Port sued for dropping developer who failed to start Pasco riverfront projects
A Tri-Cities developer with a high-flying vision for the Port of Pasco’s Osprey Pointe waterfront is suing for damages and to be reinstated six months after the firm was dropped from the project.
In a suit filed June 12 in Franklin County Superior Court, JMS Development LLC, led by James Sexton and his wife, Meredith, sued for damages and to have its development agreement restored.
JMS said it spent more than $1 million to advance the Osprey Pointe project and passed on other opportunities in order to create a legacy.
The company promised multiple times that development was around the corner, but never broke ground in six years.
The suit argues JMS is not responsible for delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and staff turnover at the city of Pasco. Both slowed its work to develop a neighborhood of homes, restaurants, stores, a public market, theater and playgrounds.
The suit alleges the port failed its duty to act reasonably when it terminated the development agreement without negotiating a new schedule. The lawsuit does not list the damages being sought.
“The port’s unreasonableness predates, and in fact caused, any default by JMS,” the suit claims.
The port confirmed the suit.
“The Port disagrees with the claims raised in the filing and looks forward to presenting its position through the legal process. Because the matter is now in active litigation, the Port will not be providing additional comment at this time,” it said in a statement to the Tri-City Herald.
Port drops partner
In December, the port dropped JMS, giving it 60 days notice it was terminating a development agreement the two sides entered six years earlier. The port said JMS failed to fulfill terms of its agreement.
The 55-acre property at 1100 Osprey Pointe is between Ainsworth and the Columbia River. It is the only low-bank waterfront in the Tri-Cities. The port has long wanted to see it develop into a walkable community.
It chose JMS, an established Tri-Cities residential and commercial builder, after its initial partner faded away without making progress.
JMS and the port painted a rosy picture for the area in December 2019, when they signed the initial letter of agreement that spelled out terms of selling land to the developer.
Sexton said he stood ready to invest $450 million to create a community packed with residential and commercial amenities.
He described a neighborhood with nearly 1,000 homes, playgrounds and much more.
JMS is represented by the law firm Piskel Yahne Kovarik.