New apartments planned in Southridge

A new apartment complex is planned for 12.5 acres of land off Highway 395 in the Southridge area of Kennewick.

Several permits have been issued for Zintel Way Apartments, a set of 195 multifamily apartment units in five three-level stacked flat buildings at 4303 S. Zintel Way, according to information in Kennewick’s permit portals.

Evergreen Zintel LLC bought the land for $3.55 million in 2022, and constructing the buildings will also cost in the millions: one building permit is valued at $4.7 million, with another set for $5.4 million. Additional permits have been filed for an amenity building and other work on the buildings.

Bellingham-based Exxel Pacific Inc. is listed as the contractor, and Seattle-based Evergreen Housing Development Group LLC is the owner.

Grandview travel center owners plan West Richland gas station

 The owners of the TA Grandview travel center, where a joint Applebee’s and IHOP opened earlier this year, are making plans for a West Richland gas station. 

The developer, Unity Partners LLC, wants to build a gas station and coffee drive-thru, with plans for future retail tenants, at 145 Belmont Blvd.

The 7.19-acre parcel has plenty of room for additional development as well, and owner Hardeep Singh said he hopes to bring in a car wash and other tenants, and there’s room for potential fast-food projects. 

State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, documents were submitted for the site earlier this year, and depending on when permits are issued, Unity Partners hopes to be able to break ground by the end of 2026 and open in the second quarter of 2027.

Children’s museum group eyeing Vista Field

The nonprofit group working to bring a children’s museum to the Tri-Cities area may be eyeing Port of Kennewick’s Vista Field as a potential location.

The Mid-Columbia Children’s Museum officials presented at the port’s April 14 commission meeting, discussing their goals and fundraising efforts, as well as their desire to partner with a local municipality.

Representatives said the museum would both benefit from and add to the foot traffic at Vista Field – a site intended to be a walkable urban center – and a public-private partnership, where the port maintains the land, would allow for more funding opportunities.

Commissioners expressed concerns about MCCM’s ability to raise enough funds in a certain time frame. The group said they will need $34 million to $50 million for a likely 35,000-square-foot building with one acre of outdoor exhibit space, and that they would like to be able to break ground by 2029 or 2030.

In 2025, the group was looking into three possible sites for the museum: one in Columbia Park West in Richland, near the Reach Museum; one at Bradley Landing in Richland, along the waterfront; and a third in the Road 100 area of Pasco, near the aquatic center that’s currently under construction.

The group opened up a formal request for proposals process for site selection “to ensure fairness to all of the potential sites,” said Chelsea Blair, president of MCCM’s board, in an email to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. “We look forward to seeing the responses of the cities and ports that we have been working with over the last couple years.”

The group hopes to make a decision by mid-summer.