In November and December, Realtors across the Tri-Cities will come together to participate in service of their communities by raising food and funds for 2nd Harvest.
Bags will be dropped off on their neighborhood doorsteps and bags and donations will be picked up December 2nd, 2011 and all donations will be be delivered to KNDU the morning of December 3, 2011.
Once again the Tri-Cities has resisted the downward trend of property values across the nation, and finds itself in contrast with rising property valuations. Franklin County has been the fastest growing county in the state for the last two years and also one of the fastest growing in the nation. Officials in Franklin County expect values to continue to rise at an average of 3-4 percent as they prepare to mail out revaluation notices within the next month. Benton County anticipates remaining at the current level.
Many other communities within our state are facing devaluation at a significant rate which in turn decreases their tax base. For many its been decades since they’ve lost ground in property valuations. According to a recent market survey in the Tri-Cities, the first quarter of 2010 shows that the median residential resale price encompassing the bicounty area is $176,600, thus being an almost 6 percent increase over the entire year of 2008.
Franklin County continues to see it’s main increase in values due to the development of West Pasco and some large farms. Meanwhile, there are some pockets of decrease in the county, mostly around the Connell area because of unspecified market conditions there.
Much of the success of the Tri-Cities’ ability to remain strong, is due to the stimulus money that came into the Hanford cleanup projects, however, many individuals and organizations have worked diligently to diversify our community so that not all economic strength comes from strictly the Hanford area, but instead comes from growth in agricultural, food processing, and tourism dollars. They have been very successful in their endeavors which in turn have created the economic stability that the Tri-Cities and surrounding communities enjoy today.
A subcontract of nearly $7 million was awarded to a team of 2 Tri City companies for the design and build phases for support buildings out at the Handford Site. Richland’s Fowler General Construction and Kennewick’s ELR Consulting joined forces to become ELRFowler and won the contract with Washington Closure Hanford. Their work will be performed at the Hanford landfill for low level radioactive waste. ELRFowler is in the design phase of the buldings and construction will begin sometime this summer. Congratulations ELRFowler – way to keep it local!!
On Tuesday a $500,000 boost came to the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center from the state supplemental budget. This funding came from the Heritage Capital Projects Fund, a program run by the state Historical Society. The Richland Public Facilities District, who is the public agency overlooking the construction of the Center found that another agency had withdrawn its request for funding and decided to request the legislature to redistribute the money to the Reach project.
The Center is a proposed 61,000 square-foot interpretive center which will tell the story of the Hanford Reach National Monument and the surrounding plants and wildlife, geology and historyof the region. The location for the Center has been in flux from the start after objections from area tribes. However, a proposal to place the building at the west end of Columbia Park is under consideration by both the Kennewick and Richland city councils, as they work on the master plan for Columbia Park as a whole.
Washington State University Tri Cities is $500,000 richer after an award from Hanford contractor, Mission Support Alliance. It is MSA’s intent to assist in strenghening the number of under-represented students who will be studying engineering, technology, math and science. It is MSA’s hope the invest in students and create a STEM-trained work force in the Tri Cities. The funding will be disbursed over 10 years with the majority of it will be for scholarships that will assist students studying STEM curriculum.
The TRAC facility in Pasco is the place to be this April 28th and 29th if you are a small business owner. The Annual Bridging Partnership Small Business Symposium will take place over these 2 days and will teach business owners the “ins and outs” of partnering with Hanford contractors to pick up government business. The event is sponsored by PNNL, TRIDEC, DOE and the primary contractors of the Hanford area. There will be a 4-hour tour of the Hanford site on Wednesday and an expo with 100 vendors is included. The cost for the event is $75 is pre-registered prior to April 15. More information is available by calling 509-735-1000.
