It’s been a year of progress and preparation for the Port of Pasco.

Multiple construction projects within port industrial centers, from a Darigold production facility to an expedited delivery center for Amazon, are in various stages of completion.

The Tri-Cities Airport is growing and making improvements.

The Airport Business Center is poised for more development, and planning is underway for an Aerospace Innovation and Manufacturing Center.

The Osprey Pointe mixed-use development also is making progress.

Meanwhile, the port is preparing to lose its leader.

Randy Hayden, the longtime executive director, plans to retire in early 2025.

He announced his decision this past spring to give port officials time to find a successor. It’s bittersweet, he said, noting that he looks forward to retiring but loves the job.

Hayden is working his way through a lengthy to-do list before he leaves – and he’s savoring the port’s successes this year. Overall, 2024 has been good for the port, he said.

“It’s been a great year, characterized by the end of the economic development recruitment cycle, (with) a lot of building occurring,” Hayden said. “You have many years of visioning, planning, developing and selling land, and then industry locates and builds. And this year, we are near the end of that, where industries are building their new facilities.”

The port has an operating budget of $17.9 million, non-operating budget of $45 million, capital budget of $54 million and collects $2.8 million from property tax revenue.

Industrial centers

The port’s industrial centers have seen some significant construction this year.

The 93-acre Pasco Industrial Center 395 is the home of a new expedited delivery center for Amazon. The building is close to being done, Hayden said in late August.

Also, Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. “just started a few weeks ago for their trucking logistics center,” he said. UPS also has 12 acres in the center for a second shipping center in the Tri-Cities, although Hayden said he’s not sure about a timeline.

The port’s 300-acre Reimann Industrial Center largely is occupied by Darigold, which is building a production facility. The company owns about half the Reimann land.

“(The Darigold facility) is expected to be up and running in the first quarter of 2025,” Hayden said, noting there may be some limited operations before then.

Darigold also is working to develop a third-party cold storage facility on its site, he said.

The rest of the Reimann property is available, and “we’re talking to various businesses about (buying it), and we’ve got some very strong leads,” Hayden said in late August.

He added that, while “nothing has been inked yet” he expected “that the remaining land will not be available for much longer.”

Tri-Cities Airport

The port’s Tri-Cities Airport also is having a strong year.

The number of passenger boardings was up 7% as of August, and the airport has added new routes and even a new airline. American Airlines made its debut at the Pasco airport earlier this year and now has two daily nonstop flights to Phoenix.

Alaska Airlines also began offering daily nonstop service between Pasco and Los Angeles in October, and Avelo Airlines started service to Sonoma wine country in May.

The airport is “a lagging indicator of how our community is doing,” said Buck Taft, Tri-Cities Airport director. “And we’re not just a Pasco airport ... we get passengers all the way from Moses Lake, Yakima, Walla Walla, down through Hermiston. So as this whole region grows, our airport is going to continue to grow.”

To help with the growth, the airport is increasing its parking lot capacity by adding 500 stalls.

“That should see us through to the foreseeable future,” Taft said, noting that the project is underway and should be done in time for the holiday travel season.

Inside the terminal, officials plan to add a second door and podium to Gate 2, which has two parking spots for planes. The addition will add flexibility, Taft said.

The goal is for the project to be done in time for spring break travel next year, he said.

At the same time, the airport will make the American Airlines check-in area up front more permanent by adding a baggage belt and making other improvements.

Some other work inside the terminal is planned if grant funding comes through, including expanding the “baggage makeup room” where screened bags are picked up and taken to planes, and adding three new jet bridges.

Taft said it’s uncertain when a grant decision will be made.

Meanwhile, some additional work on the outside is on the way.

The airport plans to finish rebuilding its general aviation apron, a project that’s been happening in phases over the last decade-plus. It also plans a runway shift to meet FAA design standards.

‘Very good fit’

There’s plenty of action beyond airport operations, too.

At the Airport Business Center, “we just completed the last internal road ... so that really opens up all of the property to development,” Hayden said.

Taft also noted that “we’re gearing up for our second hotel on airport property,” next to the existing Marriott. It’s set to be a Hilton hotel, built by A1 Hospitality Group.

It’s close to breaking ground, Taft said.

The port also is in early planning for an Aerospace Innovation and Manufacturing Center, which will encompass about 500 acres and aim to attract aerospace manufacturers to the area.

“Aerospace, as we all know, is a huge industry in the Pacific Northwest,” Hayden said, noting that it’s expanded from the Seattle area into the greater Northwest.

“Those types of businesses are looking for additional locations in the Pacific Northwest, and we would like to have that land available and developed for that purpose,” he said. “It’s a way to diversify our economy, particularly in Franklin County, which is very ag-centric. Those are great jobs, but we’d also like to have some other types of high wage, high skilled industry in the county and our port district. It seems to be a very good fit.”

Osprey Pointe

Meanwhile, the Osprey Pointe mixed-use development is moving forward.

JMS Construction/JMS Development plans to develop the 55-acre port property on the Columbia River into what it describes as a “hub of excitement for Eastern Washington and Oregon.” It’s to include homes, restaurants, hotels, a marketplace, enhanced waterfront access, concert venues and more.

JMS has been working to get permits for bringing water and sewer to the site, Hayden said.

“The first building is a four-story multiuse building with commercial on the ground floor and (homes) on the top three floors. (JMS) is working to get the property rezoned to mixed use, and that’s almost completed with the city. And then they’ll be able to submit the permit for that building,” Hayden said, adding that, “we’re hoping and expecting that the first building will start construction this year, and then as (JMS) completes each project that’s on that schedule, they’re permitted to move to the next project.”

‘Exciting time’

Hayden plans to retire in March.

He’s been with the port for 24 years and spent the last decade as executive director.

He’s made a significant impact during his tenure, officials said.

“(He) has done an incredible job for the port and for the community. We will miss not only his abilities as an executive director, but his interactions with all of us on a personal level,” Port Commission President Jean Ryckman said in a statement after Hayden announced his retirement plans. She added that he’ll be leaving the port “healthy and thriving.”

Hayden said it’s a bit overwhelming to think of leaving because he has a lengthy list of projects he’d like to complete before he steps away. But he’s plugging away at them.

And in reflecting on how much the port has accomplished this year and what’s in store for the future, he feels good. “It’s a very exciting time for Pasco,” he said.