first urgent care clinic and a boba tea shop, plus a Papa John’s Pizza, dog grooming salon and jiu-jistu academy.

Across the street, construction is underway on a threebuilding development that will be home to Swigg Coffee Bar, a dentist’s office and taekwondo gym. The developers, Jeff and Julie Wenner, also hope to recruit a restaurant to their strip mall. ●

The Mid-Columbia is known for its inexpensive and reliable energy – hydro, nuclear, wind and solar.

The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business explores the challenges and opportunities confronting the region as it works to build a clean energy future in the December edition.

ENERGY

For more information, call 509-737-8778.

Tiffany at 509-344-1271 or Chad at 509-344-1274.

Advertising deadline is Thursday, November 16, 2023.

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