KENNEWICK, Wash. – You can expect to see some buildings start popping up at Vista Field soon. The Port of Kennewick sold two parcels of land to business owners and developers, and approved the sale of a second plot of land on May 28.
Recently, the Port started working on the long-awaited open-air pavilion at Vista Field. Three structures are expected to be built on different lots.
According to the Port of Kennewick’s Director of Real Estate, Amber Hanchette, the Port approved a five-story, 40-thousand-square-foot building for apartments and businesses.
The Port also began construction on what it’s calling the Vista Field Southern Gateway Project. Yesterday, the Port approved a purchase and sale agreement from Richland restaurant owners for another building coming to Vista Field.
“They want to be one of our first businesses in Vista Field,” Hanchette said. “They’re going to construct a 3,500 square foot Japanese style restaurant with a variety of upscale types of menu items.”
Hanchette said the restaurant will be on a corner parcel on Crosswind Blvd. The restaurant owners and Vista Field worked together to develop a design that both sides were happy with. The restaurant will be built with private funds from the developer.
Hanchette expects construction to begin on the restaurant in late summer or early fall of this year.
Port of Kennewick officials said the Vista Field infrastructure is funded through port tax dollars from a five-million-dollar bond for phase one.
The Port’s master plan states that future phases of the project will be funded through land sales at Vista Field.
Construction is also now underway on the long-awaited open-air pavilion, the first construction project at Vista Field, according to the Port of Kennewick.
The Port of Kennewick deputy C-E-O Tana Bader Inglima said they are calling this project the Vista Field Southern Gateway project.
Two airplane hangars on Crosswind Boulevard are being turned into multi-use areas for Saturday markets, plays, and musical performances.
She said the Port plans to repurpose some old items to honor the history of World War II pilots who trained there.
“It really ties back to when the pilots in World War 2 were training to land on aircraft carriers,” she said. “They were doing touch-and-go landings on this simulated aircraft carrier deck.”
She said they are reusing some of the metal from the simulated runway to tie the history of the Vista Field to this project, with fans and a metal paper airplane statue.
The Port of Kennewick received $3.4 million from Benton County’s Rural Fund for this project.
