What’s being built there? A reader’s guide to construction happening around Tri-Cities

Wendy Culverwell
·4 min read

There’s a lot of dirt moving in the Tri-Cities and it can be hard to keep track of what is being built where.

Projects may be announced months or years before actual work begins, leaving passersby scratching their heads to remember what was supposed to happen.

In this occasional feature, the Tri-City Herald answers the question: What’s being built there?

Wondering about a project you’ve seen? Fill out this form and we’ll check it out.

Kennewick

South Kennewick Mini Storage

4621 Southridge Blvd.

The construction site is visible on the north east side of the the Interstate 82/Highway 395 interchange.

Builder Teton West of WA LLC received permits in August for the mini storage project. The property is being graded now.

Documents filed under the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) refer to it by a different name, Southridge Mini-Storage, and indicate it will have 10 buildings and 328 units.

It is jointly owned by Leavy, Schultz & Davis, a Kennewick law firm, and Pride of Pasco Development LLC. Baker Architecture is the designer.

The Falls is an estimated $22 million mixed-use project in Kennewick.
The Falls is an estimated $22 million mixed-use project in Kennewick.

The Falls

4112 W. 24th Ave.

The project in Kennewick’s Southridge area is visible on the north side of Highway 395, near West 27th Avenue.

Elite Construction & Development broke ground last winter. The two-year, $19 million mixed-use development will include four-story buildings with 105 apartments, mini storage and two 5,500-square-foot commercial buildings on a 3.5-acre site.

DKEI Architectural Services of Richland is the designer. RDG LLC is the ownership group.

Richland

Panda Express

924 George Washington Way

The high-profile property is being redeveloped with a Panda Express after the January demolition of the old building that once housed City Buffet and before that, Red Robin.

The 2,600-square-foot Panda Express will have a drive-thru and will occupy a part of the property, leaving room for additional development in the future.

An excavator from TC Excavation of Hermiston, Ore., began demolishing a former restaurant building in Richland in January 2023 for a Panda Express and a second restaurant.
An excavator from TC Excavation of Hermiston, Ore., began demolishing a former restaurant building in Richland in January 2023 for a Panda Express and a second restaurant.

Badger Mountain South/South Orchard

2700 Allison Way

The 194.5-acre residential development by Badger Communities is one of the largest preliminary plats handled by the city in recent memory, Richland officials say.

The site is north of East Reata Road and west of the current terminus of Allison Way. Gage Boulevard will extend through the property, linking it to the Sienna Hills neighborhood.

The site is visible from Interstate 82 and is part of the Badger South community.

The city initially approved plans for 475 lots, chiefly with single-family homes.

The city hearing examiner is considering a request to increase the density to 535 lots with a mix of single-family lots, two apartment sites and 12 tracts for public amenities.

As proposed, the project would have 535 single family homes and 160 apartment or condominium units.

The first phase has been approved and grading work is proceeding on its 325 lots.

Richland Fire Station No. 74

4307 Trowbridge Blvd.

Richland broke ground on its sixth fire station on July 31, immediately after it issued itself a permit to construct the $5.2 million station.

The station will anchor a 30-acre park property in the heart of the Badger South community. DGR Grant Construction is building the project, which will have space for Richland police.

Pasco

Pasco broke ground in August on its third comprehensive high school, which will open in fall 2025.
Pasco broke ground in August on its third comprehensive high school, which will open in fall 2025.

Third Pasco High School

6091 Burns Road

The Pasco School District broke ground Aug. 17 on its third full-service high school, a $138 million voter-approved project that will address growing student enrollment.

The 300,000-square-foot, two-story school will anchor a 650-acre campus and serve 2,000 students. The school, which is unnamed, is expected to be ready for students in September 2025.

Darigold milk plant

Railroad Avenue

Darigold Inc. is constructing a $600 million+ processing facility at the Port of Pasco’s Reimann Industrial Center off Highway 395 in north Pasco.

When it opens in early 2024, the state-of-the art project will boast more than 400,000 square feet and will process 8 million pounds of milk per day into butter and milk powder. It will employ about 200 and support the Seattle-based dairy cooperative.

Miron Construction is the builder. E.A. Bonelli & Associates is the designer.

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