FAA funds Richland Airport electrical and upgrades

The Port of Benton has secured a $3.1 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to replace the electrical system at the Richland Airport.

The project includes replacing the runway and taxiway edge lighting system and fixtures, replacing guidance signs and replacing the precision approach path indicator units at runways 1, 19 and 8.

An emergency generator will be installed as well. It will not replace FAA controlled lights on runways.

Construction is expected to take place between July and October. There will be runway closures as well as a full airport closure expected in mid-December.

Dates will be finalized when a contractor is hired.

The port will provide project status updates on its website, portofbenton.com.

Richland apartment complex sells for $50M

Badger Mountain Ranch, a 176-unit apartment complex at 451 Westcliffe Blvd. in Richland, sold Dec. 14 for $50.3 million.

The capitalization rate or return on the investment was estimated at 3.9%.

The Irvine, California-based seller, Starboard Realty Advisors, was represented by Phil Oester, Josh McDonald and Joe Nydahl of CBRE.

The buyer was Badger Mountain ICG LLC, a Seattle-based fund that invests in apartments.

The complex, built in 2013, is 97% occupied and includes a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units with Class A amenities including stainless steel appliances, central air conditioning, washers and dryers in the units and a recreation center with fire pits, fitness amenities and pool.

The deal represented a 145% return to the Starboard investors.

Richland approves Horn Rapids apartment expansion

The city of Richland has authorized the next phase of Vicinity at Horn Rapids, a Class A apartment complex at Kingsgate Way and Highway 240.

The new phase is valued at $22 million and will add 170 units in four buildings. The project includes a mix of studio, one- , two- and three-bedroom units as well as some garages.

The project is being developed by CEL Land, owned by Lee Petty.

The first phase was constructed in 2020-21.

Vicinity is marketed as a resort-like property with a clubhouse, washers and dryers in the units, stainless steel appliances, walk-in closets and wood flooring.

Asking rents start at $1,435 to $1,935 a month, according to a listing on apartments.com. It is managed by Avenue5 Residential.

Luxury apartment developers plan West Richland project

The development team behind a luxury waterfront apartment complex in Pasco is preparing to build on West Richland’s Belmont Drive.

Belmont Meadows LLC, comprised of many of the same partners who are developing Columbia River Walk on West A Street, have submitted documents under the Washington State Environmental Protection Act, or SEPA, to build a 180-unit apartment complex in three phases.

Belmont Meadows Apartments will include nine buildings as well as covered parking. It will access Belmont Drive south of its intersection with West Van Giesen Street, not far from Athens Drive.

SEPA documents anticipate a 2022 construction start.

Belmont will be widened to include a sidewalk and other amenities in front of the apartments. The complex will generate approximately 720 vehicle trips per day when occupied.

Belmont Meadows is led by Zachary Wright, David Lopez-Rangel, Rigo Rangel in cooperation with Zepgon LLC, according to state corporation records.

Rangel, of Tri-Cities Engineering, teamed with Jessee Zepeda of Zepcon to build the River Walk project, still under construction along Sacagawea Heritage Trail, west of the blue bridge.

Friends of Badger Mountain reaches $1.5M goal

Friends of Badger Mountain reports it has exceeded its goal of raising $1.5 million to secure land for its latest trail project, the Little Badger Mountain Preserve and Trail.

The nonprofit said it exceeded its goal by $35,000.

The campaign helped Friends acquire the final 21 acres it needed for the Little Badger trail, which joins the existing network of trails on neighboring Badger Mountain and Candy Mountain. Together, the trail networks have preserved nearly 900 acres of open space and led to 10 miles of well-used trails.

Pasco will welcome Crumbl once supply chain issues resolve

 The partners behind the Tri-Cities’ first Crumbl cookie store have plans for another in Pasco.

Kevin Hatch and his business partner Ian Taylor had hoped to open in early March but supply chain issues with mixers and ovens have upended the timeline.

“Right now, we don’t have a firm opening date,” Hatch told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

The Pasco store is at 5025 Road 68 in the same parking lot as Yoke’s Fresh Market.

The partners have other locations in the works, but not for the Tri-City area, Hatch said.

He also said that business has been great at the Richland store, which opened in March 2021 at 2665 Queensgate Blvd.

“We are settling into the numbers we expected to have after the newness has worn off,” he said.

The Crumbl franchise features a weekly rotating menu of more than 120 specialty flavors.

The Kennewick Crumbl store at 1102 N. Columbia Center Blvd. is operated by different owners, Ranae and Matt Rusk of Pasco.

Papa John’s Pizza leases office space in Kennewick

Papa John’s has leased a 2,190 square-foot office space at 8511 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick.

Jazmine Murillo of NAI Tri-Cities represented the owner, Columbia River Real Estate, in the lease agreement with Your Papa John’s.

The space is on West Clearwater Ave., between South Columbia Center Boulevard and South Steptoe Street.

Papa John’s Pizza has four retail locations in Kennewick, Richland and Pasco.

Kennewick schools prep for Ridge View replacement

The existing Ridge View Elementary will be demolished and replaced with a new 68,000-square-foot building in Kennewick.

The existing 45,000-square-foot building will be demolished this summer and followed by up to 18 months of construction.

The $23 million bond-funded project will expand the school to 30 classrooms and provide for parking, a pump house, future portables, a bus lane and play area. It will open in winter 2023.

Kennewick voters approved the project through a 2019 bond request. State assistance is supporting the budget.

The 9-acre campus is at 7001 W. 13th Ave. Knutzen Engineering is the designer, according to documents filed under the Washington state Environmental Protection Act, or SEPA, process.

Brandon Wilm of Design West of Kennewick is the architect.

Windermere closes office, plans to open larger one

Windermere Group One plans to move into a bigger office in Pasco this summer.

It also plans to close its West Richland satellite office at the end of this month.

The West Richland office, at 4900 Paradise Way near Yoke’s Fresh Market, has been open for five years, and was essentially one big room used for training, the agency said.

It plans to remodel a bigger office in west Pasco to use for training, agent offices and conference rooms.

It will begin remodeling the building in March with plans to open this summer. It has not disclosed the location. 

Company plans laydown yard in West Richland

Builders FirstSource is adding a nine-acre laydown yard at its West Richland builders supply business, 4113 S. 47th Place, according to documents submitted under the Washington State Environmental Protection Act, or SEPA.

Builders First Source applied for a grading permit in fall 2021 for an area currently zoned light industrial. The property is south of Keene Road, at West Lattin Road and West Lattin Court.

Brad Beauchamp of BMB Development is the builder for the project, which includes clearing and grading the sloped site. A masonry fence or privacy fence and landscaping will be added along the property where it borders a residential area.

Builders FirstSource is a building materials supplier.

Pasco advances animal control project

The Pasco City Council updated its agreement with the architect designing its new Animal Control facility in January.

CKJT Architects PLLC is designing the facility, which will cost $6 million to build. The facility is a joint undertaking of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, with each agreeing to pay a third of the cost in 2016.

The new shelter will be constructed near the site of the aging facility, adjacent to the Columbia River, near South 18th Street and A Street, south of the Pasco Youth Baseball Complex.

The Benton Franklin Humane Society took over animal control and shelter services after the previous operators were fired following allegations of embezzlement and mistreatment of animals in their care.

The council revised the architect’s contract to support additional design work at its Jan. 11 meeting.

Panda Express is coming to Court Street

Panda Express will develop a new restaurant in Pasco following the $600,000 sale of a vacant commercial building at 1525 W. Court St.

The 4,400-square-foot building was built in 1987 and is north and west of Captain Gray Elementary and Pasco High School. It previously housed a medical office.

Todd Sternfeld, Derrick Stricker and Jazmine Murillo of NAI Tri-Cities represented the sellers, Donna and Kevin Heinen, in the sale and identified Panda Express as the future occupant.

Apollo Mechanical expands facility services 

Apollo Mechanical Contractors has expanded its facility services division. 

Apollo, which in 2021 celebrated its 40th anniversary, has had a service division at its corporate headquarters in Kennewick since 1981. 

With the formation of a national facility services division, Dale Hollandsworth, a 30-year employee of Apollo Mechanical, has been appointed vice president. The new structure brings commercial and industrial service groups under one division, creating a more cohesive unit that’s able to provide new and existing clients the service they’ve come to expect from the long-established construction and pre-construction divisions at Apollo Mechanical, said Theresa Buckendorf, company spokeswoman.

Apollo Mechanical, the fifth largest mechanical contractor in the United States, as ranked by Engineering News-Record magazine, provides full mechanical services including HVAC, plumbing, piping and fabrication on a wide range of projects, including industrial, institutional, educational, health care, corrections, data centers, government and commercial facilities.

It has offices in Portland, Bend, Seattle, Spokane, Missoula, Oak Ridge, Reno and Denver.