What’s being built there? $24M apartments + $7M church remodel + Queensgate terraces
Welcome to “What’s being built there?” This regular Tri-City Herald feature provides short answers to questions from readers about construction taking place across the Tri-Cities.
Send questions and suggestions for updates to news@tricityherald.com
Richland
Terraces at Queensgate Update
2155 Keene Road, at termination of Queensgate Drive
This future mixed-use development generates more inquiries to this column than any other project in the Tri-Cities because of its prominent location and size.
The initial phase of the 40-acre master plan for Queensgate will bring 19 single-family lots along the western border and an additional 89 townhomes toward the center.
Queensgate will eventually be extended past Keene Road, toward Shockley Road to the south.
Future phases will add commercial and other development. the developer is Columbia Valley Property Holdings LLC of Bellevue.
A 4.7-acre wedge-shaped parcel fronting the Queensgate/Keene intersection is being marketed for retail development by Stricker CR with an asking price of nearly $4.9 million.
The listing indicates the site will connect to a future roundabout at Queensgate drive and is suitable for banks, restaurants, grocery stores and other retail uses.
LivAway Suites Update
1289 Tapteal Drive
The future utilitarian extended stay hotel off Tapteal Drive in Richland is fully framed, making it highly visible from its perch above Highway 240 near Columbia Center.
The $12 million, 126-room property is being constructed by Wasatch DC Builders NW on behalf of the Richland La Holdings LLC, which acquired the site in 2023 from a holding company associated with the heirs of the late Robert Young, a prominent Tri-Cities apartment developer.
LivAway is a newer hotel brand based in Salt Lake City catering to budget-minded travelers.
New Vintage Church expansion
2588 N. Columbia Center Drive
New Vintage Church, a young but growing church near the Richland Wye, is preparing to begin a $7+ million expansion to boost its sanctuary capacity to about 600, quadruple the size of its lobby and add three new classrooms.
The city of Richland valued the construction at about $5.2 million in a building permit issued in March. G2 Commercial Construction Inc. is the general contractor.
Kennewick
Vista Field Gateway
517 Crosswind Blvd.
The Port of Kennewick awarded a contract to Goodman & Mehlenbacher Enterprises (Game) Inc. to convert a pair of old airplane hangars into a public courtyard with bathrooms at the southern entrance to Vista Field.
Vista Field is the port’s 103-acre mixed-use redevelopment project. The gateway is at Crosswind Boulevard and West Deschutes Avenue.
The project is financed by a $3.4 million award from the Benton County Rural Capital Fund. The city of Kennewick approved a monument sign for there project in March.
The port closed the former municipal airport at the end of 2013 and is converting it into a town center.
The initial lots are available for development after the port invested about $4 million to create streets, sidewalks and a water feature to serve the first 20 acre phase. The gateway project will be the first construction at the air field.
New office building
7034 W. Clearwater Ave.
Mendoza Investments LLC has initiated construction of a one-story, 11,600-square-foot office building on West Clearwater Avenue, east of Columbia Center Boulevard.
Kennewick building permits value the work at $1.16 million.
Pasco
Home 2 Suites by Hilton update
2101 W. Argent St.
A-1 Hospitality, a Tri-Cities hotel operator and development firm led by V.J. Patel and his son, Taran Patel, is preparing to begin construction of a Home 2 Suites by Hilton, their second hotel near the entrance to the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco.
The company will build on three acres leased from the Port of Pasco next to the 99-room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel.
Construction has not started, but the project cleared a hurdle in March when the city of Pasco said it would not significantly affect the environment as long as standard mitigation measures are taken.
The four-story, 61,500-square-foot hotel will have 107 rooms, 156 parking spaces and six spots for semi-truck parking. It will be situated between the Courtyard and a Circle K fueling station and convenience stop to the west.
The port agreed to lease the 3-acre site to A-1 last fall.
The deal includes a 50-year initial term and a 25-year renewal option. As with the Courtyard lease, the port is slated to receive rent for the site as well as a share of the gross revenue the hotel generates. A-1 has previously said construction will take about 18 months.
Tierra Vida Apartments Phase III
725 S. Road 40 E
Jubilee Foundation has begun development of 120 new apartments in the third phase of its Tierra Vida complex in east Pasco, near a pair of Amazon distribution warehouses.
The city of Pasco valued construction at $24.3 million in a building permit issued in March.
The city previously authorized $300,000 of grading work for the six-acre property in January.
Elite Construction + Development is the contractor. Tierra Vida complex, the Jubilee Foundation’s residential and recreation community serving more than 1,500 residents.
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