Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

Ahhh, the arrival of spring in all its glory has reached the Tri Cities, and with it comes the beauty of trees and plants in bloom and tons of sunshine! As this writer drove into work today in Kennewick, my day was instantly brightend with the incredible colors that I drove past, so much so that I made  a U-turn, pulled out my camera a snapped several photos of different trees, bushes and plants I saw. I guess its a good thing I was actually ahead of my usual rushed schedule each morning.  It good to stop and smell the roses on occasion – or in my case, stop and snap a few photos.  I have lived many beautiful places across this country and seen many lovely communities, as have many of you. Sometimes I wonder about my decision to return to the Tri Cities after being away so long. Yet I find that we have so much to offer here weather-wise, activities-wise, employment and job growth-wise, and each time I stop and think about why I’m here, I find that with all those other things aside, just having the opportunity to enjoy such simple beauty each day feeds into the easy pace of life here.   Come join us here in the beautiful Tri-Cities region where there is so much to do and see…………..or not, if you so choose.

According to Smartmoney.com, the Tri Cities is listed as number 1 among the top 5 communities in the nation that will see increases in home prices for the 4th quarter of 2010, with increases just under 4 percent.  The Tri Cities has seen a stable real estate market and continued job growth throughout the period of time that the rest of the country has been experiencing major decline in housing and job markets. Construction permits in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland have grown with Kennewick seeing increases over over 100 in the same period from 2009. CNN money.com reports that Kennewick appears to have gone against the tide with a slight gain in comparison to other communities. “The biggest winner will be in the Kennewick metro area where home prices ramped up 8.9 percent over the past three years and are expected to go up 3.4 percent by June 2010.”

HB 2510 is headed to the governors desk for signature this week could potentially save Kennewick General Hospital millions and make the construction of their new hospital in the Southridge area a reality as soon as this summer.  In a short summary, the bill would allow hospitals to use the land they currently own as collateral towards the financing needed for construction.  Ground breaking this summer is the hope for the district.

How long has this issue about the antique carousel and where it should be located been discussed? It seems like forever and a day.  Although the horses have all been restored and are currently being housed in city storage in Kennewick, $860,000 has been spent thus far in studies etc., and to no avail. It appears the issue could be rising again out of the ashes…..maybe.  Kennewick Council members held a day long retreat recently to cover the pressing questions facing the city of Kennewick’s future development, when the carousel issue was again addressed, this time with new members to the council asking pointed questions as to its viability and cost.

The city council members of Kennewick recently held a retreat to discuss subjects that spanned being involved with the Regional Oversight Committee, potential building of regional facilities and how best to fund them,  the extension of Steptoe Street, development at Southridge and the Bridge-to-Bridge, River-to-Railroad project, and of course, the future of Vista Field.

The Horse Heaven Hills Middle School chaper of the National Honor Society will be hosting a benefit dinner for the Shriner’s Hospial at Nothing but Noodles resturant on Grandridge Blvd in Kennewick, on Tuesday March 9th from 4 pm to 9 pm. Diners are to tell their servers that they are with the HHH Honor Society to have proceeds from their order to go to the Shriner’s Hospital.