Vacant lot being prepped for Tri-Cities’ 8th Les Schwab Tire Center

Les Schwab Tire Center, the folksy tire chain with roots in Bend, Ore., is building its eighth Tri-Cities shop near Southridge High School in Kennewick.

Grading work has started at 3981 Southridge Blvd., off Highway 395 at the Ridgeline Drive roundabout. The site is south of the school and the newly open Argyle apartment complex.

Kennewick building records indicate the excavation work is setting the stage for an 8,300-square-foot Les Schwab store with nine service bays, a parking lot, utilities and other infrastructure.

Site work and utility construction have been authorized, but building permits have not been issued.

A spokeswoman for Les Schwab said the company doesn’t currently have anything to share about its plans for Kennewick.

Ray Poland & Sons Inc. is the underground contractor and Gilbert Electric is installing streetlights. Knutzen Engineering is the engineer.

Les Schwab operates three Richland stores, two in Pasco and one each in Kennewick and Prosser.

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