Education

Construction at the new Badger Mountain Elementary school in south Richland. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Build, rebuild, remodel – repeat?

BY JEFF MORROW

Despite the pandemic, the Mid-Columbia’s school districts and schools – grades Kindergarten through 12, as well as higher education – plowed ahead to build, rebuild and remodel schools and support facilities.

From a recently opened Kennewick High School, which cost over $100 million, to $30 million buildings at both Columbia Basin College in Pasco and Washington State University Tri-Cities in Richland, this region is still high on education construction.

The Kennewick, Pasco and Richland school districts are winding down the projects funded by bonds approved by voters in recent years.

It won’t be long before all three consider new bond measures to meet the needs of the area’s everincreasing student and teacher populations.

Here is a look at what is going on:

Kennewick School District

The Kennewick School District’s most recent official numbers for 2020-21: 18,539 students.

Robyn Chastain, executive director of communication and public relations, said that while official enrollment numbers aren’t complete, “I can tell you that we are not seeing a significant change at the elementary numbers. At the secondary level we are more optimistic that enrollment will increase compared to last school year.”

The district had 1,189 classified staff and 1,325 certificated staff last school year.

The district’s operational budget for the 2021-22 school year is $292 million.

The biggest school project in Kennewick and the region was the renovation and remodel of Kennewick High School. The project was approved by Kennewick voters in the 2019 bond, and cost $109.5 million. State matching funds supported the project.

The 292,000-square-foot building opened to students in August.

In addition, Southridge High School students were greeted with a $25 million addition of 30,000 square feet for new classroom space and athletic facility improvements. Kamiakin High School students benefited from a $17 million facelift that added

23,000 square feet of new classroom space and athletic facility improvements.

When it’s all said and done, all three high schools should hold 2,000 students each.

Technically, though, the projects aren’t all completed, with some minor work needing to be finished.

“(They’re) not considered officially complete at this time,” said Chastain. “We have a conditional certificate of occupancy for the three projects and there is still some work to be completed.”

The $10.8 million Tri-Tech Skills Center expansion project was completed in November 2020, with 16,000 square feet of classroom space added.

In addition, the 2019 bond allows for replacing Ridge View Elementary school, expanding it from 20 classrooms to 30.

“Design West has been selected to design Ridge View Elementary,” Chastain said. “The design process is starting this fall and continuing through spring 2022. The tentative date for completed construction (of the $23 million project) is December 2023.”

The last part of the bond is a plan for the district’s 18th elementary school. Chastain said that depends on enrollment growth.

“At this time, the district would need to see a significant increase in elementary enrollment during the next several years to be eligible for state construction assistance funds,” said Chastain.

As for the next bond, a timeline has not been determined.

“There is no firm date to run the next bond measure,” said Chastain. “Potential projects and availability of the state construction assistance funds will be evaluated over the next few years to determine if 2025 or a later date is appropriate to run a bond measure.”

Richland School District

The Richland School District has 13,739 students and 920 certificated staff, which includes teachers, school nurses, librarians and counselors.

The district’s operational budget is $203 million for the 2021-22 school year.

Ty Beaver, the district’s director of communications, said it is still working on projects funded by the 2017 voter-approved bond.

Last October, staff moved into the $11.6 million Teaching, Learning and Administration Center in West Richland.

The building has 41,000 square feet that includes office space for six district departments, school board meetings and three classrooms.

The Richland High School Auditorium renovation project, which cost $7.7 million, was completed in July 2021.

The improvements include new seating and a re-arranged layout, an improved stage area, additional restrooms, a new roof and improved access for people with disabilities.

Construction crews also are nearing the end of the $6 million Hanford High School athletic fields project.

The project updated and enhanced athletic fields at Hanford High for physical education classes, marching band practices, team practices and games.

That included installing artificial turf, resurfacing the track, adding a 2,000-seat grandstand with a press box, a new building with restrooms and concessions, a new venue entrance and improved accessibility.

That project is expected to be completed in October 2021.

Then work will get going on the $10 million Fran Rish Stadium upgrades over at Richland High School.

The project will include updating and enhancing the field and home side bleachers of the stadium.

That will include new artificial turf, a resurfaced track, new home side bleachers, restrooms, locker rooms and training spaces.

The permitting process will start in winter 2021, while construction will run from spring through summer 2022. The project is scheduled for completion in August 2022.

The construction of the new „ Badger Mountain Elementary

Kennewick High School, 560 W. Sixth Ave., opened in August with a new 292,000-square-foot building. The $109 million project was funded by a voter-approved bond and state matching funds.

Photo by Chad Utecht

The Pasco School District rebuilt and expanded Isaac Stevens Middle School, 1120 N. 22nd Ave., using proceeds from a 2017 voter-approved bond and state matching funds.

Photo by Chad Utecht

School on its former site started in late August 2021.

The new school should be 65,000 square feet, and will include 28 regular classrooms and three classrooms for special education classes, a multipurpose space, library, art and music spaces, gymnasium and a playground.

The 2017 bond supports a 12th elementary school, but no decision has been made about where and when it will be built.

Beaver said there is no set timeline yet for the next bond, but the district is reconvening its capital facilities committee to chart a course to a bond request as early as 2022. Its charge includes considering the need for a third high school.

“District leaders are in the midst of reviewing current facility needs and are looking for community members who have the time to dedicate to the Facilities Planning Committee and give input to the process, and craft a recommendation for future construction to the Richland School Board sometime in the coming months,” he said.

Pasco School District

The most recent enrollment figures for the Pasco School District for the 2021-22 school year show 18,393 students.

The breakdown is 8,080 elementary students, 4,408 middle school students and 5,905 high school students.

Shane Edinger, director of public affairs, said the district has an estimated 2,200 total employees, and about 1,200 certificated employees. Its general fund budget for 2021-22 is about $289 million. The general fund covers operating costs but not capital projects.

Only one project is left in the bond approved by voters in 2017 – a maintenance bay for the transportation and facilities departments.

That originally called for $1.6 million for two new maintenance bays for Pasco’s 162 school buses, as well as another $1.4 million for improvements on the transportation facility.

Both are needed. Pasco has a 47-to-1 bus-to-bay ratio. Kennewick’s is 25-to-1 and Richland’s is 20-to-1.

The maintenance facility

Collaboration Hall is newest academic building at Washington State University Tri-Cities’ Richland campus, 2710 Crimson Way. The $30 million project, funded by the state capital projects budget, includes 40,000 square feet of teaching labs, meeting space and an event area.

Courtesy WSU Tri-Cities

needed an update to a building that helps 30 maintenance workers and 75 custodians.

The concept is being retooled. In December 2020, the Pasco School Board approved partnering with the Finley School District on a transportation cooperative. The state Superintendent of Public Instruction’s office signed off in January.

Edinger said there are many benefits to the co-op.

“A transportation cooperative will allow for 90% of the eligible costs of construction to be covered by (the state),” he said.

It also results in a larger department facility to alleviate space constraints for all staffers, the full remodeling of the shop space to increase the number of service bays, and helps the Finley School District too, Edinger added.

The design development process for the transportation is complete. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2021, with completion expected with a year.

The 2017 bond, coupled with state matching funds, paid for the $28.5 million Columbia River Elementary School, which opened in September 2020; the rebuilding of the $39.7 million ($21.1 million from the bond, $18.6 million in matching funds from the state) Isaac Stevens Middle School, „which welcomed students in

Construction proceeds on the Student Recreation Center at Columbia Basin College’s Pasco campus, 2600 N. 20th Ave. Students voted to support the $30 million project.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography

January 2021; and the opening of the new $46.5 million ($15.9 million of it in state matching funds) Ray Reynolds Middle School.

As for an upcoming bond measure, Edinger said the district is considering a timeline.

“As part of the district’s longterm facilities management plan, the district was planning to run a bond in November 2020 that would have included a third comprehensive high school for the district, and career and technical education enhancements at Chiawana and Pasco,” said Edinger.

In June 2021 the board voted to postpone that bond election because of the pandemic.

The district will ask the LongTerm Facilities Management Plan Committee to re-engage later this year to discuss the next bond.

Columbia Basin College

Jay Frank, CBC spokesman, said the Pasco campus projects 4,555 full-time students expected for this school year. That’s down from the close to 5,500 who attended in fall 2020.

Columbia Basin College has 773 employees this school year, which includes 135 full-time faculty members and 220 part-time.

The school’s fiscal year 2022 operating budget is $55 million.

The big news this year at CBC is ongoing construction of the $30 million Student Recreation Center. The CBC Associated Student Body approved the project.

The 80,000-square-foot facility will feature a basketball gymnasium that seats 1,000 to 1,200 people, another basketball practice court, a smaller court with a dasher system, an esports room for multiplayer video gaming, a fitness center, office space and a recreation center where students can check out tents, sleeping bags and outdoor gear.

The project reached the halfway point in June 2021 – which puts it behind schedule.

That’s because of pandemicrelated supply chain issues. The project is currently expected to wrap in spring 2022.

When it is completed, the old gym across the parking lot will be torn down.

The rec center isn’t the only big project on campus.

Frank said “the library building renovation and repairs, and the T building science wing renovations projects are the top ones.”

The library project – which will include improvements on the roof, lighting controls and HVAC units – will cost an estimated $1.2 million.

The T building improvements will cost about $816,000.

WSU Tri-Cities

Maegan Murray, director of communication for WSU TriCities, said the latest enrollment figures date back to fall 2020,

with 1,716 students.

That includes 1,537 undergraduates and 179 graduate students.

The total faculty and staff at WSU Tri-Cities is 568 people, with 152 of them faculty members.

The school is operating under a $20 million budget for the 202122 school year. In addition, there is $7 million in grant expenditures.

The big project this past year was the fall opening of the $30 million academic building called Collaboration Hall.

The 40,000-square-foot building was funded in the state capital budget. It contains classrooms, labs for physics, biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology and geology and other disciplines. There is collaborative space, an entry suited for events and receptions and an outdoor amphitheater. Murray said the school added some improvements to its veterans memorial as well.

“We expanded ‘Stories’ Veterans Memorial, renovated the Veterans Center and newly added the General James Mattis Leadership Library (located in the Veterans Center),” she said. The library includes books Mattis said were important to his development as a military leader.

The campus library also got a renovation, with an expansion into a robust “Learning Commons” – opened in time for classes this fall.

In that renovation, the first floor now “features a range of student services, of which some include our tutoring center, writing center, TRIO Student Success Programs, academic advising, proctoring center and Career Services.”

The second floor is now the traditional library. 

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City of Kennewick

Residential construction near Ridgeline Drive and South Sherman Street in Kennewick. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Forging forward to ‘normal’ despite pandemic

BY LAURA KOSTAD

As the Tri-Cities negotiates its second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, cities and private developers alike continue to forge ahead with projects, bringing new services to the community.

Despite state and federal level mandates limiting in-person business, tightened budgets and ballooning construction costs, Kennewick – the largest and most densely populated of the four cities at 85,940 residents, up 1,000 over the previous year – never saw a major drop in development.

“It’s very encouraging,” said Evelyn Lusignan, public relations and customer service manager. “It’s a sign we’re going to come out of this and that those who invest in our community have all the confidence things will get back to normal.”

“New development kept coming in, new plans were proposed and development meetings held,” Lusignan said.

Homebuilders applied for 171 permits in the city for the first eight months of 2021, down slightly from 193 for the same period the previous year.

“The good news is we remain well positioned to continue providing over 300 services to our community,” she said, referencing a tally taken a few years back of all programs and services provided by city departments.

For 2021-22, the city of Kennewick’s biennial budget is $396 million.

About $66 million is budgeted for capital projects.

Sales tax revenue climbs

Though some of the city’s revenue sources such as gambling and lodging taxes continue to lag, sales tax revenue has been strong in 2021, up 22% over the previous year.

Lusignan said it’s a result of business picking back up as brick-and-mortar storefronts reopened and the public returned to more normal routines.

Sales tax distributions from large improvement projects such as the Kennewick High School renovation and substantial expansions of Southridge and Kamiakin high schools also significantly contributed to this uptick and helped mitigate revenue losses.

Lusignan acknowledged a handful of businesses didn’t survive the pandemic and that some „

Trios Southridge Hospital expansion project at 3810 Plaza Way, Kennewick. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Kennewick

Sing lefamily home permit s2021: 171 2020: 193 2019: 231

*Year to date through August

are still struggling. “Our county was shut down longer than any county in the state, so it had an impact for sure,” she said.

The city’s focus on online tools available on its website – for submitting plans and permit applications – also helped keep projects moving forward while city hall was closed to the public. “It made for a good transition to get people to use the online services available to them 24/7,” Lusignan said.

In addition to private investment, in May 2021, the city of Kennewick received about $8 million as a part of the federal coronavirus relief bill approved in March 2021, called the American Rescue Plan.

A second distribution for the same amount will be sent in May 2022.

“The city has been reviewing (the) requirements and exploring potential uses of the funding to determine how best to utilize these funds to assist our city and the broader Tri-Cities region in its economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Lusignan said.

2021 Population 85,940 New fire stations One of the city’s biggest projects wrapping up in fall 2021 is the +12,023 new fire station on Grandridge from 2010 Boulevard behind Three Rivers Convention Center, a $4.5 million undertaking. It replaces the previous Fire Station 3 behind the Benton County Justice Center on West Quinault Avenue. The new station is projected to serve the community for the next 40 to 50 years. Within the next three years, a new fire station will be built on 10th Avenue next to the old Trios Hospital, formerly known as Kennewick General, replacing an older station and administrative offices at 600 S. Auburn St. At 12,570 square feet, the new station will feature extra deep bays able to accommodate up to three fire/EMS units, with ample space to house reserve vehicles or possibly a future aerial apparatus, as well as additional space for future needs.

“The highlight of the station design is an out-front display bay that will house the first motorized fire truck purchased by the city of Kennewick in 1922,” Lusignan said.

“This contemporary display in a state-of-the-art facility will fit in well with the Vista Field development project,” she said.

Lusignan noted the city and Port of Kennewick meet frequently to discuss how to best work together to support the port’s goals of developing the property.

Infrastructure projects

Additional infrastructure improvements were completed or are currently underway around Kennewick.

In Southridge, construction of the highly anticipated underpass at Highway 395 and Ridgeline Drive began in early April 2021.

The project includes on- and off-ramps, providing direct access to Ridgeline Drive, making this rapidly growing area more appealing to developers.

“Currently the Ridgeline Drive intersection with Highway 395 is restricted to not allow left turns out from Ridgeline onto Highway 395. This restricts the ability of adjacent properties to successfully develop without the benefit of easy access to and from their properties,” Lusignan said.„

Construction is underway at the Resort at Hansen Park, an 18-acre, mixed-use development at

7960 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

An additional northbound 395 lane also is included in the project and will extend from Ridgeline to north of Hildebrand Boulevard, as well as new turn lanes at all four legs of the Highway 395-Hildebrand intersection.

The $13.4 million construction bid was awarded in February 2021 after five years of planning.

The project is estimated to cost $21 million.

The city will receive $15 million from the state’s Connecting Washington funds – a 16-year program funded primarily by an 11.9-cent gas tax increase fully phased in on July 1, 2016.

Lusignan emphasized the significance of securing Connecting Washington funding, explaining that a lot of money is committed to the west side of the state where roadways are stressed by the rapidly increasing and densifying population.

“We’re all paying this gas tax … it’s great to see our tax dollars coming back,” she said.

The project is expected to be finished by fall 2022.

In downtown Kennewick, work wrapped up in summer 2021 on improvements to Washington Street, intended to extend pedestrian connectivity between the downtown area, Clover Island and Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village.

Wider sidewalks, additional landscaping, new street lights and a pedestrian crossing with flashing beacon at Railroad Avenue were added in partnership with the Port of Kennewick and Complete Streets, each of which contributed $500,000 to the project.

Around the city, asphalt overlaying has been completed on Southridge Boulevard from Hildebrand to 27th Avenue, Hildebrand Boulevard from Southridge to South Dawes Street and 27th Avenue from Union Street to Highway 395 and Highway 395 to Ely Street.

The pedestrian flashing beacons also were added to 15 pedestrian crossings across the city, thanks to a $855,000 federal grant.

A new six million-gallon reservoir near 18th Avenue and Kellogg Street is set for completion by July 2022, replacing a larger, outdated reservoir on the site.

The partnership between the city of Kennewick and Vijay Patel of A1 Pearl Development Group to expand Three Rivers Convention Center, build a Broadwaystyle theater, seven-story hotel and commercial space is ongoing as the developers continue to explore financing options.

“We are still in our due diligence period,” Lusignan said, emphasizing that the project is still being pursued. 

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CELEBRATING YEARS

CELEBRATING YEARS

January 2021Volume 20 | Issue 1

Architecture & Engineering LIGO gets visitor center worthy of its Nobel Prize-winning science

Page A19

Business Profile Custom-made metal gallery fi nds niche in Kennewick

Page A27

Real Estate & Construction Richland winery opens riverside tasting room in Vancouver

Page B1 NOTEWORTHY

“I am deeply concerned about the federal constitutional implications of shutdowns – in essence I believe the shutdowns may be infringing on several cherished constitutional rights.” - George F. Cicotte, The Cicotte Law Firm

Page A13

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PASCO, WA PERMIT NO. 8778 Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business 8524 W. Gage Blvd., #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336 PLEASE DELIVER TO CURRENT OCCUPANT

It’s back to basics for Washington state businesses as Covid-19 infections rates rise. Gov. Jay Inslee debuted a new Covid-19 strategy that organizes Washington into eight regions and sets tough targets before restrictions meant to curtail the spread of the virus that causes the disease are loosened. Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery launched Jan. 11, with all eight regions placed in Phase 1, the most restrictive. It was expected to remain in place until at least Jan. 18. The phases are reviewed and adjusted each Friday. Benton and Franklin counties are part of the South Central zone together with Yakima, Kittitas, Walla Walla and Columbia counties. The regions are based on Emergency Medical Services regions used for evaluating healthcare services, the governor’s office said. Regions can move to the less-restrictive Phase 2 by demonstrating a decreasing trend of 10% or more in a two-week rate of infections, a decreasing rate of 10% or more in a two-week rate of new Covid-19 hospitalizations, fewer than 10% of Covid-19 tests returning positive and fewer than 90% of intensive care unit beds occupied. The state Department of Health released data showing a 4% drop in infections in the South Central region in December but a 12% increase in new hospital admissions. The combination was not enough to move the area out of Phase 1. “We know that all people in Washington want to move forward as quickly as possible with respect to Covid-19. However, these metrics show that we are just not ready to do so now,” said Dr. Umair A. Shah, Washington’s Secretary of Health. “We have made progress but need to continue to work together to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 across our state.” “Working together” is the key challenge for the South Central zone, said local business leaders. The Tri-Cities will not emerge from Phase 1 on its own.

Banks brace for third round of PPP loans

Photo by Wendy CulverwellGov. Jay Inslee’s new reopening strategy organizes Washington into eight regions, which must collaborate to reduce Covid-19 infection and hospitalization rates. Above, members of the National Guard operate a free testing station in Pasco. Free testing is now off ered at the back parking lot of the Toyota Center in Kennewick. Inslee’s new recovery plan forces six counties to coordinate on Covid-19 As members of the Prosser Chamber of Commerce struggled to pay renewal fees under pandemic-related financial pressure, the executive director found a novel solution. John-Paul Estey asked Yakima Federal Savings and Loan to allow it use sponsorship dollars for canceled events to cover dues owed by cash-strapped members. The bank agreed. Yakima Federal was on tap to foot the entertainment bill for two key Prosser chamber events. But the Scottish Fest & Highland Games in June and the Prosser

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz Costa Vida coming to Burden Boulevard in PascoPage B3 Mid-Columbia lenders are ready to begin processing a new wave of Paycheck Protection Program loans. As a third edition of the popular forgivable loan ramped up in mid-January, local lenders said they would apply the lessons they learned from the first two but stood ready to respond to their customers, defying word that some lenders were beset by “PPP fatigue.”Congress first authorized the PPP program in the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act then extended it through the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law shortly after Christmas. New borrowers and some businesses who received PPP loans in 2020 could begin applying for the new round the week of Jan. 11, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration and Treasury Department. By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz The latest round includes $284 billion for more easily forgivable PPP loans, according to an analysis by the National Credit Union Administration, a federal entity. The bill also allows some businesses to apply for a “Second Draw” loan and simplifies the process to apply for loan forgiveness for loans of $150,000 or less. The bill reserved $30 billion for loans made by community development financial institutions and by institutions with assets of less than $10 billion. Mid-Columbia lenders say they are ready for the new wave of applications. They reject the “fatigue” argument, though they acknowledge they were plenty busy when the coronavirus relief bill took effect last spring. In the first two rounds, lenders issued 5.2 million loans totaling more than $525 billion, sometimes under crushing application volumes. The government calculates it supported more than 51 million jobs. The crushing demand led to decidedly PPP LOANS, Page A3 Art Walk & Wine Gala in July were both canceled, leaving the sponsorship dollars unspent. Cheering through the pain: Business groups lose members but not focus By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz RECOVERY, Page A23 Spokesman Paul Crawford noted the money was budgeted to support the community. So, it cut a check for $2,500. “It made a lot of sense to help these businesses who were struggling,” he said. “These events aren’t about Yakima Federal.” The money helped the chamber continue its mission, which is to support business and the community. Among its many events, it organized street closures to facilitate outdoor dining, which proved popular to retailers as BUSINESS GROUPS, Page A5

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION Downsized pasta restaurant provides better chance of survivalPage B5

January 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 1 | B1

Jason Zook is best known in the TriCities for Smile A Mile Painting, a residential and commercial painting business with operations in the Tri-Cities and Central Oregon.But Zook has a background in construction and has always built projects for himself, something he treats as a hobby. “I know the steps from the concept on paper to design through sweeping the carpet and making sure all the water is flowing in the right direction,” he said.His latest project is a three-story, 26-unit apartment project at 3120 W. Fourth Ave. in the heart of Kennewick. Demand drove the investment in the $3.1 million project. The vacancy rate for Kennewick was just 1.2%, according to the most recent survey by the University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Real Estate. Pasco and Richland were similarly tight, at 0.5% and 1.7%, respectively, for all unit types.“I have other apartments in town. I’m always getting calls. There’s just a shortage of housing,” he said.The unnamed Zook project will be the first new multifamily construction in the

neighborhood and will offer units at market rates, about $900 to $1,100 per unit.“I can basically build the newest and nicest in the neighborhood because it’s 2020. Everything else is ’70s and ’80s,” he said in December. Zook said the property was ready-made for a smallish, no-frills apartment project. The one-acre property had single-family home on it but was zoned for apartments and had utilities at the site. The city was eager to see denser residential development, he said.Zook demolished the home and upgraded the utilities to support the added demand. The project consists of two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments. Zook said he is targeting the middle market. Units will have laminate flooring, carpeted bedrooms, “nice” cabinets and some hard surfaces. It is unlike most apartment development in the Tri-Cities, which tends to cater to higher income demographics with riverside locations and luxury touches such as granite countertops and clubhouses with recreational amenities including pools. Zook said the site is too constrained for a clubhouse. While the project is unsubsidized, he is committed to keeping rents in the midrange.“We’re really excited about offering a new unit at this level because unfortunately there’s a lot of people out there whose only options are older units,” he said. “Rent has gone through the ceiling for them.” He is targeting a summer occupancy and is taking reservations now. Zook and his wife intend to hold onto the complex as an investment and will manage it themselves. Zook grew up building single-family In-fill apartment project brings needed units to central Kennewick By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz GF Blends soars on demand for gluten-free mixes ZOOK, Page B6 A Richland winery has opened a tasting room downriver from the Tri-Cities in hopes of expanding its customer base. Barnard Griffin’s new storefront joined a growing number of wineries setting up shop at The Waterfront in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland.“It’s been a long time in the planning,” said Deborah Barnard, co-owner of the winery. “Once Covid hit, we weren’t in a huge hurry.”But the pandemic did point out the importance of direct-to-consumer opportunities for sales, she said.“Our brand was reliant on wholesale trade but when restaurants all over the country closed, this suffered,” she said. The winery chose the Vancouver mixed-use development because it’s such an interesting project. She said she wished the Tri-Cities offered something similar. The winery’s new tasting room opened in the Rediviva building at 665 W. Columbia Way on Dec. 18. A family-owned Richland company is expanding to a new building, thanks to rising demand for its gluten-free bread, cake and other mixes.GF Blends will occupy a 20,000-squarefoot production facility on Battelle Boulevard when construction wraps in April, said owner Glen Call, who is also a contractor. Allpro Inc. is developing the property for GF Blends, with Call serving as both a minority partner in the development team and the tenant.The new building will house office space and more production space for GF Blends to turn gluten-free ingredients such as blended corn, rice, potato, amaranth, quinoa, millet and other grains into mixes that form the basis for everything from crepes and fish batter to breads and cakes. The company formed 12 years ago in By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz GF BLENDS, Page B2The Waterfront is quickly becoming the state’s new wine-tasting hub. Barnard Griffith is the seventh winery to open there. Another Benton County winery, Prosser-based Airfield Estates, opened a

Richland winery opens riverside tasting room in Vancouver

By Kristina Lord publisher@tcjournal.biz tasting room in early 2020. Naked Winery announced plans to open in 2021. “The interest from wineries at The Waterfront has been a really pleasant BARNARD GRIFFIN, Page B3 Courtesy Amanda Cowan/The Columbian Rob Griffi n, from left, and his wife, Deborah Barnard, pause for a portrait with their daughter, Megan Hughes, outside the new Barnard Griffi n tasting room at The Waterfront in Vancouver.

Jason Zook Photo by Wendy Culverwell Jason Zook of Smile A Mile Painting is developing an infi ll apartment complex at 3120 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick.

The city of Kennewick is building Fire Station #6, a $9 million station that will serve the Southridge area. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

City of Pasco

Earth moving equipment prepares the site of one of the two Amazon distribution centers being built along South Road 40 East in Pasco.

Photo by Scott Butner Photography

$150M in city projects on deck for next year

BY WENDY CULVERWELL

Pasco will begin construction on a new home for the Tri-Cities Animal Control building by spring 2022.

So says David Zabell, Pasco city manager.

The animal control facility is by no means the largest or most complicated undertaking on the city’s $150 million capital projects list for the coming year. Water and wastewater plants hold that distinction, along with plans to ask voters to fund an aquatics center.

But the shelter is arguably the project Tri-City animal lovers hold dearest and have waited the longest to see come to fruition. The three cities have long worked to replace the aging facility near the Columbia River. Visions cropped up, then faded.

But this time, Zabell said, the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. Designs are being finalized. The location is secure. Kennewick and Richland have signed off on their share of the $5 million bill – nearly $1.7 million apiece.

It will be under construction in the coming year, he said.

Plenty of projects

Pasco promises to be awash in construction in the coming year, both public and private.

Private firms confirmed an estimated $1 billion in new food processing plants and distribution warehouses during summer 2021, with construction beginning soon after.

The collective impact of new plants for Darigold Inc., Reser’s Fine Foods, Local Bounti and Amazon Inc. promise to add 3,000 or more jobs to the community and has made Pasco the envy of economic development leaders across the region. But the city itself has its own share of construction to manage.

Like the animal control building, the Lewis Street overpass took years to bring forward, but has begun at long last.

The $37 million project is the city’s top priority and is backed by local, state and federal money and even real estate excise taxes, the taxes all property sellers pay when sales record.

The bridge will carry Lewis Street over the railroad tracks and retire an old, narrow tunnel that runs underneath.

Lewis Street is part of a larger downtown update that includes „a refresh for both Peanuts Park

Heavy equipment foreshadows more changes to come to a landscape already marked by agriculture and energy at the site where two Amazon distribution centers, each more than 1 million square feet, will be built north of Sacajawea State Park in Pasco. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Columbia Riverwalk Apartments are under construction near Road 20 and the Pasco waterfront. | Photo by Scott Butner Photography

the Pasco Farmers Market, and a streetscape improvement campaign to widen sidewalks on Lewis Street between Second and Fifth avenues while adding benches, signs and more.

“That will open up a lot of opportunities in that corridor for the business owners,” he said.

Water, fire, traffic

Infrastructure – the unsexy work involved with bringing roads, utilities and other important services to people and businesses – will play a big role in the coming year.

In western Pasco, the city is tackling the Road 100-Interstate 182 interchange, which faces a surge in new traffic as Costco, retail developers and residential developers prepare to dig into the Broadmoor area, which is west of Road 100 and Broadmoor Boulevard.

The city will add a loop as well as widen the westbound ramp to add capacity. It is city-funded project because it addresses existing demand. That means it’s not appropriate to shift the cost to the newcomers.

Other updates include a turn signal at Broadmoor-Road 100 and Burns Road and getting a city-owned site on Road 100 south of the interchange ready for a future fire station.

To the east, the city is working with the state Department of Transportation on options to improve the Road 68 and I-182 interchange. It will build a large, two-lane roundabout at the Road 68-Court Street intersection, which clogs with commuter traffic in the morning.

“A turn signal would work there, but not as well as a roundabout,” Zabell said.

Sylvester Road, which runs the length of the city, will get a center turn lane to ease traffic congestion and cut down on left turn accidents.

Moving east, construction begins in 2022 on the A Street Sporting Complex, including soccer and sports fields. The total project cost, funded in part by a state grant, is expected to be $606,000.

Water and sewer projects will be some of the costliest undertak-

2021 Population 79,580

+19,799 from 2010

Pasco

Sing lefamily home permit s2021: 296 2020: 319 2019: 408

*Year to date through August

ings of the coming year.

A $6.5 million water reservoir will bring 5 million gallons of capacity to the area near Road 68 and Burns Road.

The city’s wastewater treatment plant, which treats sewage before it’s discharged to the Columbia River, is set for a $20 million update. A later phase will add nearly $3 million more in expenses.

The Process Water Reuse Facility, which provides treated water to food processors, will get a $32 million update. The cost will be borne by the facility’s handful of users, not the city’s ratepayers.

The Butterfield Water Treatment Plant and the West Pasco Water Treatment Plant will receive $5 million and $1.5 million in updates, respectively.

Lest the figures seem large, it’s worth noting that Pasco is only going to get thirstier.

In 2020, it treated and supplied more than 5 billion gallons of drinking water and treated 1 billion gallons of wastewater. Both figures represent a 5% increase over the year prior, courtesy the city’s rising population, currently approaching 80,000 and expected to rise to 120,000 by 2038.

Pasco’s sleeper project

And speaking of things that are water-related, Pasco hasn’t abandoned its dreams of an aquatics center.

The Pasco Public Facilities District is expected to ask the city’s voters to approve raising the local sales tax on some but not all items by two-tenths of a percent.

If approved, sales tax revenue will support debt to build a $40 million aquatics center. In 2013, Pasco voters supported the aquatics center plan when it was presented to voters across the Tri-Cities, but “no” votes in Richland and Kennewick killed the dream.

The city and its facilities district are pursuing the project on their own. They anticipated a 2020 ballot issue, but the project was put on hold by the pandemic. If approved, the sales tax will add 2 cents to a $10 purchase, and the aquatics center will immediately become the city’s highest profile construction project. 

A turn signal would work (at the Road 68 and I-182 interchange), but not as well as a roundabout.

David Zabell, Pasco city manager

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