Construction has started on the last building in the Grandridge Business Park, with completion scheduled for next spring.

The 19,611-square-foot multi-tenant office building consists of two parcels in the eight-acre business area and marks the end of an era for Grandridge Investors LLC.

“That’s an investment group that Tippett Co. of Washington serves and there’s four parties that are members of that group. Three parties are entities that are longtime family friends and fellow investors,” said Kirt Shaffer, managing broker and co-owner of Tippett Co. “They bought those acres roughly a decade ago with a vision to develop a professional business park.”

The Grandridge Business Park has attracted a variety of companies over the years, including an engineering firm, Washington State Attorney General’s office and a chiropractor.

Shaffer said the development’s location and amenities, such as ample parking space, also brought in Cascade Natural Gas, prompting the company to move its headquarters from downtown Seattle to Kennewick.

The last building in the development, at 8101 W. Grandridge Blvd., is expected to be ready by early April 2019 so tenants can move in the following month. It is being built by Chervenell Construction of Kennewick, and subcontractors include Bruce Heating & Air and BNB Mechanical, among many others.

The total cost of the project — which includes traffic mitigation fees — is $5.4 million.

Of the nearly 20,000 square feet of space in the new building, Shaffer said 72 percent has been pre-leased to two tenants: audit, tax and consulting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, a firm that has more than 100 locations throughout the United States and $850 million in revenue; and Ticor Title, which is a member of Fidelity National Financial and the nation’s largest group of title companies and title insurance underwriters.

Ticor Title has been in the Tri-Cities since June 2017 and the company’s Vice President Dylan Strait said Shaffer has been excellent to work with to find his firm another home.

“Kirt is a great guy, a person who does what he says he’s going to do. We opened in the Quinault Professional Center, but it was never intended to be permanent. There are three things we look at (for location). Those three parameters are signage, parking and direct roadside access,” said Strait, adding that the Grandridge Business Park fits those needs.

Shaffer said outside companies considering the Tri-Cities or local businesses debating a move view the Grandridge Business Park’s location as a central business district of the Tri-Cities.

“It became pretty clear to us when we worked with prospective tenants in the past, that they would put their finger on the map in the Tri-Cities for certain types of services really where Grandridge Business Park was located,” he said. “So when we’re talking to a broker in New York City, we hear time and time again their desire to locate was in and around that area.”

When Ticor Title moves, the company will almost double its size, as the new space will have 6,047 square feet as opposed to the 3,500 square feet it is currently operating in. Currently, the business employs 20 people; however, Strait said staff likely will grow with the expansion.

CliftonLarsonAllen will occupy almost 10,000 square feet, leaving about 3,700 square feet available for lease in the single-story building.

“We think based on the fact that you have a top-notch CPA firm and a well-respected title and escrow company, we could see legal services or a mortgage brokerage service there. Maybe even a wealth management firm,” Shaffer said.

The vacant space is between the two secured tenants and is being marketed at $25-a-square-foot, plus the proportionate share of landscaping, real estate, building insurance, snow removal and property management costs.

“I will tell you that’s on the higher end of the market,” Shaffer said, explaining that construction costs are high in today’s market. “But you get a beautiful, brand new project and a very generous tenant improvement allowance. (The space is) a wide-open box. The new tenants get to design all of that, and we’re going to provide a budget—a bucket of money to hire a contractor to build it the way they want it.”

Shaffer said his company enjoys working with established firms that appreciate their development style. Tippett Co. has an architectural control committee and applies covenants for tenants, which is not typical, he noted.

“So, we’re hoping to work with folks who appreciate those standards. We’re helping them in the preservation and appreciation of their investment on a long-term basis,” he explained.

Tippett Co. has been involved in multiple projects in the Tri-Cities, including the Sun Willows Business Center, Broadmoor Professional Center and the development of industrial parks.

For information about leasing space in the Grandridge Business Park, contact Shaffer at 509-521-9183.