RICHLAND -- A private company is planning $65 million worth of buildings and infrastructure this year in Richland's Tri-Cities Research District.
Innovation Center at TCRD owns about 90 acres in the research district and already has two office buildings under way.
And Diahann Howard, the district's executive director, said the company plans to build two more buildings and some commercial development, as well as finish Innovation Boulevard, formerly called Q Street.
The company is owned by investors Wayne Perry and Cal Cannon, former executives of McCaw Cellular Communications, which became part of AT&T Wireless.
The Tri-Cities Research District, which was formed in the early '90s by community stakeholders, encompasses about 1,700 acres, including adjacent properties owned by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State University Tri-Cities and the Port of Benton.
The port donates some of Howard's time to the district. She is the port's director of economic development and government affairs.
The research district is one of 11 innovation partnership zones in the state. It's goal is to attract research and development jobs to support all of the Tri-Cities, Howard said. It's part of the planning for a post-Hanford cleanup economy.
As part of the Innovation Center at TCRD's development, a $6.5 million, 46,000-square-foot building is under construction at 2801 Salk Ave.
PNNL will lease all three floors for office space, said Geoff Harvey, PNNL spokesman. The building is expected to be done in August.
A second $4.5 million, 17,000-square-foot building is under construction nearby.
About one-third of the space will be rented by WSU Tri-Cities, said Lori Selby, the university's vice chancellor for finance and administration.
WSU Tri-Cities will have a teaching laboratory for biology classes, a research laboratory and GEAR UP Early Outreach program office and cubicle space in the one-story building, she said.
GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Access and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, provides early outreach to under-represented students in lower-income school districts.
The university hopes the teaching laboratory will be ready by Aug. 15 because a class is scheduled to use it when fall semester begins Aug. 22. The GEAR UP staff likely will move into the building early this fall.
Howard said having open space for lease in buildings could help the research district attract businesses. It adds to what the district can offer, along with vacant land open for development.
She said the district is working to attract companies by developing industry relations and attending trade shows. The area already has trained technical workers who could be hired by technology-related firms, she said.
The only option the district doesn't have is 500-acre or larger sites for manufacturing companies. That's why there is a push for the federal government to open up some of the Hanford land for development, Howard said.
The anticipated commercial development by Innovation Center at TCRD should help add to the few services in the area, she said.
Despite the 7,000 workers in the area, nearby residential developments and the district's position on one of the major routes for Hanford workers, not many services are located there.
There still are about 325 acres of undeveloped property included in the district, Howard said.
Garlick Enterprises, Copperwood, Sienna Sky and Centurian Sigma Management are other major developers in the district.
