Port of Kennewick sells former raceway to city, which has big plans to develop it

West Richland is close

to completing its purchase of the Tri-City Raceway, paving the way for a new

police station and a chance to woo future tenants to the property on the west

end of town.

City officials say

moving the police station will spur economic development on the nearly 100

acres of land off Highway 224.

“I’m using the same

philosophy at the race track site that we used at the Belmont Business

District,” said Mayor Brent Gerry. “When we purchased the lot, this was just

dirt, no utilities, no infrastructure, no nothing. By us moving out here and

becoming the anchor tenant for the Belmont Business District, we attracted the

Richland School District for a middle school, an administration building, and

we have sold three of the commercial properties for commercial development that

are on timelines to produce the product of commercial development.”

The city agreed to pay

$1.8 million for the raceway property, with $500,000 in cash at closing and the

remaining $1.3 million through a transfer of rural county capital funds.

The amount came from

Benton County’s assessed value of the property, which was far less than the

port’s recent $3 million appraisal of the property, and slightly more than the

original purchase price of $1.7 million in 2008.

“At this time, the

Port of Kennewick doesn’t have the time or the money to go forward with any

kind of investment in this property. The city of West Richland does and it will

create jobs and put businesses on the tax roll, which is desperately needed in

West Richland,” said Skip Novakovich, port commissioner, during public

discussions about the sale.

West Richland

officials said the assessed value was more accurate than the appraisal due to a

lack of comparable properties in the market.

Additionally, West

Richland will reimburse the port for up to $20,000 of port staff time and legal

costs related to the transaction and an additional 2 percent of the purchase

price, per the port’s public art policy, at closing.

The two entities will

split the closing costs 50-50. The purchase price includes 18 acre-feet of

water rights, while the port will retain remaining water rights, which commissioners

believe to be valued in excess of $500,000.

New police station

While West Richland

Police Chief Ben Majetich acknowledges most residents would prefer the police

station remain near its current spot at 3805 Van Giesen St., he said the

department has outgrown the building and the city’s growth is centered to the

west end of town.

“Where the actual

department is located is not a big deal,” Majetich said. “We’re based out of

patrol cars, so our presence will still be in the city.”

Gerry added, “Some

people ask, ‘Is it too far out?’ Well, look at where it was before. It was on

the east end of town and now it’s on the west end of town. But the difference

is, from the access point of that police station, you’re going to have Keene

Road, which is an east-west main, Van Giesen east-west, Paradise, which is

going to be another east-west in the residential district, and Belmont. So

you’ve got four roads that are a very short distance from the police facility

for them to access.”

The current police

station is about 3,000 square feet, with the new one expected to be about

22,000 square feet with more space for daily operations, a larger evidence

room, training space that could double as a community meeting room and

climate-controlled kennels for animal control, among other additions and

improvements.

It wasn’t possible to

build a new facility that size on the current property, so West Richland

scouted a location on Bombing Range Road near Paradise Way and Keene Road.

But after an outcry

from nearby residents concerned about the possibility of more crime, noise and

lower property values by placing a police station at that spot, Majetich said

the city dropped its effort to build there.

“It was likely that no

matter where we’d go in town, we’d face resistance,” Majetich said. Available

land was in short supply because Gerry said only three property owners in the

city limits have land of at least five acres or more, which was the minimum

needed for the station. This led to the city eyeing the 92-acre former raceway

as a potential site.

Voters passed a bond to

build the station in the spring, agreeing to an annual tax of about $42 per

$100,000 assessed property value. It’s expected to raise $12.5 million. The

station should be sufficient for the city’s needs for the next 50 years,

officials said.

Future development

The police department

will take up a small percentage of the available land at the racetrack site,

leaving more than 85 acres for future development.

The raceway has been

closed since 2004, though it once had been a popular Tri-Cities landmark.

“The interest at the

race track property is incredible. Large entities have already expressed an

interest in going there. I wish we had more space because we’re going to need

it,” Majetich said. The mayor said he already has a “couple birds in hand” for

the property as well. The city is going through its 45-day due diligence to

confirm the property is as represented before it closes on the purchase, and

then the sky’s the limit.

“With the city

retaining the rights of the port’s master plan for the property, we can certainly

retain that vision to the development of the property,” Gerry said. “A lot of

that is going to be driven by the wine industry.”

Gerry said the city’s

ability to treat wine waste will be an attractive incentive.

Gerry said jobs that

have workers on the clock during daylight hours are key to additional future

economic development. He believes this drives retail sales tax opportunities

currently leaving the city each day.

“We have 80 percent

leakage of the sales tax. It is important to provide properties that the city

can take advantage of,” he said.

Gerry also is

bolstered by plans for a new housing development in the city, The Heights at

Red Mountain Ranch that’s expected to break ground on 100 homes this fall and

result in nearly 600 homes when it’s built out.

Over the past three

years, West Richland averaged about 82 new single-family homes each year.

“Rooftops, daytime car count and daytime jobs are going to be the economic

driver for this community,” said the mayor.

Old city complex

Only the West Richland

branch of the Mid-Columbia Libraries is expected to remain as a tenant at the

old city government campus on Van Giesen Street once the police station is

built.

The former public

works facility has already been sold and Gerry said there are other offers for

the vacant buildings and the police station, requiring city council to review

the purchase and sale agreements.

“It looks like very

soon we’ll have those sold,” he said.

At least one of the

properties has been bought by a developer, who also bought nearby property from

a private land owner with larger plans for the site.

The city had gone

under contract with the former City Hall facility, but a tenant didn’t

materialize so it was placed back on the market.

“We don’t sell

property just to sell property,” Gerry said. “There’s a timeline once the

property is sold that the commercial business has to take the permit out and

construct a facility and if they do not meet that criteria, we have the ability

to purchase the property back at the same price.”

Gerry considers this a

smart business practice and expects similar success at the racetrack site to

capitalize on the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area and market to the

wine industry, especially since the land has been undeveloped for so long.

 “We have

property that’s desirable for commercial and it looks like it’s going to

happen,” Gerry said. “It’s an opportunity to better our community. The buzz is

out there. Stay tuned. There’s more to come.”