Vista Field housing, retail center ready to take flight. When could developers get started?
After years of planning, Vista Field could soon be open for development.
The Port of Kennewick recently put together a team to manage marketing and create resources for future stakeholders of one of the most anticipated developments in the Tri-Cities.
They have selected Amber Hanchette to lead the new team. Hanchette is the port’s director of real estate and operations.
It’s been five years since the Port of Kennewick created a master plan for the former airport, and three years since work on infrastructure began. The port had hoped to start bringing in developers in 2020, but the pandemic really slowed things down.
Port CEO Tim Arntzen said one of the biggest challenges they’ve faced has been trying to manage multiple large projects with a limited staff. With the move to form a dedicated team to manage the project, they are finally able to move forward.
“We realized we needed to realign ourselves as we got close to the finish line, which is for sale signs on the ground,” Arntzen said.
To that end, Artnzen said the goal is to realign the port’s staff, going from a general purpose port to becoming a small government entity in the role of a master developer.
In their old roles, team members were in a position where they had to be responsive to any number of issues, which could result to moving Vista Field projects to the back burner.
Coming soon
With a set of approved design standards ready, the Vista Field team is now working to get a website ready and marketing materials in the hands of interested developers.
“The number one question has been ‘When?,’” Arntzen said. “Provided that we have a relatively normal path in front of us, this is an early summer project where we have our first land sale.”
Arntzen is confident the interest is there, and has the team working on a Frequently Asked Questions for developers, to help them guide proposals.
“My guess is there have probably been a few developers who have been walking the site, and sharpening their pencils,” Arntzen said.
He expects the 103-acre site will be platted out into 38 lots.
The site features a 2.5-acre central plaza with parks and a water feature running through it.
The project is expected to bring in about 1,000 residences ranging from single-family homes to condos and apartments. And about 750,000 square feet of commercial space is planned for retail, offices, restaurants and entertainment.
“We want to get property into the hands of the private sector. For them, time is money and the answer is ‘Soon,’” Arntzen said. “Soon, to me, looks like early summer.”
Building the field
Arntzen said once that the groundwork is complete, they’ll be handing off some of the streets and infrastructure to the city of Kennewick for final approval. After that, Vista Field is open for business.
“To describe where we’re at now, I like to look back sometimes,” Arntzen said. “There’s way more behind us than in front of us. The process has been methodical, there have been 101 steps, figuratively speaking.”
The development of Vista Field is expected to create about 3,400 jobs, $460 million in private sector investment, $51 million in new infrastructure, and $408 million in new taxable buildings.
Vista Field will be laid out with pedestrians in mind. They want residents to be able to walk or bike to the restaurants and commercial areas in the center of the land, with opportunities to live in the “town center.”
“This marketing really is about building a lifestyle brand and lifestyle strategy,” Hanchette told commissioners at a recent port meeting.
The first phase of the project will be the town center with some residential opportunities. Once developers are ready to make a purchase, they’ll bring it to the port for architectural review to ensure it complies with Vista Field standards, and then to the port commissioners for approval.
Hanchette’s team has created two new entities, one over Vista Field and the other as a voice for developers and stakeholders. They are kick-starting the Vista Field Property Owner’s Association, laying the groundwork and ensuring it meets all legal requirements before handing it over to landowners in the future.
Vista Field’s website includes copies of documents, design standards, a library of design precedents and a section where property will be listed once it is up for sale.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 12:46 PM.
