The city of Kennewick’s population continues to grow.

The city’s outer edges continue to expand with residential development as its commercial core launches new construction projects.

In 2025, Kennewick added 670 residents, or a 0.77% increase, for a total population of 87,790. 

Kennewick issued 237 permits for single-family homes valued at $81 million through August 2025 – the highest number of permits for single-family homes of any of the Tri-Cities during this time period, and the highest Kennewick has seen during this time period in the last five years. 

That’s about 20% more total permits and 22% more in valuation than this same period last year.

Three key areas of Kennewick are seeing steady development, said Anthony Muai, the city’s community planning director: Columbia Center Boulevard, residential development coming into the Southridge area, and downtown Kennewick.  

Columbia Center

The Columbia Center area – the commercial core of Kennewick – is marked by the expansion at Three Rivers Convention Center and development at the Port of Kennewick’s Vista Field. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the long-awaited opening of the Tri-Cities’ first Chick-fil-A restaurant at 7009 W. Canal Drive.

The $75.2 million convention center project will add 110,000 square feet. 

“It’s going to open up the convention center to a lot more,” Muai said. “It’s going to provide a lot more opportunities for them to host bigger conventions.”

The space might look a little different, too, with the option of hosting sporting events there. Muai said that builds on the Tri-Cities trending toward being a hub for sports tournaments. 

Under construction next to the convention center is a $38 million five-story AC Hotel by Marriott hotel at 6930 Crosswind Blvd., an A-1 Hospitality Group project.

Nearby Vista Field saw its first groundbreakings in the past year. 

“Just the two being so close together, I think will provide a lot of synergy,” Muai said. 

The city is excited to see the development beginning at the former airfield, he said, though reports of synthetic chemicals in the soil have forced the port to hit the brakes. 

The city also has seen interest in several of the vacant sites along Columbia Center Boulevard. One recent vacancy is at Columbia Center mall, where fabric and craft retailer Joann closed its store due to bankruptcy after opening there two years ago. Muai said there have been inquiries about the space, but no tenant has stepped up yet. 

The busy commercial corridor also has wrapped up a road widening project at Quinault Avenue. The project followed widening at Deschutes Avenue the year before. The next step is widening Columbia Center Boulevard and making improvements between those two intersections. 

While that work won’t begin until 2028, right of way acquisition is expected to begin this fall. Ultimately, the project will add both a southbound and northbound lane through that area of Columbia Center Boulevard. 

The busy road sees a weekday daily average of 23,861 vehicles, according to the city’s website.

Paving crews lay asphalt at Kennewick’s Toyota Center parking lot in early September 2025.

| Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Southridge 

Kennewick’s Southridge area, where Highway 395 meets Interstate 82, continues to grow with new residential development. 

While commercial land is available in the area, typically “businesses are going to show up after the patrons show up,” Muai said. “So we’re going to want to see rooftops and people in the area, I think, before investing.”

The Apple Valley residential development has been filling in along the southwest side of Bob Olson Parkway. With a few phases left, it will likely wrap up in the next year or two, Muai said.

Development is also happening nearby on the top of Thompson Hill, where the final phases of the Southcliffe development are under review. 

The first group of apartments at Argyle Southridge opened to residents in June at 5651 W. 36th Place. That project was $60 million between the land and construction, and the complex includes 235,000 square feet across 10 buildings with a unique feature – its own food truck plaza.

A mixed-use development featuring residential units above with commercial space below also opened in the Southridge area earlier this year. The Falls, at 4112 W. 24th Ave., is 133,000 square feet and has 105 residential units.

In general, the topography of the Southridge area tends to make development a little more difficult, Muai said. Often developers can’t include as many units as they first expected due to the slopes and basalt that’s discovered once excavating. 

“Southridge in general has moved a little slower than we had hoped, but development is definitely continuing to occur,” he said. 

Commercial development isn’t totally absent, either. This part of Kennewick will soon be home to Idaho Central Credit Union’s first Tri-Cities location, a $12.4 million project, at 3720 S. Zintel Way. 

New homes cover a hillside near Southridge High School in Kennewick.

| Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Downtown Kennewick

In downtown Kennewick, businesses continue to thrive, though one longtime store closed in 2024. The building at 215 W. Canal Drive, constructed in 1912, was home to the Farmers Exchange for 100 years before it shuttered its doors amid financial challenges. That building, the first nationally recognized history property in downtown Kennewick, is listed for sale along with neighboring buildings. 

Between the successful small businesses, a revamped public market and the annual events the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership continues to offer, there’s plenty of reasons for people to come downtown, Muai said. 

In the bridge to bridge area along Columbia Drive – between the blue and cable bridges – there are vacant properties, Muai said, but the area is being redeveloped.

The Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village, owned by the Port of Kennewick, has served as a good catalyst, he said. 

“Good investment in the area helps show people that there’s possibility,” Muai said. “It helps lessen risk, I think, and ease people’s worries about investing in an area that has been kind of neglected.”

The city has partnered with the port in the area, and tenant spaces have been filled with various wineries, food trucks and a permanent restaurant. 

More investment has taken place in the area, Muai said, from facade improvements on nearby buildings to more residential development. 

A 22-unit townhome project called The Towns on Elm is planned, by the same developer, Damian Padilla, who completed The Towns on Entiat in the last two years. 

The modern residential spaces are a good investment for the area, Muai said. “It’ll bring into that bridge to bridge area new life and new vibrancy,” he said. 

Like the Vista Field area, city and port investments in the area along Columbia Drive are helping to spur private development interest, Muai said. Ultimately, the hope is that it will be successful not only for the developers, but for the community.

One community amenity that is highly anticipated is the city’s first public dog park opening on the east end of Columbia Park this fall.

Construction is also underway on the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery, a multimillion-dollar project to transform the former Kennewick General Hospital into the Tri-Cities' first inpatient recovery facility at 216 W. 10th Ave.