Articles by Wendy Culverwell
Pole buildings get new life as unique, affordable homes
The Tri-Cities is becoming a center for Instagram-worthy barn-style homes after a pair of Tri-City entrepreneurs with a big social media following built one for themselves. Olivia “Liv” and Tanner Berg converted an old pole barn on their Kennewick property into a family home. The process was so rewarding – and interest from followers so…
Wave Design Group needed space. Its client had office space for rent
A Tri-Cities architectural and engineering firm was bursting at the seams when the owner’s wife spotted an obvious solution. Christelle Walker-Prickett advised her husband, Harvey, to lease space in the building he was designing for Tri-Cities Insurance Professionals in Pasco. Harvey Prickett, president and principal of Wave Companies, took his wife’s suggestion. In September, he…
Kennewick medical office complex gets makeover
A medical office complex in downtown Kennewick is getting a makeover to appeal to tenants who do not need a hospital across the street. The Kennewick Medical and Dental Center faces the former Kennewick General Hospital across Auburn Street and provided office space for hospital-adjacent businesses such as doctor and dentist offices, a laboratory and…
Is there room for low-income housing at Kennewick’s waterfront?
The Port of Kennewick’s efforts to revitalize a stretch of the downtown waterfront are being called into doubt over a last-minute addition to the concept: low-income housing. The port wants to incorporate low-income and other supportive housing at The Willows, the 6.55-acre former manufactured home site on Clover Island Drive, near the Columbia River and…
Make new memories and honor old ones this Memorial Day
Monday, May 31, is Memorial Day, the day reserved to honor the memories of those who served our country in uniform, particularly those lost in the line of duty. It is also an opportunity to make new memories and explore the stories of those who died and were laid to rest in Tri-City cemeteries. In honor of the holiday, the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business news team…
Vancouver developer raises its local profile with $50M project at Hansen Park
A Vancouver developer with a history of building apartments in the Tri-Cities is raising its profile with an ambitious project in the Columbia Center Boulevard corridor. Carmen Villarma and her husband, Dennis Pavlina, have begun work on The Resort at Hansen Park, a $50 million mixed-use development that will offer three different types of rental…
PBS puts spotlight on Richland’s global miracle worker
A Richland nonprofit that works medical magic in the world’s most remote, undeveloped and dangerous corners is enjoying a moment in the spotlight, courtesy public television. SIGN Fracture Care International, helmed by founder Dr. Lewis Zirkle and CEO Jeanne Dillner, is featured in “Trauma Healers,” a documentary that explores the need for trauma care in…
Longtime leader steers Chaplaincy through transition to new executive director
A well-known Tri-City business leader is at the helm of Chaplaincy Health Care while the hospice agency seeks a leader to succeed Gary Castillo. Bob Rosselli, who retired from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2002 and from the Columbia Basin College Foundation Board in 2014, stepped in as interim executive director after Castillo resigned…
Broetje Family Trust brings a green touch to its east Pasco quarters
The Broetje Family Trust is turning to solar power and water recycling to help fulfill its stewardship mission as it builds a new home for its three nonprofits in east Pasco. The $4.2 million, 30,000-square-foot building will house the trust’s three nonprofits, including a leadership academy with room for up to 60 students when it…
RV demand surges and Covid is only part of the reason
In the topsy-turvy pandemic economy, RV demand is at a record high, with manufacturers set to ship upwards of 543,000 units in 2021, easily besting the previous record of 504,600 units shipped to dealers in 2017. For dealers and customers alike, record demand means waiting lists for the most popular models. “The pandemic is part…
