A prominent Tri-City developer is building a fast-food restaurant and office at 2250 Keene Road, near Richland’s newly relocated TacoTime.

Greg Markel of Washington Securities and Investments Corp. said the 4,000-square-foot mixed-use building is a spec, or speculative project, being built on the expectation it will lease when the building is complete.

Markel said there is some interest in the project, but the market is slowed by the pandemic.

The building will have 2,300 square feet for a quick-service restaurant and about 1,700 square feet of finished office space.

Markel said he pressed ahead with the $415,000 project without a firm tenant in mind.

“I’ve got vacant land out there. It doesn’t do any good to have a beautiful location with nothing on it,” he said. Markel owns and operates commercial property across the region.

The restaurant space will include a drive-thru, built-in grease trap and rough plumbing for restrooms. It will be left unfinished so a future tenant can customize the interior layout.

Hummel Construction and Development of Kennewick is the contractor.

The half-acre site is assessed at a little more than $300,000, according to the Benton County Assessor’s Office.

The building should be ready for prospective tenants by the end of 2020.

Markel moved the Richland TacoTime to 2222 Keene Road from central Richland earlier this year because the original was hampered by tight parking and access issues.