November 2020 Volume 19 | Issue 11
Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center seeks new operator By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
Retail
Surge in donations prompts Richland thrift store expansion Page A13
Business Profile
Epic Trust unites financial services under one roof Page A26
Real Estate & Construction
Goodwill Industries secures future Pasco store site Page B1
NOTEWORTHY “This industry is one of the highest contributors to state and local taxes that go back into our community.” - Christopher Martinez, executive manager, Audi/BMW of Tri-Cities Page A25
The Port of Benton is seeking a new operator for Prosser’s Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center after the nonprofit that established the wine industry showplace vacated the property because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The port, which owns the taxpayer-funded wine and event center, pledged to move quickly to find a new partner to continue its mission. Diahann Howard, executive director, said the port is committed to fulfilling terms of the federal Economic Development Administration grant that helped build the $4 million center at 2140 Wine Country Road in 2011. If it does not, the EDA grant has to be repaid. Ten years remain on the contract. Greg Robertson, chairman of the Clore Center board, said the operator struggled to use the property as intended — as an educational showcase for the state’s wine industry. Washington wineries shipped 12.4 million cases of wine in 2019 and the industry was responsible for $8.4 billion in economic activity in 2012, when the last impact study was conducted. The Clore Center had to compete with wineries themselves — most have private tasting rooms and event centers to tell their stories The center, named for the late Prosser winemaker considered the “father” of the Washington wine industry, is a 15,000-square-foot building blending educational displays with hospitable touches such as a tasting room, commercial kitchen and event center. By 2019 it was struggling. Robertson said there was reason to be optimistic about 2020. The center curbed costs and jobs, positioning itself for a rebound. By January, the virus that causes Covid-19 had spread across the Pacific, first showing up in the U.S. in the Puget Sound area. Scheduled events were canceled en masse. uWALTER CLORE, Page A3
Photo by Wendy Culverwell Eric Van Winkle, a Tri-City media executive and business consultant, is leading Friends of Red Mountain Event Center, a nonprofit effort to convert the former Tri-City Raceway in West Richland into an upscale event center.
Could Tri-City Raceway be West Richland’s Carousel of Dreams? By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
When the city of West Richland bought the former Tri-City Raceway in 2019, it saw a spot to build its new police station and a place to steer commercial development. But a team of fans, including the raceway’s former operator, see something different. Instead of tearing out the raceway and what is left of its grandstands and support facilities, a new nonprofit called Friends of Red Mountain Event Center wants to preserve and restore them. The all-volunteer effort helmed by Greg Walden and Eric Van Winkle aims to lease the track portion of the property from the city and restore it as a high-end event center for private and corporate events and even the occasional car race. Walden operated the raceway for 25 years and runs a raceway in Hermiston. Van Winkle
is a veteran radio and TV executive, business consultant and chairman of the Gesa Carousel of Dreams board in Kennewick. The Friends group would build on the mostly dormant property’s existing infrastructure, which the city estimates would cost $1 million or more to remove for more traditional development. The city council reviewed the proposal in October. Backers hope to secure a lease deal by the end of the year. The city bought the raceway property from the Port of Kennewick in late 2019 for its voter-approved police station. Final plans go to the city council in December and the police station project gets started in January. (See story on Page B3.) It will not encroach on the raceway portion of the site. Recycling the old raceway could give the Red Mountain plan a leg up on traditional de-
uRACEWAY, Page A30
New owners buy Marineland Plaza as legacy investment for $7 million By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
Marineland Village, the storied Kennewick shopping center known for its sea otter statue, marine theme and a landscape that once featured palm trees, has changed hands for the final time after 15 years. Vancouver-based Inland Ocean LLC, consisting of Jane Schmid-Cook and her partner and former husband, Rod Cook, promises to bring stable ownership to a shopping center that had its share of distress in the 15 years since the original developer, the late Warren Luke, sold it. Inland Ocean bought the Marineland Plaza complex at West Clearwater Avenue and North Edison Street in a $7 million deal that closed Oct. 28. The deal covers three buildings, including Shelby’s Floral,
adjacent the intersection. The couple, who are divorced, partner on real estate investments as Inland Ocean LLC. They are based in Vancouver and Portland and view it as a long-term investment. “We’re long-term relationship, community-based folks,” Schmid-Cook said. Schmid-Cook said the duo learned about Marineland after they sold residential real estate they bought for investment purposes in the Great Recession. They were looking for suitable replacement properties for a 1031 exchange, a mechanism to defer capital gains on real estate investments. The Northwest natives were drawn to the Tri-Cities for its Hanford-stabilized economy and the distinct cultures of the region. uMARINELAND, Page A8
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