Construction has begun on a Richland apartment complex that was originally set to break ground in early 2022 but was delayed due to challenging market conditions.

Named for a late Tri-Cities developer responsible for several apartment complexes in the area, The Bob will be located on 7.2 acres at 703 Columbia Park Trail in Richland near Highway 240.

The 192-unit apartment community will feature studios and one- and two-bedroom layouts.

The project is a partnership between SRM Development and Young Asset Management. The latter company was formerly known as Robert Young and Associates, founded by developer Robert “Bob” Young, the future apartments’ namesake. 

His son, Grant Young, took over the company after he died in 2014. 

Nick Wright, asset manager for Young Asset Management, said that the Young family has been investing in Tri-Cities apartment complexes since the ’70s. The family currently lives in California but took the opportunity to develop in the Tri-Cities. 

Wright is based in the Tri-Cities and serves as the company’s boots on the ground contact.

SRM Development and Young Asset Management previously partnered on two other projects in the Tri-Cities: The Villas in Richland and the Broadmoor Apartments in Pasco.

The Young family has owned the land off Columbia Park Trail since the early 2000s and had it rezoned around 2019 for multifamily development. But although the developers got through most of the permitting process in 2021, they put the project on hold due to market conditions and high material costs, Wright said. 

They waited for conditions to improve, and they have, with interest rates and some prices coming down, he said. Now they’re ready to go and have begun construction.

The Bob will feature 192 units, including studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, with the first 72 set to be completed in November 2027. The first phase will also include a leasing office, fitness room and multipurpose community space.

| Courtesy SRM Development and the Young family

Multiphase project

The apartments will be built in phases to allow people to begin moving in during a period of tightening vacancy rates, according to a release.

The Bob’s first phase, which includes 72 units and a clubhouse with a leasing office, fitness room and multipurpose community space, will be completed Nov. 27, 2026. 

Building permits issued for The Bob’s first phase total more than $26 million. 

An additional 48 units will be built by February 2027 and a final 72 units in May 2027. 

Plans also include 299 parking stalls, including seven garage structures with 33 enclosed spaces. The complex will feature a pool and spa, barbecue area, outdoor lounge and dog park. 

Wright said that lease rates will be competitive with other new properties, perhaps similar to Richland’s Park Place apartments, where one-bedrooms rent for $1,705 a month.

The property is near the busy roundabout at Columbia Park Trail and Steptoe Street, and the city of Richland has requested the developers make improvements to the street in front of their property.

They plan to add a left turn lane to enter the property, as well as the adjacent Desert Gold Motel & RV Park, when traveling west on Columbia Park Trail.

The developers also will be extending the sidewalk to join the sidewalk at the roundabout. 

“We’re just excited to get going, excited to be developing again in the Tri-Cities,” Wright said. “I think we’re just happy that after several years of waiting, we’re able to finally get this project going.”