After progress at Vista Field slowed last year, the Port of Kennewick’s 103-acre former airfield is once again ready to take off for development. 

The site saw its first two businesses open in the past year, and lots are once again for sale as the port works to develop shared parking lots on the site. 

In the meantime, the port’s Columbia Gardens has welcomed two new tenants as it diversifies its focus. 

Vista Field

Vista Field is back on track for development after progress stalled when a trace amount of synthetic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, was found at the site in mid-2025.

The port paused its work on parking areas and stopped selling lots as it worked to test the soil and form a cleanup plan. By mid-June of 2026, port officials got the all-clear from the state Department of Ecology. 

With the land cleared of “forever chemicals,” “we’re now able to put out the ‘for sale’ sign again,” said port CEO Tim Arntzen. 

In the meantime, private development was still underway at Vista Field, and the site’s first two businesses opened their doors, ushering in the port’s vision of a walkable urban center. 

Blueberry Bridal Boutique was the first to open. The 4,000-square-foot wedding dress boutique opened at 625 Crosswind Blvd. in early February. 

Kuki Izakaya followed with a soft opening in April. The 3,500-square-foot restaurant is based on K-pubs, or Korean-inspired gastropubs, and izakayas, which are casual Japanese taverns or gastropubs. 

The port is continuing to work with those who have property already under contract, like the Akula Group and BlueChart LLC. Both have had projects planned for Vista Field for quite some time. 

The Camas-based Akula group hopes to build a five-story mixed-use building with a restaurant, cafe and shops, as well as apartments and condos above. 

BlueChart LLC wants to build up to 300 residential homes over several years, starting with 32 homes. The port was poised to sell four lots to BlueChart in April 2025, with the company planning to buy more land after the port delivered on its infrastructure commitments.

Columbia Point Eye Care, one of the businesses that broke ground on a lot, is still deciding whether it wants to continue the project, Arntzen said, but the port is working to collaborate with them.

The eye care clinic originally intended to build a new clinic on the Vista Field land, but while held up by the PFAS issues, the company had the opportunity to acquire Desert Valley Eye Care.

Other parties are interested in buying land at Vista Field as well, from live-work units to a larger mixed-use project, Arntzen said. But “it’s quite a long process with even selling one lot to somebody because you have to make sure that their vision of Vista Field aligns with ours,” he said. 

Arntzen said they try to work through that process early on so that they can figure out whether a project is a good fit before interested parties have invested a lot of time and money into it. 

The port spends a lot of time with developers after they buy a property, too, supporting them through the permitting and development process, Arntzen said. 

“Vista Field isn’t just a Kennewick project. It’s for the people of West Richland, and Richland, and the other parts of our community,” he said.

Parking lot projects

To support Vista Field’s build-out, the port is planning a few parking lots. One will be a 62-space joint-use parking lot behind Blueberry Bridal and Kuki Izakaya that will serve not only those two businesses, but three nearby lots as well. 

Arntzen said the joint-use parking is an important aspect of Vista Field, partly to make it easier for those buying property but also for visitors, who can park in one space to explore several different businesses. 

That parking lot project, which will cost roughly $750,000, is out to bid and is expected to be completed by spring 2027.

The port is also planning a parking lot near the aircraft hangars-turned-community pavilions, which is also set to be complete next year. Once that parking is in place, “then those pavilions can be opened and used for community activities, concerts, children’s plays, things like that,” Arntzen said. 

A third parking lot, a joint venture between the port and the city of Kennewick, is in the works as well. The port paid for half of the $2 million parking lot, which is set to be 460 spaces behind the Three Rivers Convention Center. 

The parking lot is meant to provide extra space for the expanded convention center, but with the port’s help, it can also be available for access to Vista Field at times when the lot is not full.

The parking lot isn’t on Vista Field land, meaning it can provide access to some of the lots in that area without taking up the land available for development. 

wo new businesses have set up shop at Port of Kennewick’s Columbia Gardens Artisan Village. Brandi Dayton Art, which offers art classes, and brewery Wheat Head on the Water have diversified the food truck and winery destination.

| Courtesy Kim Fetrow Photography for Port of Kennewick

Columbia Gardens

The port also has seen changes come to its buildings at Columbia Gardens Artisan Village.

Two new businesses set up shop at the site, which features food trucks and wineries. 

Brandi Dayton Art opened at 313 E. Columbia Gardens Way, Suite 110, in the spring, offering art classes as well as gallery space. 

Wheat Head on the Water – a second location for Wheat Head Brewing Company – opened in the suite directly behind the art studio.

This summer, the port also launched a concert series taking place in Columbia Gardens on Thursday evenings.  

Arntzen said that the idea behind Columbia Gardens is to have a diversity of different businesses and activities so that everyone can enjoy something there, from art to food to wine. 

The port dropped “wine” from the development’s name – it was previously Columbia Gardens Wine and Artisan Village – to better reflect that diversity. 

The port has an operating budget of $5.2 million, non-operating budget of $2.3 million, capital budget of $6.2 million and collects $5.2 million from property tax revenue. The port’s district covers Kennewick, West Richland, and parts of Richland and Benton City.