Idaho Central Credit Union buys land in Kennewick

Idaho Central Credit Union bought 1.5 acres of commercial land at 3720 S. Zintel Way in Kennewick.

Credit union officials said they didn’t have any details to share about timelines to develop the property in the Southridge area.

The credit union paid $784,000 for the property, according to property records.

In January, Idaho Central announced that it had hired a senior private client relationship officer to serve the Tri-Cities area as it “continues to expand in the Washington market.”

Idaho Central was organized as a state-chartered credit union in 1940 and has since grown to have over $9 billion in assets. It serves over 540,000 members throughout Idaho, Washington and eastern Oregon. It has two branches in Spokane.

$1.3 million in improvements planned for new Joann store

More than $1 million in tenant improvements are underway for Joann’s new 29,400-square-foot store at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

The sewing and crafts retailer recently closed its former store on North Columbia Center Boulevard to move into a portion of the 160,000-square-foot hole Sears left behind when it closed its store in 2019 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy.

Joann’s new address is 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 455.

Improvements include interior partitions and finishes, lighting, power, heating, air conditioning and ventilation and plumbing.

Lakeview Construction of Wisconsin is the general contractor.

Siefken & Sons Construction founder dies at age 92

The founder of Siefken & Sons Construction, Bill Siefken, 92, died Feb. 7.

Siefken and his wife, Reta, founded the construction firm in 1975.

The company developed the Bryn Mawr Apartments in north Richland, which enabled Siefken to take an early retirement from Hanford in 1982, while growing the construction business.

After several years, he retired from Siefken & Sons Construction, passing it along to the next generation. He and his wife continued managing their growing rental property business.

Siefken was an active member and trustee at Redeemer Lutheran Church. He was active in Richland Rotary, where he led hands-on projects for many years, including the development of Centennial Park and Sutch Park & Bridge Relocation project. He was instrumental in the Rotary Duck Races, with the course eventually being named after him. He received several awards while in Rotary, including the “Service Above Self” in 2001.

He received the Small Business of the Year “Award for Excellence” in 1995. He was an active member of an apartment association for many years. He was involved in many volunteer efforts over the years, including moving a building from FFTF to the Howard Amon Park area for the now-defunct CREHST Museum and the related construction work to finish the project.

In his free time, he enjoyed RV traveling with Reta and their friends for many years, fishing with family and friends, and many memorable trips with family to the Oregon Coast, Hawaii, and Charbonneau Park. He kept active through the years, still routinely riding his bike till the age of 92.

BNSF announces plan for 2023 capital investments

BNSF Railway Company recently announced its 2023 capital investment plan of $3.96 billion, which includes a project near Pasco.

The largest component of this year’s capital plan, $2.85 billion, is devoted to maintaining BNSF’s core network and related assets.

Maintenance projects include replacing and upgrading rail, track infrastructure such as ballast and rail ties, and maintaining its rolling stock. The work includes nearly 14,000 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work and the replacement of 346 miles of rail and about 2.8 million rail ties. About $400 million is for equipment acquisitions.

Over $700 million of this year’s capital plan will be for expansion and efficiency projects, adding to the nearly $2.5 billion invested in expansion projects over the past five years. This year’s expansion plans support the growth of BNSF Intermodal and Automotive, Agricultural and Industrial Products customers.

45-year-old Kennewick office building sells for $2.7M

ASAP Clearwater Plaza LLC paid $2.7 million to buy a 16,352-square-foot commercial building along busy Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick. 

Todd Sternfeld of NAI Tri-Cities represented the seller, Inisel LLC.

Sternfeld called the property at 3030 W. Clearwater Ave. one of his favorites to represent because it is a great success story. When Inisel bought the building in 2014, it essentially had one tenant, he said. 

It took several years to renovate the property and find the right tenant mix, Sternfeld said. “Their 100% occupancy goal was finally achieved in 2022,” he said. 

Built in 1978, the two-story office building features a geometric design and balcony. 

Current tenants include The Fix Machine Animal Health Clinic, Vita Sana Day Spa, Northwest Esthetics Academy, Spotted Dog Grooming, among others.

Senske Services acquires Colorado-based Liqui-Lawn

 Senske Services, which has an office in Kennewick, has acquired Liqui-Lawn.

Located in Longmont, Colorado, Liqui-Lawn has been providing professional lawn care to customers in Longmont, Boulder and Loveland since 1975.

This is the sixth acquisition that Senske has completed in Colorado since entering the market in 2020.

Mattawa approves new housing development

A major new housing development will begin construction in 2023 on 40 acres annexed into the city of Mattawa.

Members of the Mattawa City Council recently voted 6-0 to approve the annexation application and a development agreement between the city and CAD Homes of Moses Lake.

CAD Homes plans to build about 100 homes in five phases over six years.

Both single-family housing and duplexes will be allowed, according to the development plan approved by the council. Owners of single-family homes will be required to provide at least two parking spaces, and duplexes will require three parking spaces per unit. William and Ellice avenues will be extended to provide the roads in and out of the property. The development agreement requires sidewalks and, if it’s necessary, a pedestrian pathway.

The project will include about two acres set aside for a park and recreation amenities.

About 13 acres of the property will be left undeveloped after the first five phases are completed.

PestCo acquires Pointe Pest Control as part of large consolidation plan

PestCo Holdings LLC has acquired Pointe Pest Control - ID LLC and Pointe Pest Control - OR LLC, known collectively as Pointe Pacific Northwest.

Pointe Pest operates in the Tri-Cities, as well as throughout the state, Idaho, Oregon and Montana, providing residential and commercial pest control services.

PestCo’s acquisition of Pointe Pacific Northwest comes a year after its acquisition of Pointe Illinois and Green Pest Services, which closed in February 2022.

Pointe Pacific Northwest was founded by Jacob Borg, and Pointe Illinois was founded by his brother Jared Borg and his business partner Kyle Woodbury, with the two companies historically operating separately with no affiliation other than their namesake.

Now, with the backing of PestCo’s team and resources, Pointe Pacific Northwest and Pointe Illinois are poised for accelerated growth through the unification of the two brothers’ businesses.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This is the tenth investment for PestCo, an acquisition company formed to consolidate the highly fragmented pest control industry.

Hermiston awards $3 million contract to upgrade roadway

The Hermiston City Council approved a $3 million contract with Nelson Construction to complete extensive roadway upgrades on North First Place.

The project includes the demolition and rebuild of the road between Hermiston Avenue and Elm Avenue, adding a 10-foot-wide asphalt pathway on the east side of the road and filling in nearly 3,000 feet of sidewalk on the west side. It will also add curbs and gutters while clearly designating business driveways along the length of the project.

The walking pathway on the east side of the roadway will include landscaping of crushed rock, bunch grasses and trees, among other improvements.

The work is expected to begin this spring and will continue through the summer and fall. Large sections of the road will be closed during the project.

This work will be paid for through $4.5 million in transportation funds from the state of Oregon awarded to the city of Hermiston in 2017 and designated for use in 2023, with no local funding required.