Ex-Kennewick mayor sells 27th Ave. mini-storage business for $14M
Former Kennewick Mayor Bill McKay has sold his prized development, 27th Avenue Self Storage in the Canyon Lakes area.
McKay along with his wife, Cynthia, and other family members sold the sprawling self-storage property for $14 million or nearly twice its assessed value of about $7.5 million, Benton County property records indicate.
The deal recorded on Oct. 15 and was the second-largest commercial transaction in the county for the month.
The buyer is Harmony Village Lynnwood LLC, a Sammamish, Wash.-based investment firm led by Saeed Abtahi.
McKay began developing the self-storage campus at 3112 W. 27th Ave. in 2004. The business is well-known to motorists for the often-amusing messages it posted to its electronic reader board.
Building records indicate it was built in two phases with 185 units in each phase, plus 100 bays for recreational vehicles, a home, barn and shop.
McKay was elected to the Kennewick City Council in 2017 on the strength of his record as a business owner and developer. He was reelected in 2021.
In 2022, his peers on the council chose him to serve as the city’s honorary mayor, typically a two-year role that involves running meetings, setting agendas and representing the city at grand openings and other events.
He resigned abruptly on Nov. 7, 2023 after admitting to police that he paid for sexual services at local massage parlors. A Pierce County prosecutor declined to file charges, concluding there was not enough evidence he committed a crime.