Articles by Wendy Culverwell
Amazon confirms plans to build 2 Pasco distribution centers
Amazon Inc. confirmed Sept. 16 that it will open two distribution centers, each more than 1 million square feet, on South Road 40 East, north of Sacajawea State Park in Pasco. The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business first reported the news of the massive projects in August. At the time, Seattle-based Amazon did not respond…
WSU Tri-Cities inks $25K lease for Walter Clore Center
Washington State University Tri-Cities is setting up camp in Prosser. The school has agreed to lease the closed Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center from the Port of Benton for $25,000 a year. It will use it for wine and culinary education. The port originally built the 15,000-square-foot facility in 2014 to showcase the state’s wine industry.…
Old buildings pose costly challenges to downtown Pasco business owners
Leo Morales was pleasantly surprised Aug. 26, the day his Havana Café reopened in downtown Pasco after a three-month closure. A steady stream of customers came in for lunch, drawn by his post on social media. It was more traffic than he dared dream and validated his decision, for now, not to move Havana Café…
Pasco company supplies ingredients to bake Hanford waste into glass
A Pasco ag chemical firm is supplying the Hanford site with the ingredients it needs to bake radioactive and hazardous waste into borosilicate glass logs at the $17 billion Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant. Two Rivers Terminal delivered a 35,000-pound load of lithium carbonate to Hanford this summer, the first of what promises to be…
Leader of downtown Pasco group out as board assesses next steps
Gustavo Gutierrez Gomez has left the Downtown Pasco Development Authority, the nonprofit group that operates the Pasco Specialty Kitchen, Pasco Farmers Market and puts on Cinco de Mayo, Pasco Fiery Foods Festival and more. Gabriel Portugal, president of the board, said Gutierrez Gomez departed effective July 31. Portugal praised his work but said his vision…
Retired federal employees group celebrates 50 years of advocacy and fellowship
The Tri-City chapter of the National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association launched its 50th year with a return to form and its first in-person event in more than a year. The local chapter met Sept. 1 at the Red Lion Hotel Kennewick Columbia Center – its usual spot – in a return to business…
Faith-led investor wants to rehab downtown, starting with old strip club
A casino-turned-strip club in downtown Kennewick will reopen as a Mexican grocery following a remodel by a faith-led investment group that is eager to play a role in the neighborhood. Jared Walther, a former nuclear industry executive and cybersecurity expert, is the driving force behind Walther CRE LLC and related investment entities. The Christian nonprofit…
‘For Sale’ signs coming to Columbia Gardens, Vista Field – at last
Years after Columbia Gardens and its sister development, Vista Field, began taking shape in Kennewick, private developers will finally get a shot at buying sites in both developments this fall. The Port of Kennewick expects to hang a “For Sale” sign at Columbia Gardens, its wine-themed urban village near the base of the cable bridge,…
Veterans Warehouse eyed Richland’s old Albertsons but seeks alternative spot
Thelbert “Thadd” Lawson toured a former Albertsons in Richland as a possible new location for Veterans Warehouse Thrift Store, prompting speculation the long-empty grocery would finally come back to life. Alas, there is no deal. Lawson confirmed he was interested in the nearly 40,000-square-foot store. He loves the location and even made a proposal to…
Massive warehouses to bring 1,200 jobs to east Pasco
Two industrial distribution centers, each more than 1 million square feet, are planned near Sacajawea State Park. The Ryan Companies of Bellevue is developing the two facilities under separate code names, “Project Oyster” and “Project Pearl,” on either side of South Road 40 East near Lakeview Trailer Court. The sites are north of the state…
