Tri-City real estate broker Charles Laird was vacationing in his native Scotland in March when national borders began to close because of the spreading threat of coronavirus. Laird and his family cut their trip short and headed home, a journey that included driving on Interstate 5 through pandemic-stricken Seattle. The chronically congested freeway was all…

A pandemic, choking smoke and a polarizing national election did little to dampen demand for new and existing homes in the Tri-Cities as the calendar flipped toward the final quarter of 2020. More homes sold for higher prices. Unemployment increased, driven up in part because more people were seeking work. New home construction fell, but…

The Tri-Cities is coming off a banner year for commercial construction. New schools dot the region. A new cold storage warehouse is taking shape in north Pasco. Kennewick’s Vista Field is stocked with utility lines, paved streets, lamps and a water feature, waiting for private developers to build an urban village in the heart of…

Government-funded projects are keeping construction workers busy in Kennewick despite the recession. Multiple commercial and residential projects are underway in every area of the city, and the largest are funded by the city, Benton County, Kennewick School District and Port of Kennewick, said Evelyn Lusignan, the city of Kennewick’s spokeswoman. “Development activity is down from…

A global pandemic hasn’t slowed progress across the city of Richland as major construction projects wrap up and new ones prepare to break ground. The $43 million Duportail Bridge opened to limited traffic in early September 2020. It is expected to fully open by Nov. 1, 2020, providing a new span across the Yakima River…

Construction is booming in Pasco. It’s because the city is an incredible value for builders, said Rick White, Pasco’s director of community and economic development. Whether residential, commercial or industrial, Pasco is less expensive to develop than Richland and Kennewick and it promises population growth, he said. With 77,100 residents, the Franklin County seat has…

As a city that doesn’t rely on sales tax revenue to fuel much of its budget, West Richland had an unexpected boost from the Covid-19 pandemic: more people began ordering online, sending “destination-oriented” sales tax revenue to the city’s coffers. “When you’re not dependent on sales tax, it’s actually benefited the city,” said Eric Mendenhall,…

The first months of 2020 welcomed new members to the Port of Benton “We were in the middle of a transition,” said Diahann Howard, executive director for the port, whose jurisdiction includes a population of about 56,050 and a budget totaling $14 million in 2020. Howard, who became executive director in December 2019, hired a…

Kennewick’s Clover Island.  |  Courtesy Kim Fetrow Photography/Port of The dust seems to have settled at Port of Kennewick developments — for the moment. Construction of infrastructure and landscaping wrapped up for phase one of Vista Field and two additional wineries and five food trucks have moved in at Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan…

The Port of Pasco’s Processing Center is at capacity, and it has sold all the lots at the Foster Wells Business Park. It’s also moving ahead with plans to develop Osprey Pointe and a new industrial center. The port knows industrial land is in high demand and has been working to accommodate growth in this…