You're losing a cinema but gaining 3 restaurants and a retailer by the mall

On one side of West Quinault Avenue, the Red Lion Hotel Kennewick Columbia Center is getting ready to build three new restaurants.

On the other, Columbia Center mall is preparing to tear down the Regal Cinemas and replace it with a 49,000-square-foot retail space.

Both projects are to start this fall, according to environmental documents filed for review under Washington's environmental protection act, or SEPA.

The new restaurant buildings, totaling 12,000 square feet, and the new retail space mark significant investments in Kennewick's retail core.

But if they begin this fall as planned, the side-by-side projects could affect traffic at the already congested intersection at Columbia Center Boulevard and West Quinault for the better part of a year.

Columbia Center, through its owners, and the Red Lion, through its engineer, outlined their respective projects in detailed questionnaires designed to identify the potential environmental impacts, a key step toward getting approval for major development.

The city of Kennewick has issued a demolition permit for the mall project, but not a construction permit. It has yet to receive a formal application from the Red Lion, which has not said what restaurants may open there.

Simon Property Group, the Indianapolis-based owner off Columbia Center, said its 10-month project to remove the theater and replace it with new construction begins in September on a 2.5-acre site immediately west of Barnes & Noble.

The theater remains open and there's been no announcement about when it will close.

The project will eliminate 70 parking spots and lead to a small reduction in traffic.

According to engineers, removing the theater will eliminate 4,300 car trips per day while the new retail space will add 4,000, for a net reduction of about 300 trips.

The new addition will be consistent with the mall's size. The new retail space could house about 20 to 30 workers.

Most construction will occur during business hours, but there could be nighttime work, the checklist said.

Across the street, the Red Lion Hotel is preparing to launch a project of its own. The iconic Tri-City hotel is owned by Tricity Hotel Group, led by local hotelier Gurbir Sandhu.

The city issued a decision this month that the project will cause no significant impact. Comments are due by June 29.

The year-long Red Lion work will involve moving the utilities, according to documents filed by Knutzen Engineering. The project includes the restaurant buildings, parking and landscaping. The buildings will be up to 25 feet in height with stucco and masonry exteriors.

The 2.5-acre site will be regraded, with an estimated 15,000 cubic yards of material being shifted within the property. The vacant site is currently covered with grass, weeds and dirt.

It will replace 55 existing parking spots with 94 new ones, for a net gain of 39.

The new buildings could collectively house 25 jobs, said the documents.

This story was originally published June 25, 2018 at 7:10 PM with the headline "You're losing a cinema but gaining 3 restaurants and a retailer by the mall."