New pet store coming to Tri-Cities + $22M housing, office project work begins

Elite Construction and Development is betting big on the need for mixed-use projects in the Tri-Cities.

The Pasco-based company recently had plans for their newest project approved, The Falls at 4112.

The Falls is a huge development in south Kennewick near the Southridge area, at 4112 W. 24th Ave. The street ends at Windsong Memory Care, but if it were to cut across Highway 395, it would be roughly at the north end of the Home Depot parking lot.

The permits put the value of the buildings at an estimated at $19 million, an additional $2.5 million in plumbing and HVAC work has also been permitted. Crews were on-site last week surveying, preparing to begin the infrastructure work.

The area is behind the Cynergy Center at Union Street and 27th Avenue. That area is a mix of hotels, offices and restaurants.

The new development will include a four-story, mixed-use building clocking in at 113,000 square feet and two smaller, 5,500-square-foot buildings on a combined 3.5-acre parcel.

It will include 105 apartments, mini-storage units and office space. The apartments will range from studios to two bedrooms.

The project will be built in two phases, with the majority of the four-story building coming in first. It will be L-shaped, with the “bottom” arm neighboring memory care center to the east. Phase 2 will see another arm built on the west end, and the two smaller, freestanding buildings.

All but 25 of the apartments will be in the first portion completed, the remaining 25 are in the second arm of the four-story building that will come in phase 2.

The first floor between the arms of the building will largely be comprised of mini-storage units, after entering through office and lobby areas.

There will be about 11,000 square feet of mini storage, and just shy of 10,000 square feet of space for businesses in the main building once both phases are complete.

Most of that business space, aside from the lobbies and clubhouse, will be at the end of the arms. The two freestanding buildings will be all office or commercial space.

Knutzen Engineering designed the plans, and Elite will handle construction. Elite boasts a portfolio that includes projects ranging from work at Hanford to the new Vertisee Heights luxury apartments on the Richland waterfront.

The area was seeing a lot of interest in development before the pandemic, but many projects were put on hold.

The Falls is the first of two large projects getting started there. The other is an office complex down the street in the Cul de Sac off 24th, just behind the Baymont by Windham hotel.

New pet store

A new pet store is coming to the Tri-Cities.

Pets Supplies Plus has been approved for permits in the Kennewick Plaza Shopping Center. It will be coming in at the old Goodwill store, near Big Lots.

The pet store will be about 7,500 square feet with a grooming salon and a public “pet wash” station. Some locations also have space for pet adoptions.

Pet Supplies Plus is a Michigan-based company, with more than 560 locations nationwide. The Tri-Cities location will be one of the first in Washington, outside the Seattle area.

There’s still no word on what the nearby recently closed Safeway could become.

Asphalt and concrete plants

Ergon Asphalt is looking to expand its operations in the Pasco area.

The company recently submitted permits to add two new storage tanks to 40,000 barrels of asphalt. They submitted an environmental impact study for the project over the summer.

Value of the project will come in at $1.25 million, according to the permits.

The plant is at 3152 Selph Landing Road, north of Pasco, and becomes North 4th Avenue at the city limits.

A new concrete batching plant is also set to be built in Pasco. The proposed plant, listed as Kidwell Concrete Plant, would go in off of Pasco Kohlotus Road and North Venture Road, near the Highway 12 interchange.

Comments for the environmental review are due by Dec. 28. Comments can be submitted to the city of Pasco’s community and economic development department.

The developer is listed as Thomas Kidwell, a longtime Franklin County farmer and builder. It would take about three years to build out, according to the documents.