Business

What’s being built there? Lampson Stadium jumbotron + $7.5M CarMax lot

By Wendy Culverwell

Updated July 31, 2025 1:08 PM

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.

CarMax begins $7.5M dealership build in Richland, first in the Tri-Cities market.
CBC launches $20M student housing complex to add 160 beds by mid-2026.
Kennewick High upgrades Lampson Stadium with new parking, jumbotron board.

What’s being built there? A reader’s guide

What’s being built there? is an occasional Tri-City Herald feature that offers quick explanations of the building projects taking shape in the community. Suggest projects via email: news@tricityherald.com.

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Kennewick, WA

Welcome to “What’s being built there?”

This Tri-City Herald feature gives brief descriptions of construction projects shaping the Tri-Cities, including Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, West Richland and surrounding cities.

See a project that needs an explanation? Ping us at news@tricityherald.com.

Benton City

Benton City Apartments

916 Horne Drive

Peake Contractors is building a new apartment complex in the heart of Benton City.

The complex will consist of two buildings valued at $2 million apiece. Each will offer nine units with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Rudd McClory with Peak said the project is a market-rate residential offering that takes advantage of a high-profile site. The complex is near Kiona-Benton City Middle School as well as a grocery store and bus stop.

McClory anticipates catering to families who want larger units that are less expensive than they would find in the Tri-Cities.

Site work has started. Construction should be complete by early 2026. The work is financed with private capital and a loan from HAPO Credit Union. McClory said he plans to own the apartment complex for the long term.

Kennewick

Lampson Stadium parking lot and scoreboard

Kennewick High School

560 W. Sixth ave.

Two projects are modernizing Neil F. Lampson Stadium at Kennewick High School.

The stadium, which serves as the home of the Kennewick Lions, the Kamiakin Braves and the Southridge Suns, is getting a new parking lot and a jumbotron-style scoreboard.

Ray Polland & Sons is the contractor for the $700,000 parking lot project.

Work includes removing about 200,000 square feet of existing asphalt and replacing it with a new base and asphalt.

Angled parking will allow for safer and more efficient parking as well as traffic flow. Excavation began this month. Construction will begin in early August and take about a week.

In other Lampson Stadium news, the Kennewick School District and Idaho Central Credit Union are collaborating on a new jumbotron-style scoreboard on the northeast corner of the stadium.

The district is covering the $40,000 installation cost while ICCU is donating the equipment. It should be installed by mid-August.

Goodman & Mehlenbacher Enterprises, aka GAME Inc., a construction firm, is erecting a pre-engineered metal structure to serve as an office warehouse on South Ely Street, near Heritage Nursery in Kennewick. Tri-City Herald staff

GAME Inc. office/warehouse

2312 S. Ely St.

Goodman & Mehlenbacher Enterprises, aka GAME Inc., a Kennewick construction firm, is erecting an 8,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal structure to serve as an office warehouse on South Ely Street, near Heritage Nursery and Waste Management’s transfer station.

The project has a construction value of about $1.1 million, according to Kennewick building permits.

Pasco

Fowler Construction prepares a site at Columbia Basin College for a five-story, 160-bed student housing facility, funded by bonds.

Columbia Basin College student housing

2600 N. 20th Ave.

Visible development on the northeast corner of the Columbia Basin College is the site of a future $20 million student housing project.

Fowler Construction is the general contractor for the project, which is near the entrance to the Tri-Cities Airport, at North 20th Avenue and Argent Way.

The five-story project is the college’s second for student housing and will offer 160 beds for students when it opens in mid-2026. The dorm is funded by the sale of bonds.

A worker puts the finishing touches on 20th Avenue Plaza, a four-building retail plaza near Columbia Basin College and the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco. A-1 Properties, a hotel operator with projects in the area, is the developer. Tri-City Herald staff

Tri-Cities Airport retail plaza

2915 N. 20th Ave.

A-1 Properties is nearing completion of a four-building retail plaza with space for 16 tenants near the entrance to the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco.

The city of Pasco sold the property to A-1, which operates and develops hotels in the Mid-Columbia, in 2017 as part of its efforts to create a gateway at the airport. A-1 built Courtyard by Marriott on an opposite corner and is finalizing a Home2 Suites next door.

The complex is being marketed as a prime location for office, retail and medical offices with high visibility on 20th Avenue and ample parking. Individual suites are roughly 1,500-1,600 square feet, with asking rents of $28 per square foot per year.

Go to loopnet.com.

Richland

Carmax Auto Superstores

1261 Tapteal Drive

Carmax Auto Superstores Inc., based in Richmond, Va., is building its first Tri-Cities used car dealership in the Columbia Center area.

The $7.5 million project includes a 7,600-square-foot building was approved by the city in June. T.D. Farrell Construction Inc. is the contractor.

The city of Richland approved building permits in June. Work should be forthcoming.

Carmax purchased the five-acre property in 2022.

This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 7:00 AM.

Wendy Culverwell

Tri-City Herald

Reporter Wendy Culverwell writes about growth, development and business for the Tri-City Herald. She has worked for daily and weekly publications in Washington and Oregon. She earned a degree in English and economics from the University of Puget Sound. Support my work with a digital subscription