Former Shelby’s Floral location sells for $1.45M

A storefront that formerly housed a flower shop on the corner of one of the Tri-Cities’ busiest intersections has a new owner. 

ORP Holdings LLC has bought the property at 5211 Clearwater Ave. for $1.45 million, according to NAI Tri-Cities. The commercial real estate brokerage represented the property’s seller, Vancouver-based Inland Ocean LLC. 

Details on what the new owner plans for the space were not immediately available. 

The 4,400-square-foot building, which has large windows overlooking the intersection of Clearwater Avenue and Edison Street, is one of three buildings in Marineland Plaza, the originally ocean-themed shopping center developed by Warren Luke in the late 1980s.  

Inland Ocean bought the shopping center in 2020 for $7 million. 

The recently-sold building was the home of Shelby’s Floral for 23 years. The florist moved to a newly built home further west on Clearwater in 2024 after its owners were not given an extension on their lease.

Port of Pasco negotiates $3.3 million land purchase

Port of Pasco commissioners unanimously gave their staff the green light May 1 to begin negotiating the purchase of a 140-acre parcel for an estimated $3.3 million. 

Details about the property were not provided, other than it is located north of Pasco, according to port executive director Adam Lincoln. Purchase negotiations were briefly discussed at a special port meeting called specifically for that purpose. 

“It furthers our mission of economic development,” Lincoln said of the potential purchase. 

The port currently holds 3,050 total acres – 2,450 acres of land and 600 acres of waterfront property, with the last large land purchase in 2019, which was 300 acres for the Reimann Industrial Center.  

Port leaders are regularly searching for property as its industrial parks and centers fill up and new industry partners seek to set up operations in the Tri-Cities.

Kadlec breaks ground on new West Richland clinic

Kadlec broke ground on its new West Richland primary care clinic on April 21. The new clinic is planned for space at 3950 Keene Road, next to Kadlec’s existing West Richland clinic. 

The new building will be about 15,000 square feet in size with space for 10 new primary care providers, helping to address the shortage of primary care providers the Tri-Cities area is facing. 

“Our last physician assessment study we did here in the Tri-Cities showed there was a shortage of almost 50 primary care providers in this community, so access is a challenge,” said Rob Watilo, chief operating officer for the Kadlec Medical Group, at the event.

That shortage can lead to months of wait time, specialists doing the work of primary care providers, worsening chronic conditions and more.   

At the new Kadlec clinic, each of the 10 new providers will have a patient panel of 1,500 to 2,000 patients, enabling the clinic to serve a total of 15,000 to 20,000 patients, according to Dr. Richard Meadows, chief medical officer with Kadlec Medical Group, who spoke at the event.   

Watilo said the building would open in about a year. The last time Kadlec opened a new clinic was in 2016 in west Kennewick, he said.  

Tri-City housing market shows mixed signs in March

The Tri-Cities housing market continues to show strong demand though there were signs of that easing in March. 

According to the Tri-City Association of Realtors, 271 homes were sold in March, up from 259 in February. As of March 31, 730 homes have been sold in the area, the highest number sold in the first quarter since 2022. 

However, the number of sales was the lowest in March since at least 2022. The average sold price slipped to $479,500 after hitting a record high point in February. The median sales price dropped slightly to $430,600 and inventory hit the highest mark since last fall with more than 800 active listings. 

And while homes are moving faster than earlier in the year, the average and median days on the market for listings – 60 days and 35 days, respectively – also are the highest for this time of year in years. 

Queensgate Drive extension is now open

The newest stretch of Queensgate Drive that will allow drivers to travel directly between the city of Richland’s main shopping district and the neighborhoods on the south flank of Badger Mountain opened May 7.

The new connection between Keene Drive and Shockley Road was developer-led as the open space between the two roads is being developed. The extension bridges Interstate 182, uniting shopping areas to the north with neighborhoods to the south near Badger Mountain.

City officials said the project aligns with the city’s transportation and development goals, with the new roadway expected to enhance traffic flow, reduce congestion and improve overall connectivity.

Library breaks ground on new outdoor space 

A $100,000 donation from the Richland Public Library Foundation was the push needed to get work started on the city library’s new outdoor space. 

Library and city officials broke ground on the The Lawn on May 2 at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive. 

The space at the corner of Swift Boulevard and Northgate Drive will have tables and seating along with green space and a small open-air theater with artificial turf to serve patrons of all ages.  

The project has been in the works as far back as the library’s 2009 renovation. 

“This library is fortunate to have a variety of flexible space that gets a lot of use – meeting rooms, study rooms, program space, exhibit space, a huge collection, a cafe and a used bookstore,” library manager Christopher Nulph told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. “The one thing that has been missing is a space for outdoor activities.” 

The groundbreaking is for the first phase of the project; a later phase includes playground equipment.