Walker Construction Inc. may be a Spokane-based company but it’s done enough business over the years from Walla Walla to Yakima that it has opened an office in the Tri-Cities.

The new office is at 2810 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick.

“We’ve been in our new office for at least 30 days,” said Jon Barter, director of the Affordable Housing Division for Walker Construction.

Walker Construction has been in business for 33 years.

Highlights of the company’s commercial work include several Spokane projects, including the renovation of the Macy’s store in downtown Spokane; remodeling the Riverfront Park Looff Carrousel building; renovating the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox; and some Spokane-area elementary schools.

Walker Construction also has built Wahluke High School facilities in Mattawa.

The company is no stranger to the Tri-Cities. It built the Bethel Church sports and recreation center in Richland, among other projects.

“We’ve also built Delta High in Pasco, as well as an (Inland Northwest Bank) building in Kennewick,” said Frank Scoma, a project manager for Walker Construction. “So we have ties to the Tri-Cities. But the bulk of our work is housing.”

Affordable housing, said Barter, makes up the majority of the company’s work in the Tri-Cities.

“One of the things people don’t seem to talk about is the affordable housing projects we do in the Tri-Cities and up through the Yakima Valley,” said Barter, who called from a job site in Granger at another company project.

“As far as affordable housing goes, we go back about six years here in the Tri-Cities,” Barter said. “And it’s been about 10 to 12 years for commercial projects here.”

Affordable housing projects include clientele such as area housing authorities and the Washington Growers League.

Projects include:

• Three Rivers Village in Richland. Built for the American Baptist Homes of the West, the project was a renovation of a four-story building and 41 units of occupied senior housing.
• Varney Court in Pasco is a new 38-unit community designed to provide quality affordable housing for agricultural families in Pasco and the surrounding areas. Built for the Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County, Varney Court has 24 two-bedroom units, 12 three-bedroom units and two four-bedroom units.
• The 128-unit Walla Walla Family Homes, phases 1 and 2. The project was done for the Walla Walla Housing Authority. The 11 townhouse-style building were built for farmworkers.
• Cosecha Court in Granger, built for the Yakima Housing Authority, for 75 farm and orchard workers and their families.
• Glenn Acres Housing in Yakima, built for the Yakima Housing Authority. Walker Construction renovated 38 units of housing for senior citizens.
• Toppenish Family Homes, built for the Yakima Housing Authority. These are 30 units of townhouse-style homes in eight buildings.
• Yakima Family Homes, built for the Yakima Housing Authority. A renovation of 150 units spread across 46 buildings and 13 project sites.

Walker Construction operates a small satellite office on First Avenue in Yakima because so many projects are at the west end of the Yakima Valley, Scoma said.

Barter, who has background as an active duty and reserve Marine sergeant, believes in Walker’s affordable housing mission.

“By some estimates, about 13 percent of Washington state residents fall below the poverty line and their need for housing outstrips our regional inventory,” said Barter in a statement on the company’s website. “My team and I are proud to be able to come alongside affordable housing providers who are committed to responding to this housing crisis.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than to go back and revisit some of our projects and see tenants taking pride in where they live – or to hear the stories of people who have been positively impacted by having a safe, affordable home.”

Scoma, who lives in the Tri-Cities, believes the Kennewick office is a step to improve an already great relationship with not only clients but subcontractors.

“Our field hands have been with us for years,” Scoma said. “We have local (subcontractors) throughout the whole region. The new office was built to better serve our clients and also our base of subcontractors.”

For more information, call Walker Construction at 509-535-3354.