When is Queensgate finally going to open in south Richland? We have answers
The final stretch of Queensgate Drive in south Richland is expected to open to drivers at 9 a.m., Wednesday, May 7.
Columbia Valley Holdings, the Bellevue-based developer of the 48-acre Terraces at Queensgate, is set to start turning the road over to the city on Friday, May 1, when it submits its final subdivision plat to Richland.
City officials expect to sign off immediately so the project can be recorded with Benton County, transferring the privately-built road to the city transportation network.
“As far as I know, we’re just going to open it and let people start using it,” said Mike Stevens, Richland’s planning manager.
The newly built road fills the gap in Queensgate between Keene and Shockley roads.
Once open, it will provide an uninterrupted connection between central Richland via the Duportail Bridge and western Kennewick via the summit of Little Badger Mountain.
Columbia Valley Holdings began building the new stretch of Queensgate more than a year ago as it prepared the former peach orchard for future homes, townhomes, retail shops and commercial buildings, according to its marketing arm, BrickWise Real Estate.
The new stretch bisects the Terraces neighborhood.
The intersection of Queensgate and Keene is already one of the busier stretches of road in Richland.
An average 26,600 vehicles passed through the T-bone intersection each day in 2024, a 22% increase over the initial 2016 count, according to a recent traffic study by the Benton Franklin Council of Governments.
Construction of the road wrapped up months ago, teasing motorists as it remains behind fences and barricades.
The city of Richland, which won’t own it until the subdivision is formally recorded, couldn’t open it to traffic until the developer completed its portion of the work.
City traffic crews will pull down the fences and barricades and activate the traffic signals, lights and associated sensors. Everything is in place and ready to go when the moment comes to transform the intersection into a proper four-way crossing.
The Terraces project began taking shape in 2019, when Marcus and Millichap, a commercial brokerage, marketed the property to potential developers.
Listing materials billed the prominent spot as a tantalizing opportunity for a developer willing to put in the work to install roads and infrastructure needed for future development.
Columbia Valley stepped in, closing a deal for several parcels in 2022. It secured a rezone to accommodate the mixed-use vision and made plans to build.
The future development calls for 18 half-acre lots for single-family homes along the western property line, a concession to its neighbor, Country Ridge. Residents of the upscale neighborhood requested that their immediate neighbors echo their own larger lots.
The interior of Terraces will see 89 town homes along with commercial space.
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 9:37 AM.