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.

Developers plan for Kennewick's Southridge area

By Kristi Pihl, Tri-City Herald

Published Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012

Stan Nuxall Jr. stands Thursday near the site where he is developing Villas Verde, or “Green Homes.” He plans to build 61 villa-style townhomes with stucco exteriors and some native landscaping on the southeast corner of 27th Avenue and Ely Street in Kennewick. See story this page

KENNEWICK — Where shrubs and grass now grow, Stan Nuxall Jr. sees 61 villa-style townhomes, with stucco exteriors and some native landscaping.

Nuxall is developing Villas Verde, or "Green Homes," on the southeast corner of 27th Avenue and Ely Street in Kennewick with the goal of providing homes for retirees.

Plans for new homes similar to those at Villas Verde seem to be sprouting up in Kennewick.

The city has received three applications for new subdivisions in the first two weeks of the year. Last year, six projects were proposed, said Evelyn Lusignan, Kennewick's customer service manager.

With the new development and shopping options at Southridge, the area has grown into a good spot for new homes, Nuxall said.

South Kennewick is where available land is, said Rene Dahlgren, Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities director of government affairs.

Residential and commercial development goes in waves, she said. The area has a new sports complex, and Kennewick General Hospital plans to build a new hospital in the area.

New home permits were down in January compared with last year, but the national and state housing markets have been picking up, and Dahlgren said builders expect the Tri-Cities to exceed those markets.

Villas Verde will be built in groups of three and four, Nuxall said. Most are likely to be one-story.

Nuxall said he will participate in Energy Star and the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities "Built Green" program.

The townhomes will be near Canyon Lakes Restorative & Rehabilitation Center. And Nuxall said he hopes to attract some couples where one spouse is living in the townhome and the other in assisted living.

He hopes to have the dues for the homeowners' association to be the lowest in the Tri-Cities. The dues will pay for maintenance.

The homes will be affordable, but the exact prices have not yet been set, he said.

Fireball Investments will own the land and develop it, and Green Plan Construction LLC will build the homes. Nuxall's company, SL Nuxall Real Estate Services, will market the properties.

Villas Verde will go before the city hearing examiner on April 9 for preliminary plat approval.

Nuxall said he hopes to have the roads and first homes go up shortly after city approval is received.

Nuxall will build some homes on speculation but he also said he hopes for presales, where homeowners can pick their own floor plan and lot.

Not too far from the future site of Villas Verde, a cherry orchard on the corner of 45th Avenue and South Ely Street will be replaced with 120 new single-family homes.

Owner Dale Ross has been finding it too difficult to operate the small orchard inside city limits, said Dave Retter, Windermere Real Estate/Tri-Cities owner and broker.

Cherry Creek Estates will be along the lines of Shadow Run on 36th Avenue and Ely Street and Pheasant Run on Vancouver Street and 27th Avenue, projects that Retter said Windermere Real Estate/Tri-Cities worked on with other developers.

J-U-B Engineers of Kennewick is also involved in the Cherry Creek Estates project.

South Kennewick is a great location, with the businesses and restaurants that have opened at Southridge, Retter said.

The 33 acres are the last large piece of dirt available in that area of Kennewick for development, he said.

Cherry Creek Estates will have homes that likely will be attractive to move-up and first-time home buyers, Retter said. They hope to have homes priced between $185,000 to $275,000.

The project is scheduled to go before the hearing examiner March 12.

The soonest Retter expects the project to break ground is in late June. The first homes won't be available until late this year or early next year.

The builders for the project have not yet been chosen, but there likely will be between three to five, Retter said. The subdivision might be completed in five phases.

Presales will be available sometime this summer, after city requirements are met and the prices are determined, he said.

Windermere Real Estate/Tri-Cities agents have been seeing homes go under contract for sales at a record pace this month in all price ranges, Retter said.

"I think there has been a pent-up demand," he said.

Cherry Creek Estates is one of six applications for new subdivisions in Kennewick that came in last year, Lusignan said. Cherry Creek Estates and the three subdivisions from this year are being reviewed by the city before they head to the hearing examiner.

After the city hearing examiner gives pre-plat approval, developers put in the required utilities and streets, she said. Then the subdivision heads to Kennewick City Council for final approval.

The other two new subdivisions proposed in Kennewick are:

* Southcliffe, 408 single-family homes on Sherman Road in the Thompson Hill area, by developers Milo Bauder and Grant Young.

* Grandridge Meadows South, 24 single-family homes proposed by Monogram Homes north of Clearwater Avenue near the future expansion of Steptoe Street.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/02/19/1832376/developers-have-big-plans-for.html#storylink=mirelated#storylink=cpy

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