Exclusive | Badger Mountain South readies for restaurants, retail, thousands more homes
The next phase of development is set to begin at Badger Mountain South, priming the area for apartments, retail, restaurants and thousands of more homes.
It’s already one of the fastest growing communities in the Tri-Cities with homes being sold before they’re even finished.
With about 1,000 homes already finished or under construction, the developers of Badger Mountain South are getting ready to break ground on the community’s third subdivision, South Orchard.
And nearly all of the future retail, restaurant and office lots in their first commercial development are already spoken for.
Darren Sweeney, a developer with BMS owner Nor Am Investments, told the Tri-City Herald they are waiting on approval for the commercial lots and are getting ready to begin a massive 170-acre grading project to kick off the next phase.
Sweeney said it’s been a long road to reach this point, and he expects things to really get moving now.
“What I like is we’re starting to see the vision come together,” Sweeney said. “It’s starting to feel less like a development and more like a community. When you start a master planned community, it’s hard to get all the amenities on the front end.”
Retail, amenities
With the infrastructure work done, and enough homes to support dining and shopping, the amenities will be coming in quickly.
Sweeney said that the area near Country Mercantile will soon become a larger shopping and dining area.
Nor Am is working to finalize 20 plats, and nearly all of them are already spoken for.
The area is referred to as Badger Mountain Station in their master plan, and stretches from Trowbridge Boulevard to the south and about a quarter mile north of Ava Way. They’ll also have retail on the west side of Dallas Road.
Sweeney said already 13 of the plats are spoken for. He can’t reveal any names yet because contracts haven’t been signed, but he said residents can expect a decent mix of options.
Sweeney said they include a “well known” restaurant, regionally owned restaurants, financial institutions, a professional office and quicker food options.
The portion of retail on the west side of Dallas is what is referred to as “destination retail.” It will be larger-scale retail designed to bring in shoppers from all over the area.
The city of Richland is also going to get started soon on a 30-acre park, as well as a new fire station. The Badger Mountain Fire Station will likely be off Trowbridge.
The Richland School District also has schools planned for the area.
Sweeney said that in all they will have more than 200 acres of green space in the nearly 1,500-acre development.
There will be at least two large city of Richland parks, and each of the subdivisions will have smaller parks of their own.
Also, they all will be connected by a series of paved trails, totaling about 11 miles. Sweeney said they hope to eventually connect their trail system to the Badger Mountain trailhead.
Badger Mountain is also home to a 7-acre vineyard just behind Country Mercantile.
Sweeney said the grapes are currently managed by Goose Ridge, and the land owner hopes to find a winery partner to produce a Badger Mountain South vintage.
Kadlec Regional Medical Center also owns a 5-acre portion of what could eventually become a 40-acre health campus.
There’s also a church expecting to build near Bella Coola Lane.
Homes
Nearly 1,000 homes have already been built in the first few subdivisions at Badger Mountain South, and an estimated 3,700 more are on the way.
West Village and West Vineyard are all but complete, with the remaining homes being built already presold. South Orchards will be the next subdivision being added.
Sweeney said that will include 473 homes, a 6-acre park and an elementary school. The funds for the school were approved as part of a 2017 bond package.
While working to get that land prepared for contractors, they’re also laying the ground work for Gage Boulevard to cut through, connecting the community to the rest of Richland.
“With South Orchards you’ll start to see the interconnectivity between the neighborhoods,” Sweeney said. “We’re really excited about having enough rooftops to bring in the commercial development.”
To the west of South Orchards, another development is coming.
The Tri-Cities Development Corporation recently filed paperwork for the Harvest Ridge subdivision. The project isn’t part of the larger Badger Mountain South master plan, but Sweeney and the developers are part of the larger project.
Harvest Ridge will feature larger lots, at about 1-acre each, bringing in an additional 143 homes. That subdivision will be immediately south of West Village, with a future road running down from Bella Coola Lane.
South Orchard and Harvest Ridge will create a fully connected southern perimeter for the development. Sweeney said once those are in, the interior of the development will begin.
Developer Geoff Clark, who works with both Nor Am and Tri-Cities Development, said they expect South Orchard to be completed by the end of 2023.
Apartments
With all of the retail and services coming to the area, there is a huge need for rentals. Several apartment complexes have already been built nearby, and more are coming.
Copper Mountain Apartments is a 276-unit complex that was built in 2020. It’s just past West Village.
South Orchard has two tracts of land that will be multi-family. Those could be apartments, town homes or duplexes.
Sweeney said they are also planning a 55+ active living community near Country Mercantile. They’re in the process of finding a developer for that community.
Clark also said they’re close to finalizing plans for a 68-unit town home community.
While Badger Mountain South is still years out from being fully complete, the next two years will see the development truly become a community.
This story was originally published May 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
