Faith-led investors restoring fire-damage Kennewick building near new crepe shop
A prominent building in downtown Kennewick that burned in 2022 and again in 2023 has new owners who pledge to put “Humpty Dumpty” back together again.
Kagen Cox and Kellen Adcock bought the Cascade building, 304 W. Kennewick Ave., from Linda and Gary Earp for $650,000 in November.
The Coxes own Kagen Coffee & Crepes, the popular Richland restaurant that opened a new location in Kennewick next to the Cascade building about the same time the building sale closed.
The partners are friends through Lighthouse Church and say faith led them to invest in the property.
“When the big man upstairs says, ‘Go here,’ you don’t rock the boat,” said Adcock, a commercial real estate broker and investor.
The new owners credit the Earps along with their daughter and son-in-law Lori and Jason Peggs, with being solid partners through the sale process.
Beginning investors
Cox said he and his wife were interested in investing in commercial real estate as an extension of their restaurant brand. But as first timers, they turned to Adcock, whose experience will help guide restoration work.
The partners began talking to the Earps about buying the Cascade building in early 2023, when it was still being renovated after the first fire.
At the same time, Cox was considering opening a second location for his crepe restaurant in downtown Kennewick in the former Foodies Brick and Mortar space.
The 2022 fire prompted Foodies to permanently close that location. It eventually reopened in a spot overlooking the river in Columbia Park.
Kagen’s remade the old space and opened in November, about the time the deal to buy the neighboring building closed.
Cox said he’s thrilled to take on his first real estate challenge.
“This is my first big project,” he said.
Big challenge
The work is daunting.
Repair work stalled after a second fire. But Cox and Adcock say they’re eager to get started, as are the supporters preparing to back the project.
They’ve removed debris from the basement but are working to schedule a walk-through with the city of Kennewick that needs to happen before repairs get started.
Even after two fires, they agree, the Cascade building is a solid structure worth saving.
Built in the 1940s, the 11,825-square-foot structure features heavy-duty timbers that aren’t going anywhere, they said.
First, they’ll repair the six apartments on the upper floor and rent them out.
Next, they’ll focus on the main level, formerly a warren of broken up spaces that once housed an insurance agent, a gift shop and other tenants. They plan to restore it with fewer, but larger, spaces.
Adcock welcomes inquiries and feedback at 509-554-0460.
Adcock, who moved to east Kennewick about 18 months earlier, said he was intrigued by Cox’s plans in downtown in part because he was eager to see him open the crepe restaurant there.
He’s expanded his vision to include reviving a corner that’s been dark for two years with new businesses.
“We’re going to bring this location back to life,” he said.
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