Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

Summer certainly has taken its time getting to the Tri-Cities, but it’s finally here and it is time to take a good look at bringing your winter remodeling ideas into fruition. Understanding that you might wish to be puttering around in your boat on the Columbia or Snake rivers, or taking a hike up Badger Mountain, strolling along the waterfront trail in Richland…it’s time to knuckle down and tackle some of those projects.

The warm and longer days are a wonderful time to work on the little repairs and renovations that can reap a financial reward in the near or far future when it’s time to sell your home.  Let’s take a look at some of these ideas:

Patios and Decks:   What a better way to enjoy these summer days than by creating an outdoor living space for everyone to enjoy. Decks and patios are among the most popular summer remodeling ideas and there are lots of consideration to take into consideration when making the decision whether a patio or deck is the best project to undertake. Some factors include soil condition and consistency, site terrain, actual use, capacity, privacy as well as the cost and maintenance you are willing to deal with throughout the length of the project.

Home Maintenance:  Throughout the seasons, your home has taken care of you and your family, and now is the best time to give a little love back to it. Go through your property to evaluate and create a checklist on areas that need mending or replacement. This list is a crucial preparation before calling a contractor or handyman for maintenance and repair services. Some common maintenance and repair include:  1) Waterproof the basement, 2) Re-caulk and replace weatherstriping, 3) Clean and seal wooden decks, 4) trim bushes and shrubs  5) Re-align downspouts and gutters, 6) Repair roof, 7) Clean the pool, 8. mend the fence, 9) Seal cracks along driveways, foundation, walkways, etc. and 10) Maintenance of HVAC systems.

Energy efficient renovation:  When it comes to summer remodeling, there’s no better way to invest your hard earned dollars than by making your home energy efficient. An energy efficient summer remodel is truly a worthwhile endeavor as it will result in years of savings on your enegery bills. Some of the common items you can buy and intregrate into your energy efficient renovations include: 1) Insulation systems and materials, 2) roofs that resist heat gain, 3) biomass burning stoves, 4) energy-efficient windows, 5) HVAC systems with the highest efficiency tiers, 6) solar panels, 7) fuel cells  8) geothermal heat pumps, and 9) wind energy systems.

So hurry and finsh up these summer project so that you can get back to enjoying all the recreational activities that the Tri-Cities and Mid-Columbia region offer! The theme here is “Fun in the Sun” for a reason!!

The southern side of Badger Mountain is going to be home to a 5,000 home development after the land is annexed into the city. The first phase of the development was approved recently which allows for 78 homes on 70 acres and over the course of the next 20 years, it is believed that the majority of the 2,000 acres will be developed into a medium-density development with homes available in several price ranges, plus some areas of commerical development. This has been a long time coming with several investors and ideas that included a golf course community, however that golf course idea has been scraped at this point.  These homes would have easy freeway access for those who work in the Hanford areas, plus shopping centers.

Creating an environment of cooperation among the 4 cities that encompass the Tri-Cities is the theme that local officials want to encourage, as they addressed the group that attended the 8th annual State of the Cities meeting on Wednesday, at the Tri City Regional Chamber of Commerce offices. Growth of the cities has put our area on the map, so to speak and each individual city has outlined the projects that they feel will add to the growth while benefiting it’s citizenry.

Richland has plans of widening Keene Road from Queensgate to West Richland, and adding a spray park to the Badger Mountain Community Park along Keene. They will also work in cooperation with Kennewick to reconstruct Steptoe Street and make a decision about the future location of the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center, among other projects.

Pasco, Kennewick and Richland will work in partnership on the studying the best location for the next bridge crossing the Columbia River.

Pasco officials and the Port of Pasco are looking into the development of the river shoreline east of the cable bridge, additional infrastructure as a support of future growth and industrialization, a $9 million water treatment facility, and the creation of a new overpass at Lewis Street.

Kennewick officials are looking for increased private development of the Vista Entertainment District and to the development of the Southridge area, which they expect will include 60% of the cities future growth.  The city is planning the Bridge-to-Bridge, River-to-Rail effort with the Port of Kennewick, which consists of a major overhaul of the property that lies between the blue and cable bridges.

West Richland is looking to expand the economic base and expand infrastructure between Red and Badger Mountains, and invest in tourism with regards to the wine industry as a way to add to the regional vision, and increase growth in that community.

In a time when costs to each municipality are increasing, funding from the state faces cuts, and the residents want more metropolitan projects, the officials in each city are optimistic about continued growth.  Let’s be optimistic along with them – Time will tell……..

Over a period of many years the planning and discussion of what should take place on the land surrounding Badger Mountain be developed into, has varied.  The initial plan was a golf course and surrounding community development, however, the current landowners are giving different thought to that idea, perhaps along the line of residential development.

The property encompasses over 2,000 acres and was annexed into Richland’s growth plan. Currently it has several farms on it, and could conceievably become a mixture of different density plots with tracts of open spaces throughout.

A public hearing is scheduled for February 18th.