Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

A 404 acre vineyard development on Red Mountain outside Benton City will aid Washington state school students by providing millions of dollars in tax exempt revenue to schools.  There was a celebratory planting of the vineyard Friday, with the Commissioner of Public Lands and the partnership members in attendance. The estimated value of the vineyard will be 10 times that which a forest produces because the havests occur annually.  Red Mountian is famous for it’s red wines.

Mark your calendars for April 24th from 9am to 3 pm for this Spring Opener event in Benton City! Sponsored by the Benton City Chamber and Economic Development Center, the event has supported the Grid Kids, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts and 4-H in the area.  The event will be held at the Kiona-Benton Middle School located at 913 Horne Drive in Benton City. Check on their website for more information. http://www.bcspringopener.com/

The Tri Cities will play host to a pair of co-authors whose book Weird Washington will be presented at local libraries in West Richland, Benton City, Prosser, Othello and Kennewick (tonight at 7pm). The book is a traveler’s guide to unique, quirky, bizarre and strange places here in the state, along with the tall tales, legends, and unbelievable facts about happenings over the course of our state’s history.  Outside of Benton City/Kiona, the authors visited a babies cemetary set up in the hills which they felt was very eerie. Strange things happen…..

The commissioners of Benton County have decided to expand the areas of both Benton City by 500 acres and Richland by just under 200 acres.

With an eye to the future of 20 years, these boundary changes outline where each city is expected to provide services, however, the opportunity for appeal is at hand. There is concern about the taxpayers being asked to take on the financial burden of large scale projects, such as infrastructure. 

Commissioners believe that this expansion will instead, promote growth of commerical projects in the cities, thus providing more revenue to each city. This in hand will provide a stronger economic base for them and fit within the foreseeable growth trends.

The three ports in the Tri-Cities area reported on the projects they have undertaken to help boost the economy of the Tri-City area recently.

Officials from the Port of Kennewick, Port of Pasco, and the Port of Benton, who comprise the Tri-Ports, spoke to about 200 individuals about their parts in promotion of economic development and adding to the growing job market in the area.

Discussion about the revamping of the Clover Island area, plus improvements at the Richland Manufacturing Mall, the Prosser Food and Wine Park, and the Benton City Industrial Park were also covered.  There will be efforts to update the Benton City area as well, by the Port of Benton and with that, the hope that other businesses will fall in line to spruce up their appearances and keep the efforts flowing.

The Port of Pasco has several projects underway, including the current construction of a potato processing plant at the Pasco industrial park, as well as  Parsons expanding its footprint in the Big Pasco center, and the port’s Riverfront Business Park project.

Our Tri-Cities area is growing with more and more businesses moving in, expanding, or investing here, we are looking at a brighter and stronger future for our Tri-Citians for many, many years to come.  The real estate market is strong and jobs continue to materialize for skilled workers. These are the reasons that the Tri-Cities, and Benton and Franklin counties have become at the top of list for best places to live and work continually.  Come join us in our beautiful corner of southeastern Washington State!