This Queensgate vineyard is headed for an urban makeover —hotel, condos and restaurants

An untended vineyard in a corner of Richland best known for its wineries could be the Tri-Cities’ next hot neighborhood.

The vines are still growing at the Russell vineyards, near Queensgate Drive and Columbia Park Trail. But they stopped producing grapes several years ago when the former owners went out of the business.

Now, with a new owner at the helm, the six acres are targeted for a mixed-use makeover that could install a hotel with a modest water park, retail shops and condominiums in a park-like setting crisscrossed with walking paths and bike trails.

The site is bordered by Tulip Lane, just west of the J. Bookwalter, Barnard Griffin and Tagaris wineries.

The three wineries all operate popular tasting rooms and restaurants along the narrow lane, built before the city annexed the area in 2012.

Winery owner John Bookwalter is thrilled. He’s even more excited that developers want to upgrade Tulip Lane into a city street, with parallel parking spots, lights and sidewalks. The narrow, unlit road is unsafe for guests, he said.

Bookwalter once tried to form a local improvement district to remake the road. The dream faltered when a majority of neighboring property owners wouldn’t sign on.

“I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s going to be wonderful for the neighborhood,” he said.

Queensgate Plaza is the brainchild of Randall Crosby, a long-time Tri-City home builder who bought the vineyard in 2017.

Working with Scott Kiehn, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Associated Brokers, and Bryan Cole of McKay Sposito, Crosby set out to bring modern, urban standards to Richland.

Their goal is to create a walkable neighborhood with retail and condo development, short blocks that easy walking, and plenty of parking to accommodate visitors and residents alike.

Kiehn said he “stole” the model for Queensgate Plaza from The Village at Riverstone, a Coeur d’Alene resort development that contains a similar mix of hotels, retail and condominium development.

The vineyard is a perfect spot for the concept, he said.

Richland recently completed upgrades to Queensgate that installed two roundabouts, bike lanes, turn lanes and other amenities.

The new improved Queensgate dramatically raised the visibility of the patch nestled between Columbia Park Trail and Interstate 182.

And the Tri-Cities is ripe for mixed-use development.

Kennewick’s Vista Field proposed redevelopment and Pasco’s Broadmoor area both promise to marry commercial and residential development.

Unlike Vista Field, an initiative of the Port of Kennewick, Queensgate Plaza is a private undertaking that won’t involve tax dollars. Instead, market demand will drive development.

That makes it tricky to set a time line, Kiehn said.

He’s spoken with a hotel operator that is interested in installing a 90-room hotel on the parcel closest to Queensgate Drive. If built, the hotel will feature a small-scale water park that could be open to the public as well as guests.

There is interest too in building the four buildings with retail at ground level and condominiums above, four per building.

A bank of commercial buildings would face Tulip and the neighboring buildings.

The first step is to rezone the agricultural land to commercial uses.

The Richland City Council gave preliminary approval on Dec. 18 and will hear the rezone request for a second and final time in January.

There was no opposition when the request first went before the city’s hearing examiner this fall.

The next step is to bring Tulip Lane to city standards. That includes feeding utilities and other infrastructure to the site.

At that point, the neglected vines will be pulled off the property, along with several related buildings.

Cole and Kiehn said a portion of the property will be covered with a temporary gravel parking lot to serve the wineries while the road is rebuilt.

“Those are thriving businesses,” Kiehn said.

This story was originally published December 22, 2018 at 1:28 PM.