Richland will demolish problem motel it bought for $1.2M. What could take its place?
A shuttered motel that Tri-City officials have called a “blight” is soon to be torn down.
Woodinville-based Construction Group International has been selected as the contractor for the demolition of the old Economy Inn at 515 George Washington Way.
The Richland City Council awarded the contract to demolish the motel and restore the site with a winning bid of about $437,000 after taxes, at their first council meeting of the new year.
Restoration of the site will include abatement and basic landscaping, said City Manager Jon Amundson.
Last March, the city spent $1.2 million to buy the closed motel and the land.
The motel has long been an issue for the city, with criminal activity increasing over the years including a fatal stabbing at the motel in May 2020.
The nearly 1 acre site sits at the corner of George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue. The motel was built in 1962 and was recently closed by owners for possible a sale or renovation.
The city set aside $1 million in its 2022 budget to buy land to relocate its aging Fire Station 71 at the intersection of George Washington Way and Swift Boulevard.
While the relocation of the station is the most likely use at the old motel site, Amundson previously told the Herald that is still several years out.
The city plans to build the new Badger Mountain Fire Station first, so work on the relocation of the aging Station 71 may be five to seven years away.
Amundson said that’s why the city is prioritizing beautification of the property in the interim.
Work on the Badger Mountain station is expected to begin in June and take about a year to complete. The city set aside about $10.5 million toward that project in the 2022 budget.
Amundson said that when considering the Economy Inn property for a fire station, Richland’s fire department ran scenarios to determine how a relocation farther south on George Washington Way would impact their response times, and they found it was actually better suited for units than the current station near City Hall.
