Tri-Cities is fastest growing metro area, and cities are preparing

Posted: Apr 05, 2012 6:47 PM PDTUpdated: Apr 05, 2012 6:47 PM PDT

Lisa Loevsky - email

KENNEWICK, Wash. -- A population report released today by the US Census Bureau shows that the Tri-Cities area was the fastest growing metro area in the nation over the last year with Franklin County was the fifth fastest growing county.

The Census' 2011 population estimate showed  264,133 thousand residents for the Tri-Cities metro area, a 4.3% increase over 2010.

"We have seen growth last year in  manufacturing, which is the opposite of what the rest of the country is seeing and the housing market is very affordable," says Carl Adrian, the President and CEO of TRI-DEC.

But with growth come other problems.  "We are in a sense running out of industrial property. In Pasco, the processing center is basically full, in Richland there's not really any large sites available for any large industry," says Adrian.

That's why the city of Kennewick is excited about a new law signed by Governor Gregoire last week.

"What it does is,  it provides an opportunity to expand our urban growth area south of Interstate 82. Right now our urban growth area ends at Southridge area.  And our Southridge area is really not conducive for development purposes," says Marie Mosley Kennnewick City Manager.

Now the city is working with Benton County to include the 1,500 acre area as part of their Urban Growth Area.

"What we're looking at is a mixture of light industrial use like research development, office, maybe warehousing, data centers," says Greg McCormick, the Planning Director for the City.

The application is due in December. The city is also working with  property owners because there has been some interest for property development. 

"our interest right now is to demonstrate to the county that we need the extra land, for industrial development. And show that we can service that land with the right infrastructure," says McCormick.

Housing market does well, despite Hanford layoffs

By Kristi Pihl, Tri-City Herald

Thomas Masterson, owner of T.R. Masterson Construction of Washington, stands in front of his latest project, the Canyon Crest Apartments in Richland. He doesn’t expect the recent layoffs at Hanford to affect the demand for Tri-City apartments. See story below.

RICHLAND — Richland's Canyon Crest Apartments are starting to fill with residents, even though the 30-unit complex isn't expected to open until the end of November.

Thomas Masterson of T.R. Masterson Construction doesn't expect the recent Hanford layoffs to slow demand for his new apartments.

"We couldn't be happier," said Masterson.

The $1.96 billion in stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which pumped up jobs at the Hanford nuclear reservation in the past two and a half years, is mostly spent now.

But despite almost 2,000 layoffs so far at Hanford and up to another 1,060 possible by fall, many apartment owners and homebuilders remain optimistic about the Tri-City housing market.

"People have to live someplace," said Masterson, a builder for 35 years.

Hanford helped keep the Tri-City housing market healthy while the recession beat up housing markets in many other parts of the nation.

Glenn Crellin, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University, said he doesn't see the same thing happening here.

With the stimulus money spent, Crellin said he expects some softening, with fewer home sales and some declines in prices. But there isn't likely to be the plummeting prices other regions have seen.

The Tri-Cities is on a different cycle than the rest of the state, he said.

Rick White, Pasco's economic and community development director, agreed, saying he expects to see a minor dip in the housing market that will even out over time.

Interest rates are at record lows, possibly helping to counteract the impact of the Hanford cuts, he said.

Pasco isn't seeing much of a slowdown in home construction. The city ended September with 402 new permits for single-family homes -- just 41 fewer than at the same time last year.

Katie Wilson, assistant manager at The Crossings at Chapel Hill in Pasco, said they expect the Hanford layoffs will mean more of their 228 apartments will soon be available. But the demand for apartments remains high.

The Tri-Cities' apartment market has been operating at an almost unprecedented vacancy rate of 1 percent to 2 percent for a couple of years, said Crellin.

Last month in Kennewick and Pasco, 97 percent of apartments were occupied, while in Richland, there was 95 percent occupancy, according to the survey completed by Kennewick's Crown Property Management.

The layoffs could help the market return to a more sustainable 5 percent vacancy rate as workers who came specifically for stimulus-funded jobs move, Crellin said.

Most property managers consider a 5 percent vacancy rate ideal because it gives managers a chance to keep up on maintenance, he said.

Typically, new apartment construction eases rental shortages, but tight lending because of the national economy means that hasn't happened in the Tri-Cities, he said.

Even in the early '80s, when about 10,400 people lost their jobs, Masterson said his Kennewick company kept going for several years building custom homes. Although the volume was down, homes still were needed.

Similarly, just this month ground was broken on a new 5,000-home planned community called Badger Mountain South.

Paul Roy, president of the Tri-City Association of Realtors, said he is more worried about "perceptions" than the actual economy.

If consumer confidence is low, people are more hesitant to make financial commitments, he said. And because consumers are responsible for about 70 percent of the economy, he said it's a self-fulfilling prophecy if they stop spending.

Still, Roy said believes the Tri-Cities will end the year with a similar number of home sales to last year.

During the last major round of Hanford layoffs in 1995, when about 5,400 jobs were cut, people still were buying homes, he said. Sales took a temporary dip before picking up again.

And the Tri-City population is continuing to grow, Roy said.

Contributing to that growth are retirees moving here from other areas because of the affordable cost of living, mild weather and good services, he said.

"What we can't lose track of is that we are selling houses every day in the Tri-Cities," Roy said.

-- Kristi Pihl: 509-582-1512; kpihl@tricityherald.com

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/10/18/1683490/housing-market-does-well-despite.html#ixzz1cz6Jnh2e

SkyWest Magazine Features the Tri-Cities

The Tri-Cities is once again receiving accolades as a premier travel destination after SkyWest Magazine featured the article "Trifecta Perfecta in Washington's Tri-Cities" in their January/ February issue.

The Tri-Cities appears on the front cover which is supported by a multiple page feature article. The article highlights the Tri-Cities' great climate, wineries, history and outdoor recreation.

SkyWest Airlines serves destinations all over the country and flies directly into the Tri-Cities from Denver, CO and San Francisco, CA under the United Airlines brand.

The current issue of SkyWest Magazine will be available on all SkyWest flights through February, reaching 2.5 million passengers.

Click here to view the SkyWest's feature on the Tri-Cities.

New Apartment Complex Fall Opening in Richland, Washington

By Lena Vargas
Story Published: Jan 31, 2011 at 5:43 PM PST

RICHLAND -- KEPR has new information tonight on some apartments opening in our area soon. Action News found out, half of the units should be ready by September near the Richland Target off of Queensgate.
Multimedia

Watch The Video: KEPRTV

We got our first look at the plans for the 228 units on Monday. Sizes range from studios to two-bedrooms.

Rob Martin works for the builder, Regency Park Apartments. He says a lot of thought went into who might be moving in.

"We spent a substantial amount of time looking into what's actually needed in the area and also what people prefer as far as square footage goes and amenities like laundry facilities," said Martin.

Based on their research, the builder expects most of the renters will be adults without children.

Close to 240 Acres Ready for New Housing in Kennewick, Washington

Close to 240 Acres Ready for New Housing Tools

By John Collett
Story Published: Jan 21, 2011 at 5:12 PM PST


KENNEWICK – The City of Kennewick is freeing up land for new homes. On Tuesday, the city council approved for close to 240 acres of land to be rezoned from agriculture to residential.

Watch The Video: KEPRTV

The city says one acre builds close to three to four homes. With those figures, the new land could hold close to 800 homes.

KEPR spoke to real estate agents, who said cities are making moves like these to try and attract builders.

“I represent four different builders, and we're looking for other opportunities, where's the next place to go, and there's not a lot of places,” said Realtor Laura Harris. “But Southridge is definitely one of them.”

No one has bid on the land yet, but the city expects interest to rise in the spring.

Richland, Washington, named among the "Best Places to Launch a Second Career "

U.S. News and World Report: Best Places to Launch a Second Career

College towns and centers of healthcare or state government tend to make great bets.

By Emily Brandon , Kerry Hannon

Posted: September 16, 2010

Many seniors are going to be employed past age 65, both for the money and because they enjoy working. But jobs aren't exactly easy to come by right now. The unemployment rate for those 55 and older was 6.9 percent in July, more than double what it was in December 2007.

That rate varies considerably by location, however. Baby boomers in towns with relatively vibrant economies will obviously have a much easier time finding work than those in cities where the going has been tough. To zero in on especially good places to launch a second career after stepping out of the first one, U.S. News applied its "Best Places to Retire" search tool powered by data from real estate information provider Onboard Informatics and looked for locales with below-average unemployment and a solid record of job creation over the past decade. We focused on spots with industries known for hiring older workers and considered the cost of living and such amenities as access to medical facilities and recreational opportunities.

You may be able to improve your odds of landing a new job, for example, if you're willing to relocate to a university town such as State College, Pa., or Ames, Iowa. Thanks to their solid economic base, college towns are known to weather recessions better than most places. Many also have plentiful affordable housing. And as a bonus, universities typically provide people in the surrounding community access to mind-expanding speakers, performances, and a rich range of sporting events.

Alternatively, cities with a large number of government jobs (such as Lincoln, Neb.) or positions in the healthcare industry (Lubbock, Texas) have generally been able to avoid the worst of the economic decline....


Richland, Washington
Population: 44,344
Median home price: $180,000

The Richland region, which includes the nearby cities of Kennewick and Pasco, added 3,300 jobs to the local economy over the past year—more than any other metro area in the country.

One big reason: It's home to Washington State University-Tri-Cities and the Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The city was developed by employees of Hanford Engineer Works, a company that helped produce the atomic bomb. Today, a number of companies and government agencies employing more than 11,000 people are working on a massive cleanup project at the Hanford site, where reactors were deployed for decades to produce plutonium. For example, Bechtel and the DOE are developing a cutting-edge waste treatment plant to convert hazardous waste to glass.

Richland sits on the Columbia River within easy reach of the Yakima and Snake rivers, which means boating and plenty of outdoor attractions. Homes are affordable, and the cost of living is below the national average.

To read the whole article and the other cities listed go to: Best Places to Launch a Second Career - US News and World Report

Tri-Cities No. 5 for jobs

By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

Continued growth in jobs and wages in the Tri-Cities is being noticed nationally.

The Milken Institute has ranked Kennewick-Pasco-Richland among the top 10 metro areas that managed to create and sustain jobs in the face of a national recession.

The Tri-Cities retained the fifth spot it earned last year, said Armen Bedroussian, a Milken research economist who helped put together the latest report.

In the Tri-Cities, jobs grew 4.5 percent in the last 12 months, he said, noting that's the highest percentage growth in the nation. The bulk of the growth was the result of the federal stimulus money for Hanford, he said.
And he noted the role of the high-tech sector in pushing the job and wage growth for the long and short terms.

The Milken report is used for economic benchmarking, he said. Corporations use the data to scout locations that have economic momentum, and civic officials and economic development agencies use the information to compare their communities to other areas and take steps to stimulate growth, Bedroussian said.

Carl Adrian, president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council, said it's good to be on the radar of the California-based think-tank that helps business and public policy leaders identify and implement ideas for creating broad-based prosperity. That can generate interest by new businesses to explore the Tri-Cities and appreciate the area's knowledge-based economy and the presence of a skilled work force.

"We have become more resilient to the ups and downs at Hanford," Adrian said. Also, the community is committed to developing a diversified post-Hanford economy that can create new types of jobs for the growing population in the area, he said.

The Mid-Columbia Energy Initiative is a good example, he said. The group wants to transform the Hanford site and the local community into a "carbon-friendly" power-producing, energy demonstration and manufacturing site.

The research initiatives of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University Tri-Cities will help pave the way to develop cutting-edge technologies that could be commercialized, Adrian said. The presence of companies like Infinia and InnovaTek in the community may encourage other clean-tech companies to set up shop in the Tri-Cities, he said.

"Clean tech is a natural transition for the area," said Diahann Howard of the Port of Benton. PNNL's experts already are working on various projects to enhance smart grid applications and developing other clean energy products, said the port's director of economic development and government affairs.

The Port of Benton, in partnership with other public agencies, has continued to improve infrastructure to help recruit and retain businesses in the area, she said.

The growth of medical equipment manufacturing, food processing, health care service industry and wine industry is helping economic diversification despite the continued dominance of Hanford, said Dean Schau, former regional labor economist for the Tri-Cities. About 1,350 workers are employed in the local wineries, he said.

Agriculture, manufacturing and energy production could help sustain future growth, he said.

The Tri-City economy also gets a big push from the retirees who have moved to the area for its quality of life and weather. They spend their money locally and help the retail sector, Schau said. The presence of an aging population also has led to the development of a regional health care industry that is poised for growth.

The Tri-Cities abounds in human and social capital that can help transform the economy in years ahead, he said.

For more on the Milken report, go to www.milkeninstitute.org.

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/10/16/1211833/tri-cities-no-5-for-jobs.html#storylink=mirelated#ixzz18Ou90ngo

Strip mall to be built near TRAC - Business | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

Wingstop restaurant and Dutch Bros. Coffee will be moving into a new retail center across the street from TRAC in Pasco.

The first phase of the Burden Retail Center at Burden Boulevard and Convention Street in Pasco includes construction of six stores, totaling about 10,000 square feet, said developer Glen Engelhard.

Wingstop restaurant and Dutch Bros. Coffee already have leased spaces in the strip mall, he said. He's also trying to get another restaurant to come to the center, which is just opposite of TRAC.

There's virtually no commercial space available for lease near Road 68, he said. Commercial activity has picked up in the Tri-Cities in the past month and a half, he said, expressing optimism about finding tenants for the center. All retail businesses would be welcome, he said.

Ground-breaking is scheduled for Thursday. The first phase will be completed in about four months, Engelhard said.

The project is being developed in three phases because banks are not lending money, said Engelhard, who along with his partners is spending about $900,000 on construction of the first phase. He's talking with a national chain restaurant and a gas station about the site for the third phase of the project. The entire project will be spread over the four acres he bought for $1.2 million more than two years ago.

The Tri-Cities will continue to grow, he said. Developers see the area as a top spot for investment in multi-family homes, said Engelhard, who has developed 19 commercial properties in the Tri-Cities, and continues to own large chunks of land in Prosser and Richland.

He said he doesn't understand the reluctance of banks to support speculative real estate projects in the area. The Tri-Cities' economy remains strong, he said. "I don't see (real estate investment) as a risk."

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/09/24/1181637/strip-mall-to-be-built-near-trac.html#storylink=mirelated#ixzz18Ot7bh8M

Construction remains strong in Tri-Cities - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

Developer Bob Johnson found it hard to borrow money for his latest project, but that's not stopping him from developing a 100-lot subdivision in south Richland.

He's using his own money for his Branting-ham Heights project because he has strong faith in the resilience of the local economy and real estate market.

"I started the business during the worst of times in 1984," said Johnson, president of Kennewick-based Johnson Group. Since then, he's built many homes, offices and storage spaces in the Tri-Cities.

In 2007, Johnson said, he built two spec commercial buildings on Gage Boulevard for about $3.5 million each, but he wouldn't undertake a similar project today because banks won't consider it. He said banks are being extra cautious about loaning money, and are not interested in projects that aren't preleased or presold.

But Tri-City real estate professionals overall say they're optimistic about the area economy.

Eric Pearson, president and CEO of Community First Bank, agreed that banks are taking a closer look at loan applications, whether from builders or homebuyers.

"They are looking at the borrower more than the property," Pearson said, but added that his bank has approved a few spec loans, which are for homes that are not already sold.

Still, the Tri-Cities remains one of the better performing and most stable real estate markets in the country, Pearson said.

Commercial real estate loans are the most challenging, Pearson said. He said that's because commercial real estate can lose value fast when rental incomes drop, so banks are more reluctant to make such loans.

The residential market, in contrast, remains stable because people always need a place to live, Pearson said. Tri-City home prices have remained inexpensive and have appreciated gradually over the years, so he's optimistic about the future.

That's why Kyle LaPierre is about to invest $700,000 to develop a residential property in the Tri-Cities, his company's first such project in eight years. But his family company, LaPierre Enterprises, which has been in the construction and development business for 50 years, is building only one spec home and remains focused on custom-built homes for clients.

"I saw the writing on the wall and moved away from building specs many years ago," he said.

LaPierre, who has a $1 million line of credit with Banner Bank, said he has only one commercial project on his hands, a remodeling and building expansion for a doctor.

Jeff Losey, executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities, said the Tri-Cities is not immune to the national economy but continues to hold its own because of a strong local economy based on Hanford and agriculture.

The number of building permits issued for single-family homes increased from 814 in August 2009 to 1,157 last month, Losey said. That's a 42 percent increase.

The latest permit numbers also are an increase of 26 percent from August 2008 and up 2 percent from August 2007, Losey said, adding, "We are still in very good shape" because interest rates are low and construction costs are competitive.

But real estate professionals are concerned about the future, particularly how federal policies and the national economic mood may affect housing, said Paul Roy, sales manager and associate broker at Coldwell Banker Tomlinson in Kennewick.

Coldwell owns 1,000 lots in the Tri-Cities, mostly quarter-acre residential properties, but is not looking to buy more, he said.

At present the home market is balanced with about six months of inventory available for sale, Roy said. There were 1,098 homes on the market at the end of August, according to the Tri-City Association of Realtors.

Home sales fell from 448 in June after the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit to 223 in August, according to the Tri-City Association of Realtors. But the total number of homes sold year to date last month was 2,294, compared with 2,065 in August 2009.

Roy pointed out the market is still doing better than it did last year, and by year-end he expects home sales will be up 20 percent compared with last year.

About 143 of the homes sold last month in the Tri-Cities were priced below $200,000, according to an estimate from Windermere Real Estate. At least six homes also were sold that were in the $450,000 and up price range, indicating some movement in a market segment that has been slow. Also, the median home price increased from a little more than $170,000 in August 2009 to almost $180,000 last month, said the local Realtors association. The median home price was about $177,000 in June.

Bryan Andersen, who pours concrete for home foundations, said home construction has picked up in the last few weeks all over the Tri-Cities. Andersen, who works for as many as 11 builders, said the most popular homes range from 1,700 square feet to 2,200 square feet and cost under $250,000.

Andersen also said about seven Oregon builders are working on projects in the area and came here because the area is growing. Builders have had to be more flexible to go after business in a competitive environment, he said, which also means lower prices and profit margins.

Andersen, who has been working in the Tri-Cities since 1999, said he thinks the market will continue to grow. But the spec market is really tight because banks are not lending as liberally as they did a few years ago, he said.

Don Pratt, president of Don Pratt Construction, which specializes in expensive homes, agrees. Money is available for buyers with strong credit and assured incomes, said Pratt, who's just completed an office building for a Richland doctor and is building a half-dozen custom homes.

Sales of high-end homes costing $400,000 or more will continue to be slow, he said. That's partly because some potential buyers looking to move into a better home are unable to sell their existing homes.

Pratt, who's been in business for more than 30 years, also said banks have raised the bar for potential borrowers. Buyers need a high credit score and must be able to put down at least 20 percent of the cost, he said.

Qualified commercial borrowers do have access to credit, said Doug Bayne, Banner Bank's vice president and director of marketing. He said his bank will finance owner-occupied commercial projects. That means, for instance, that professionals like doctors and attorneys have a better chance of qualifying for a commercial development loan if they will be occupying the building, he said.

Brett Jorgenson, senior vice president of lending at Gesa Credit Union, said Gesa has loaned money for a small number of speculative projects but is being cautious.

"We always had money available for builders," he said, "but we can only give construction/development loans up to 15 percent of our net worth," he said.

Gesa looks at builders' track records, their financial strength and experience in the industry before approving a loan request, said Jorgenson, adding the credit union has had no defaults in construction loans in the last two years.

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/09/19/1174979/construction-remains-strong-in.html#ixzz18OrhFi1c

Home sales up, but clouds ahead - Business | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

By The Associated Press and Herald staff

WASHINGTON -- Nationwide sales of previously occupied homes rose last month after the worst summer for the housing market in more than a decade. And fears over flawed foreclosure documents could keep buyers on the sidelines in the final months of the year.

In the Tri-Cities home sales are up 20 percent for the year compared to last year at this time, said Paul Roy, of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson in Kennewick and vice president of the Tri-City Association of Realtors.

Because the Tri-Cities was not hit with high numbers of foreclosures as other areas of the country were, questions of flawed foreclosure documents should not affect the market here, he said.

Nationally, sales grew 10 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.53 million, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

Home sales have declined 37.5 percent from their peak annual rate of 7.25 million in September 2005. They have risen from July's rate of 3.84 million, which was the lowest in 15 years. Most experts expect about 5 million homes to be sold through the entire year. That would be in line with last year's totals and just above sales for 2008, the worst since 1997.

Still, sales could fall further if potential lawsuits from former homeowners claiming that banks made errors when seizing their homes make consumers fearful of buying foreclosed properties.

The Federal Reserve on Monday became the latest regulator to announce it would be looking into whether mortgage companies cut corners on their own procedures when seizing homes. Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed would look intensively to see if policies, procedures or internal controls led lenders to improperly foreclosure on homeowners. Preliminary results of an in-depth report are expected to be released next month.

"We take violation of proper procedures very seriously," Bernanke said.

In a survey taken by the Realtors group this month, about 23 percent of the 2,000 agents surveyed said they have a client who is no longer interested in purchasing a foreclosed property due to the foreclosure-document mess.

"You're going to see uncertainty on the part of homebuyers," said Quinn Eddins, director of research at Radar Logic Inc., which tracks the housing market.

Mortgage applications to purchase homes last week were 29 percent below the same week a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. At that time, buyers were rushing to purchase homes to qualify for federal tax credits.

Last month the inventory of unsold homes on the market fell about 2 percent to 4 million. That's a 10.8 month supply at the current sales pace.

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/10/26/1224447/home-sales-up-but-clouds-ahead.html#ixzz18OohXao8

Murray seeks $5M for Tri-City area roads - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

WASHINGTON — Millions of dollars for regional transportation projects in Washington have been included in the fiscal 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, thanks to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

The bill includes about $5 million for projects in the Tri-City area, including the ongoing Highway 12 improvements between the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla.

The money was included in the bill by Murray, who's chairwoman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee.

"Especially now, it is critical to steer funding into transportation projects that create jobs and boost local economies in our backyard in Central Washington," Murray said in a statement.

For the Tri-City area, the bill proposes $1 million for Ben Franklin Transit to help replace its aging vehicle fleet; $1.4 million for rail improvements at Big Pasco Industrial Center; $1 million for the Red Mountain Interchange project; $500,000 for pedestrian pathways and transportation improvements in the Southridge area; and $1 million for right of way acquisition for Phase 7A of the Highway 12 project.

Murray also included millions of dollars for other Eastern Washington projects, including $2 million for rail improvements at the Port of Moses Lake, $1 million for Grant County Transit to build a new administration building and $1.3 million for an underpass on MLK Boulevard in Yakima's business district.

The bill, which was approved Wednesday by Murray's subcommittee, now goes to the full Appropriations Committee.

Many Tri-City public officials lauded Murray's efforts.

Randy Hayden, director of planning and engineering at the Port of Pasco, said Murray understands the importance of transportation to spur economic growth and create jobs.

The $1.4 million for the port would help the port continue its rail infrastructure rehabilitation project that began in 2005. Hayden said a rail-link helps to recruit manufacturers and provide a way to ship local products. If the port gets the money, construction of a new mile-long track will start next spring, he said.

"Once again, Sen. Murray has come through for the citizens of the Tri-Cities," said Benton County Commissioner Leo Bowman, referring to the money designated for two projects along Interstate 82. The money would pay for engineering and design and "get us to be shovel-ready," he said.

The two-part project would help construct a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 224 and Highway 225 near I-82 in Benton City and create a new Red Mountain interchange at Milepost 100 on I-82.

Both projects, which are estimated to cost $30 million, would improve traffic flow at the five-legged intersection at the Benton City interchange and provide more direct access to the Red Mountain winery area and West Richland, Bowman said. The projects also would improve emergency response times to the area by up to 50 percent, which can be critical in crisis situations, he said.

Kathy McMullen, Ben Franklin Transit's manager of service development, was excited about the possibility of getting money. "It's very much needed. We want some new buses for folks to ride in," she said.

Fourteen of the system's buses date to 1988, McMullen said. They have about 1 million miles on them and cost more to maintain, she said.

It would cost about $10 million to replace all old buses with new hybrid buses, McMullen said, and Ben Franklin Transit will seek additional federal money to do that. "We appreciate Sen. Murray's help," she said.

Jim Kuntz, executive director of the Port of Walla Walla, which led efforts for the Highway 12 improvements, shared a similar sentiment. "Things will start rolling now," he said.

Highway 12 work has already received $2 million from the state Legislature to help complete design, environmental assessment and land acquisition for Phase 7A, which includes building a new 5.5-mile, multilane highway from Nine Mile Hill north of Touchet to near Lowden.

The state Department of Transportation needs to purchase about 340 acres for the work and the proposed $1 million in federal money would be a great help to move the project forward, Kuntz said.

-- Pratik Joshi: 509-582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com; Business Beat blog at www.tricityherald.com


Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/07/22/1101220/murray-seeks-5m-for-tri-city-area.html#storylink=mirelated#ixzz18CZmtDUA

Richland planners in favor of development - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

RICHLAND -- The city of Richland is moving closer to making a nearly 2,000-acre development on the south side of Badger Mountain a reality.

The city council is expected to consider a master plan for the area -- which is not yet within its boundaries but has been earmarked for future growth -- sometime in July after the planning commission unanimously recommended the plan's approval at a meeting this week.

The plan sets out general zoning and development guidelines for the area, which eventually is expected to include 5,000 homes, parks, schools, 150 acres of commercial development and a wine village.

Once the master plan, formally known as the Badger Mountain Subarea plan, is approved, then the city can start working on a more specific development agreement with the developer, said Rick Simon, Richland's development services manager.

And once those details are hammered out, the city would start to move toward annexing the land, Simon said.
Also this week, the commission recommended that the council approve a settlement agreement between property owners and neighbors of a proposed development at Keene Road and the future extension of Queensgate Drive.

The development was the subject of controversy in October 2008 when the owners asked the city to amend the comprehensive plan to redesignate 48 acres from low-density residential to medium-density residential and commercial, and redesignate 12.5 acres for neighborhood commercial use.

Residents of the nearby Country Ridge subdivision complained that having commercial development next to their homes would bring too much traffic and devalue their homes.

The city council approved the comprehensive plan amendment that would have allowed some of the land to become commercial, and the neighbors appealed to the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, Simon said.

Rather than go through a costly appeal, the parties agreed to sit down and negotiate, he said.
The settlement agreement considered by the planning commission Wednesday provided a low-density residential buffer between Country Ridge and any commercial development, which would happen on the east side of the eventual extension of Queensgate, Simon said. Country Ridge lies to the west of the proposed development.

Simon said the agreement also restricted the character of commercial development and included some building standards, such as a provision that no large-scale retail stores could be placed there, and one that said buildings can't be more than 30 feet tall.

No development can take place until a right of way is established for the extension of Queensgate, he said.
The final decision to accept the agreement rests with the city council.

w Michelle Dupler: 582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com


Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/06/25/1068837/richland-planners-in-favor-of.html#storylink=mirelated#ixzz18CVxRFv0

Tri-Cities a great place to raise a family

By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

Paula Fluit of Pasco enjoys a lunchtime visit to the Playground of Dreams in Kennewick’s Columbia Park on Wednesday with her three children. Ryan, 3, watches his twin, Kylie, and older sister, Makayla, 5, ride the tire swing. The Tri-Cities was listed by Kiplinger.com as one of the Top 10 cities in the nation to raise a family. Access to the region’s numerous parks and playgrounds is one of the strong points. See story below.

Paula Fluit loves the Tri-Cities for its parks, schools and safe environment so much she said wouldn't dream of living anywhere else.

The Tri-Cities is perfect for raising a family, said Fluit, a stay-at-home mom.

That's why the Kennewick and the Tri-City region are among the top 10 places nationwide to raise a family, according to Kiplinger.com, part of Washington, D.C.-based publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice. 

Kiplinger.com singled out the area for its low cost of living, affordable housing, a strong science-and-tech-based economy, plenty of outdoor attractions and a falling crime rate. 

It's no surprise to Fluit, an Othello native, who came to like the Tri-Cities ever since moving to the community about 10 years ago to be with her then-fianc, who now is her husband.

"We like to bike ride, go to parks and boating on the river," said Fluit on Wednesday while enjoying a day out with her three young children at the Playground of Dreams in Columbia Park in Kennewick. "There's always something going on."

The inclusion on the national list means more visibility and awareness for the Tri-Cities, said Carl Adrian, president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council. It also recognizes the area's knowledge-based economy, which has diversified and created new types of jobs for the growing population, he said.

Adrian said he hopes the mention on Kiplinger.com will help attract new businesses and more investment to the community.

The high quality of life and area's affordability continue to serve as a magnet to lure people to the Tri-Cities, he said.

"Things are pretty cheap here," said Mark Tyler, who moved to the Tri-Cities from St. George, Utah, about three months ago with his wife, Melanie, and 2-year-old son Titus.

He wants to study accounting at Washington State University Tri-Cities next year when he becomes eligible for the in-state tuition rate.

St. George, a community of about 60,000 people, offers nothing like the Playground of Dreams, Tyler said. He and his family visit the parks at least three times a week. "It's free entertainment and my son gets to meet other kids," he said.

The Tri-Cities also seems like a nice community where people care, Tyler said.

That's true, agreed Mike Schwenk, chairman of Three Rivers Community Round Table, which was created in 2001 to develop a common vision for the future of the community. Over the years, the community has worked together to promote education with high-caliber schools and innovative teaching approaches, he said.
WSU Tri-Cities, which offers four-year degrees, and Delta High School, the new school focused on science, technology, engineering and math, are great examples of success the community has had that will help sustain the area's technological edge and promote innovation in the Tri-Cities, said Schwenk, who has lived in the area for 30 years.

United Way's Community Solutions initiative -- a regional health and human services plan intended to address the Tri-Cities' most pressing needs -- is another example of collaboration to achieve the desired goals in the community, Schwenk said. The communitywide effort began in 2006 with four program priorities: education, health, safety and self-sufficiency.

Three Rivers Community Round Table also is committed to promoting water-nurtured quality of life and improving connectivity through a transportation network, he said. It's all part of promoting economic development, he said.

The perception of the Tri-Cities as a Hanford-based economy is changing, especially in the Northwest, said Kris Watkins, president and CEO of the Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau.

The growth of wine industry in the area, outdoor attractions, particularly the local trail systems, and nice weather continue to draw visitors, she said. The Tri-Cities also is a hub for shopping for people in Southeastern Washington.
 
People like to come here because it's safe and clean and about three hours away from major metro areas, she said.

Some of those visitors end up settling down here, she said. The local arts scene has expanded and become diverse, and a variety of restaurants have opened in the past few years. That has meant more options for resi-dents and continuing economic growth for the community, Watkins said.

Walla Walla's Traci Jao came to study at WSU about 10 years ago and ended up making the Tri-Cities her home. It has good schools, family-friendly businesses, a lot of parks, safe environment and friendly people, said Jao, who is co-chairwoman of Young Professionals of Tri-Cities, which started in 2007.

-- On the net: To view the Kiplinger.com report, click here. Then click on the "next" button under the picture to see the Kennewick/Tri-Cities listing.

-- Pratik Joshi: 582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/09/02/1152727/report-tri-cities-a-great-place.html#ixzz0zjYsOGQF