The new owners of tKagen Coxhe Cascade Building in downtown Kennewick hope to have the apartments on the upper level ready to rent out by spring.

And they envision the street-level commercial space being filled with businesses that add to the vitality of downtown.

"There are so many neat things going on here, and we're excited to be part of that growth," said Kagen Cox, who bought the building for $650,000 in November with Kellen Adcock.

The revival of the historic space at 304 W. Kennewick Ave. comes after two separate fires there left heavy damage in their wake.

The first fire, in February 2022, started upstairs and destroyed the roof and apartments, with water damage wreaking havoc below.

The second fire happened in August 2023, when most of the building was unoccupied while it was being renovated.

The damage largely was isolated to one apartment and the floor.

"Because (the previous owners) had done such a great job putting on the new roof, new insulation and new sheetrock underneath, instead of the fire going up, it went down," Cox said, noting that he and Adcock are working to frame out the damaged apartment and put in new floor joists in that part of the building.

The upstairs has six apartments total and the downstairs has about 4,000-square-feet of commercial space.

"With theKellen Adcock main space of the building, Kellen and I are hoping to bring in more value. We want to go out and find small businesses or other businesses that want to be part of the growth of downtown and try to lure them in to being a part of it with us," Cox said.

Cox himself already is a downtown proprietor. His popular Kagen Coffee & Crepes opened a second location in the former Foodies space at 308 W. Kennewick Ave. last year. The restaurant is in the Cascade Building, although it's in a portion that returned to occupancy after the 2022 fire.

When the deal for the Cascade Building closed, Cox got to check off a longtime goal.

"In the restaurant business, trying to own the building that you're in – at least for me – is always the dream," he said.

The original Kagen Coffee & Crepes opened about seven years ago in the Uptown Shopping Center in Richland.

When Cox began looking to expand, he sought advice from Adcock, a friend and real estate broker, and a partnership took root. The pair met through their church, Lighthouse Church in Richland.

Cox said he's looking forward to what's ahead as he and Adcock shepherd the Cascade Building into the future.

"I'm excited about not only running my restaurants and growing as a restauranteur, but to have real estate where we can partner with other small businesses to help them grow and to be part of that community and that process," he said. "That's exciting to me."

Adcock feels the same way.

He and his wife moved to east Kennewick about 1 1/2 years ago and have been looking for ways to serve the area, he said. 

"When (we) heard Kagen was pursuing a space here in the historic downtown area, we were very excited. So being able to partner with him and (his wife) and also have a hand in bringing the Cascade Building back to life was an easy decision," he said.

For Adcock, faith plays an important role.

"Where many people would find a hundred reasons not to do this type of project, I find peace in this statement (from the Bible): 'for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,'" he said.