Builder proposes $8M retail and apartment project at Kennewick’s Vista Field
The Port of Kennewick’s Vista Field redevelopment site has received its most promising sign of interest to date. A Vancouver developer wants to build a five-story building with shops, apartments and condos in the heart of the former airfield.
Akula Group, led by Vatik Dulo, together with his financial partner, Ryan Foster, is negotiating a deal to purchase Lot 25 from the port.
The spot, at Crosswinds Boulevard and Azure Drive, overlooks a key intersection, fountain and the linear pond that runs across the property.
If negotiations succeed, Akula will build a 40,000-square-foot mixed-use building that could help activate the 103-acre redevelopment.
The project is expected to cost about $8 million to build.
Akula isn’t the first to express interest in being part of the port’s vision of an urban village at the center of Kennewick.
Blueberry Bridal update
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Blueberry Bridal was the first to sign a possible deal when it entered negotiations with the port in July.
As of Dec. 18, Blueberry Bridal has not secured the financing it needs to complete the purchase and build a shop.
Ara Sushi & Grill in Richland announced in January it planned to move to Vista Field. It has not begun the purchase process, the port said.
In contrast, Akula brings a background of successfully building mixed-use projects in the Vancouver/Portland area. It also submitted letters of from lenders confirming it has a history of staying current on its loan payments.
Dulo and Foster first approached the port about Vista Field in August, said Amber Hanchette, director of real estate and operations for the port. Since then, they’ve familiarized themselves with the port’s vision for Vista Field and submitted a project that meets the vision through a Letter of Interest delivered in October.
“They love that parcel,” Hanchette said.
‘Enthusiastic’ support
Akula proposed a mix of street-level shop space with 26 apartments on the second and third floors and up to seven luxury condominiums on the fourth and fifth.
DPZ, the port’s design consultant for Vista Field, “enthusiastically” advised the port proceed. Akula’s plan has the potential to “advance” the vision of a mixed-use village where small aircraft called until it closed at the end of 2013.
The top floor condominiums in particular have the potential to become one of the “most desirable” locations in the Tri-Cities thanks to balconies and views of the Columbia River, Badger Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills south of Kennewick.
The port’s elected commissioners agreed to negotiate sale terms at its Dec. 12 meeting.
Apartments and more
Akula said it intends to retain ownership of the property for 10 to 15 years once built, giving it an added incentive to create a thoughtful project.
“We’re not looking to build cheap,” Dulo told the port. He and Foster will be 50-50 partners in the business.
The company offered $418,000 square feet for the 13,000-square-foot site, which has addresses of 678 Crosswind Boulevard and 6724 Azure Drive. The offer includes additional money since the project will rely on communal parking nearby.
Their building would include 4,000 to 7,000 square feet of space for retail, coffee shops and other businesses, coupled with eight to 12 internal parking spots at street level.
The second and third floors would include a mix of apartments — 6 studios, 11 one-bedroom units, nine two-bedroom units. The fourth floor would include between four and seven condominiums, some with two stories and balconies.
Akula expects to sell some units and retain others as possible vacation rentals.
Reinventing old airfield
The Port of Kennewick shut down the former municipal airport at the end of 2013 and set out to remake it into an urban village with a mix of retail, recreational, residential and office built with a common design scheme.
It invested $4.9 million to build roads, utilities and a water feature, with work starting shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The 21 parcels in the 20-acre first phase were advertised to partners in 2022. While interest has been strong, few deals have been forthcoming.
Hanchette said she remains optimistic that Blueberry Bridal will complete financing, noting that it has designed a “beautiful” building that complements the vision for the area.
In the interim, the port is working to activate its vision by transforming several hangars on the southeast side of the property into a public pavilion.
The pavilion project is funded in part by Benton County through its Rural County Capital Fund supported by an 0.09% Washington state sales tax rebate connected to financing that built a stadium for the Seattle Seahawks.
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