West Richland has completed years of planning for how best to develop hundreds of the thousands of acres of farmland at Lewis and Clark Ranch as a wave of new development occurs around the city, from its first McDonald’s to a future home for the region’s children’s museum.

“I think West Richland’s future is bright,” said Eric Mendenhall, the city’s community development director. “There’s a lot of great opportunities that exist for the city of West Richland and its community members, and my hope is that these developments continue to come through, that people will continue to see West Richland as the place that they want to be, the place that they want to live, raise their family.”

It appears more people are wanting to do just that. The city has seen a 10.25% increase in population from five years ago, to 18,820, which is a 2.1% increase from 2025, according to recent population estimates from the state Office of Financial Management.

Lewis and Clark Ranch

The city approved a plan in May to guide the development of the first phase of the Lewis and Clark Ranch property, the 7,600 acres of farmland north of Ruppert Road.

The city has been working for about five years to plan for the development of the first roughly 750 acres – about a 10th of the total land owned by Frank Tiegs LLC. 

Businesses looking to develop in the first phase should see a smoother process and fewer barriers, thanks to the city’s planning efforts, Mendenhall said. The city has done the work of looking at environmental impacts, meaning developers would only need to follow the mitigation strategies already approved. 

“This sets the table for the rest of the (land) because this is the funnel point of all of the people that live out there,” he said. “They’re all going to be funneling through phase one, and so we wanted to get it right. We wanted to be a cool magnetic place for people to come and live, work and play.”

Already, the city has received its first pre-application for a subdivision with around 200 lots, he said. 

Mendenhall said that developing that first phase is expected to take around 20 years, meaning it will be many more years before West Richland begins planning for the other portions of the land. 

In the meantime, 1,000 acres of the Tiegs land in a separate part of the Lewis and Clark Ranch has sold for $263.7 million to Trammell Crow Company, a development company whose work includes data centers.

In a public meeting in fall 2025, West Richland’s former Mayor Brent Gerry said the company was interested in developing a data center on the Lewis and Clark land. 

“There will be a public process if we were to receive an application for a data center. Again, we have not received one,” Mendenhall said during a public meeting in September 2026. “It would go through a significant public process similar to what the Lewis and Clark Ranch went through.” 

Belmont Business District

The city has seen a slew of commercial projects opening or being planned in the last year.

The Benton Conservation District opened its new headquarters at 3131 Belmont Blvd. in the summer of 2026, across from West Richland’s city offices. 

The new Kadlec Clinic Candy Mountain opened a $10.7 million building with room for 10 primary care providers in June at the intersection of Keene and Bombing Range roads. To the northwest, Benton Rural Electric Association’s new 40,000-square-foot headquarters opened in July, consolidating several of its offices and warehouses.

More developments are on the way, concentrated in the area near Keene and Belmont Boulevard, which is already home to Miss Tamales’ second location, a Dutch Bros and a gas station.

The owners of Italian-American restaurant La Bella Vita Kitchen and Bar in Richland purchased one parcel at the intersection, while another has sold to a State Farm insurance business, which recently broke ground on the project.

Nearby, the long-vacant building at 2943 Belmont Blvd. may soon see signs of life: it was purchased by 7D Development at Belmont Building LLC. The company is tied to D9 Contractors, which plans to move its offices into half of the building, with the other half left intended to be occupied by a tenant. 

Most recently, West Richland scored a win when it offered to lease a 2.5-acre parcel at a nominal rate of $0.78 annually to the Mid-Columbia Children's Museum, which has spent more than a year searching for a permanent location.

The city also is planning to widen Keene as developments grow. The project would start with a signal at South Highlands Boulevard and Keene, set to be put in place in 2027, with the actual road widening taking place in phases in the following year.  

The vacant land west of this newly installed roundabout at West Van Giesen Street and Ruppert Road is set to be a new McDonald’s and gas station development.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

Van Giesen developments

Another corridor of the city is seeing commercial growth, too: along West Van Giesen Street/Highway 224. 

Plans were recently filed for the city’s first McDonald’s at 145 Belmont Blvd., just off Van Giesen. Mendenhall said the gas station-and-McDonald’s combination will serve as a “springboard” for that area: “other businesses will take note and want to co-locate next to McDonald’s,” he said. 

Farther southwest on Van Giesen, a large 94-bed memory care facility is planned at the intersection with Paradise Way. The project will be the first senior living facility of that size in the city.

The Van Giesen corridor is also seeing extensive roadwork. The city launched its Highway 224 Red Mountain Vicinity Improvements Project in 2025 as a “major investment in revitalizing an underserved area, supporting new growth, and enhancing access to the Tri-Cities region and the Red Mountain AVA,” according to the city’s website. 

The $33.7 million project, originally anticipated to take more than 17 months to complete, replaces 3.5 miles of Highway 224 and adds five new roundabouts. 

Residential shifts

The city continues to see growth in housing construction.

Through August 2026, the city issued 79 permits for single-family homes. Although it’s not as many as the city saw during the same period in 2021-22, it’s an increase over the past three years.

Multifamily construction is also going strong, with 264 units recently built for the Copper View Apartments at 2317 Belmont Blvd., and 180 units underway near the planned McDonald’s off West Van Giesen Street.

As it grows, the city has seen some shifts in its housing development. Mendenhall said that in the last year, the city has seen more diversity. 

With more apartments and townhomes under construction, the city welcomes the opportunity to offer different price points for those who may be downsizing or young and looking for an affordable home, Mendenhall said.