West Richland continues to grow and spread outward.

Over the past five years, the city has seen a 12% uptick in total population, reaching 18,430 people in 2025.

And all indications are that number will continue to get bigger.

In August, the West Richland City Council unanimously approved a plan that sets the stage for an enormous wave of growth over the next 20 years with 3,800 more homes and accompanying retail and commercial space, and amenities that could support more than 2,600 jobs.

The Lewis & Clark Ranch development will transform 770 acres northwest of West Richland’s downtown core as the first phase of development of the 7,600-acre ranch property, an active agricultural swath bordered on three sides by the Yakima River and hemmed in to the south by Ruppert Road.

But development is happening in all corners of the city.

“We are growing at lightning speed; it’s a lot of fun to get out and see what’s happening around town – there’s always something new,” said Eric Mendenhall, community development director for the city of West Richland.

Lewis & Clark Ranch

The first phase of the Lewis & Clark development is only the start of a massive multi-decade project that will ultimately change the identity of the Tri-Cities’ so-called fourth city and shift the community dynamic.

The council worked out plans that call for walkable medium-density residential and commercial areas and two park areas connected by a trail that could someday link up to Twin Bridges Road at the Yakima River.

City officials said they worked to balance the developer’s goals with environmental and community impacts. Lewis & Clark Ranch’s developer is Frank Tiegs LLC.

At full build-out, Frank Tiegs LLC anticipates that Lewis & Clark will accommodate about 34,000 homes and support more than 20,000 jobs.

Multimillion road project

Paving the way for future growth is a $33.7 million largely state-funded road project currently underway which will upgrade a three-mile segment of Highway 224/Van Giesen Street to three lanes from the vicinity of Red Mountain into the heart of West Richland.

Once completed in December 2026, Van Giesen will have one lane in each direction plus a new turn lane as well as sidewalks, curbing and gutters.

“When roadway and frontage improvements are made, it lowers construction costs for builders and that will serve as a springboard for business throughout the Van Giesen corridor,”  Mendenhall said.

Construction at Benton REA’s new headquarters on Cooperative Way in West Richland

| Photo by Scott Butner Photography

Restaurants and more

New businesses are popping up all over the city.

Developments along West Richland’s Van Giesen include a day care where Henry’s restaurant used to be, Burlesque Brew coffee shop; Tapp’d, a self-serve taproom serving food; and a multi-tenant space at 4330 Van Giesen St., anchored by a Hispanic grocery store, which has submitted plans for a chicken-focused fast-food restaurant on the end of the building.

The strip malls at the intersection of Bombing Range Road and Paradise Way near Yoke’s Fresh Market are full of tenants with the recent opening of Aki Sushi & Ramen at 1567 Bombing Range Road, Suite D.

Just down the road at 3950 Keene Road work is well underway on a new Kadlec primary care clinic, an $8.8 million project.

Earth is moving at the intersection of Keene and Belmont Boulevard as lots fill up there too, creating a new southwest nexus.

“Five years ago there was only a gas station at Belmont and Keene; now it’s quickly becoming the Belmont Business District,” Mendenhall said.

Miss Tamale’s second restaurant opened Sept. 22 at 6447 Keene Road.

Also planned in this area are a Planet Fitness gym, a second location for Richland restaurant La Bella Vita and the new headquarters for the Benton Conservation District.

Just up the road, framing is up on the new Benton Rural Electric Association headquarters.

A flex space multi-suite warehouse is also coming to a city-owned property across the road from Red Mountain Event Center, which continues to roll out racing-related events and more.

“We’re hitting that critical mass where commercial development is seeing the need to fill the void in the West Richland market and we don’t see it stopping,” Mendenhall said.

New homes

Fueling the new development is a fresh uptick in permits for a variety of housing.

West Richland issued 109 single-family home permits through early September 2025, up from last year’s 98 single-family permits during the same period.

Mendenhall noted that in the past there has been a shortage of multifamily housing.

Two projects in the permitting pipeline are a 230-unit Copper View Apartments and another 280-unit complex near Desert Sky Elementary School, 2100 Sunshine Ave.

Additionally, The Grove, a townhome subdivision, is quickly going up near the intersection of Dallas and Kennedy roads, offering 80 affordable housing lots.

Meanwhile, though Aho Construction’s massive development on the west edge of city limits has yet to sell all of its lots, The Bluffs subdivision has introduced 403 single-family parcels and The Watermark subdivision atop the hill in the pocket of Van Giesen and Keene offers 198 single-family lots, most all of which will offer views of Red Mountain.

“Increasing the number of rooftops drives community development because prospective businesses and developers look at how many rooftops are within a given radius of a piece of property to help determine viability of the project,” Mendenhall said.

As more housing goes in, Mendenhall said there has been more pressure from the public to lift the city’s ban on mini storage businesses.

“(The city of West Richland) has prioritized primary commercial development which brings in more tax revenue, but the city council is considering partially lifting the prohibition,” Mendenhall said.