History will remember the early 2020s for the devastating coronavirus pandemic, the shutdowns, the economic chaos.It would be easy to assign the booming construction scene of 2021 to a Covid-19 recovery.The bounce back may be real, but population and job growth are the real drivers of the diverse array of...

Homebuilders face familiar headwinds in 2021 – finding enough places to build new homes, hiring enough workers to build them and sourcing enough building materials to build with.Add in Washington’s new energy code, which took effect this year, and it’s a challenging time to be a residential developer. But the...

Private investors are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Tri-City commercial construction in a shift from recent years, when school construction and public projects, such as Richland’s Duportail Street bridge and fire stations, dominated the sector.Fueled by low interest rates and a backlog of projects booked in the busy...

Despite a global pandemic leading to rising construction costs and difficulty obtaining materials throughout the U.S., the Port of Benton has tried to make good use of 2021, focusing on its infrastructure to attract new business to the Mid-Columbia.Diahann Howard, executive director, said tourism is a big driver of its...

Almost a decade after closing Vista Field, the Port of Kennewick is poised to start selling land and to welcome new construction after challenges and delays brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.“Everything has to be talked about against the backdrop of where we’re still at in 2021,” said Tim Arntzen,...

The Port of Pasco is set to become the home base for the largest milk protein facility in North America – employing hundreds of people with well-paying jobs at a new Darigold facility that will anchor the Reimann Industrial Center.Darigold Inc. expects the project to employ more than 1,000. Those...

Covid-19 has taken a bite out of air travel at the Port of Pasco-operated Tri-Cities Airport, which hasn’t rebounded as hoped, just as the end of summer tends to “dry up” leisure travel, said Airport Director Buck Taft.“I don’t have the confidence to say anything for certain. It’s taking a...

Despite the pandemic, the Mid-Columbia’s school districts and schools – grades Kindergarten through 12, as well as higher education – plowed ahead to build, rebuild and remodel schools and support facilities.From a recently opened Kennewick High School, which cost over $100 million, to $30 million buildings at both Columbia Basin...

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 its August edition. At the...

As the Tri-Cities negotiates its second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, cities and private developers alike continue to forge ahead with projects, bringing new services to the community.Despite state and federal level mandates limiting in-person business, tightened budgets and ballooning construction costs, Kennewick – the largest and most densely populated...