New food co-op signs building lease

The Tri-Cities Food Co-op’s Steering Committee signed a lease for its new home on April 6.

Alan Schreiber, who is leading the effort, told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business that the co-op will be able to move in within a month or so.

“This gives the landlord time to fix it, polish it, make sure it is up to code,” he said.

Schreiber also reported that the group has conditional approval for its financing.

The building for the future co-op is at 1420 Jadwin Ave., the former home of Atomic City Thrift.

$4.5M shopping center planned in Kennewick

Craig and Marilee Eerkes plan to build a $4.5 million shopping center at 825 N. Edison St., according to a building permit filed with the city of Kennewick.

A portion of the 29,897-square-foot building would be two levels – the lower level would have 25,657 square feet of space and the upper level, 4,240 square feet.

Plans call for 122 parking stalls, a bus stop and landscaping.

LCR Construction LLC is the general contractor.

Realtors association releases market report

The average price of homes sold in March in the Tri-City region was $452,400, according to the Tri-City Association of Realtors.

That’s down from $457,000 the previous year.

The median sale price ($410,000) and the number of active listings (513) were down in March compared to the previous month (525) but up from a year ago (335).

The average number of days a home was on the market in March was 52 days, down slightly from the previous month. Last March, homes were listed for an average of 28 days.

The number of pending listings was 346 in March, up from 288 the previous month.

The association’s data includes sales in Tri-Cities, West Richland, Basin City, Kiona-Benton City, Burbank, Connell, Eltopia, Finley, Kahlotus, Mesa, Paterson, Plymouth and Wallula.

Colorado company acquires Kennewick’s Pavement Surface Control

Colorado Barricade Co., a provider of traffic control and road safety services, has acquired Kennewick-based Pavement Surface Control.

Pavement Surface Control provides concrete barriers, pavement striping, traffic control and safety flagging and pavement maintenance to the Washington Department of Transportation, local municipalities, roadway infrastructure contractors, utility contractors and other private customers throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The combination of the two companies establishes the business as one of the largest road safety and infrastructure service providers focused on opportunities in the western U.S., with operations now in the Mountain Region and Pacific Northwest, according to a company press release.

The acquisition closed on Oct. 31. Chinook Capital Advisors represented Pavement Surface Control in the transaction.

Carniceria Madrigal moves into Kennewick shop

Carniceria Madrigal Tri-Cities has signed a five-year lease for a 2,600-square-foot retail space at 516 E. First Ave. in Kennewick.

Luis Madrigal Martinez has been a butcher for more than five years. His business’ focus is on Mexican restaurants and food trucks.

Todd Sternfeld of NAI Tri-Cities represented building landlord Gravenslund Lachmann Inc.

Kennewick-Richland area earns high marks for housing market

A new report ranks the Kennewick-Richland area fifth in the county for growth and stability in the housing market.

The SmartAsset report said the area “benefits from a diverse local economy. Home prices have increased 211.07% between 1998 and 2022, while the population has grown by roughly 40%.”

Senske Services expands into Colorado Springs

 Senske Services, a provider of recurring residential lawn care, pest control and other home services, expanded into Colorado Springs. Senske has a Kennewick office.

The Colorado Springs market will be serviced by the brand Fit Turf, a division of Senske Services. Fit Turf has been serving customers in the Denver metropolitan area since 2008.

4 EV chargers installed at Hermiston Starbucks

 Four chargers have been installed at the Starbucks store in Hermiston.

It’s part of an effort Starbucks, in partnership with Volvo Cars, to electrify the route roughly every 100 miles between four markets: Seattle, Boise, Salt Lake City and Denver.

The project supports Starbucks’ goal to become a resource positive company and reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030.

The Hermiston Starbucks is at 1235 N. First St.

In other EV installation news, Walmart recently announced plans to build its own fast EV charging network at Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs, expanding to thousands of markets nationwide by 2030.

It currently houses about 1,300 charging stations at 280 stores and clubs.

Walmart said it is still identifying which markets these charging stations will be located.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Washington has seen EV ownership increase by 32.3% between 2020-21, with EV registrations rising from 50,500 to 66,810 in that timeframe.

CERB approves $2M loan to Port of Walla Walla

The Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) has approved a $2 million loan to Port of Walla Walla for a hangar and crew base for Life Fight Network, which transports seriously ill or injured patients.

Life Flight Network LLC is investing $5.5 million, and the CERB funds are matched by $500,000 in local resources, a news release said.

The project will include designing and building a hangar and crew quarters, and it’s estimated to create and retain 29 jobs.

CERB also announced grants totaling $150,000 for projects in Columbia, Douglas and Kitsap counties. The loan and grants are intended to spur business growth and create jobs.

“CERB projects represent an important partnership between the state and local communities resulting in enhanced economic vitality,” CERB Chair Michael Echanove said in a statement. “These projects will ultimately lead to job growth across the state through infrastructure development and planning.”

Port of Warden receives $2.5M for truck bypass

The Port of Warden has received $2.5 million in federal funding to build an industrial bypass road to industrial zoned properties on the south side of Warden to accommodate the expected growth in truck freight from industrial, food processing and agricultural projects.

In the past few years, the port said it has seen a great deal of economic development, including a canola crushing and canola oil refining facility, a new fertilizer distribution facility, additional fresh produce packing and frozen and dehydrated food processing, and the associated warehousing for these products.