New ‘university district’ formed. What it means for downtown Kennewick
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- A contract was signed to seek creation of a downtown university district.
- The partnership plans a business incubator, and exploration of student housing.
- Heritage’s president hopes to double Tri-Cities enrollment within two to three years.
A new partnership between Heritage University and the city of Kennewick seeks to boost economic activity downtown and enroll more students at the university’s new Tri-Cities campus.
It could bring new student housing and a business incubator to the area.
A memorandum of understanding was signed by university President Christopher Gilmer and Mayor Jason McShane at a Friday evening event.
An event with several Tri-City business and education leaders followed the signing.
Both hope to establish — and mutually benefit from — a “vibrant, inclusive and economically resilient” branded university district anchored at the former Tri-City Herald building at 333 West Canal Drive.
They’ll also collaborate on the creation of a business incubator and co-working space at a future location. Heritage also will explore opportunities for nearby student housing, downtown engagement, transportation opportunities and local investments.
Gilmer said the agreement is not a “blank check,” rather an open door to collaborate. Neither Heritage nor Kennewick are obligated to spend any specific amounts on projects.
City Manager Erin Erdman called the opportunity an “exciting moment” for the broader community.
“A university district will help create a more vibrant, connected downtown while supporting educational access, economic development and a strong workforce for our community,” she said in a statement.
For Kennewick, the effort could assist a years-long revitalization effort to restore the downtown economy, which has seen flight and disinvestment. Another project opening, the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery, has also been championed as a jobs revitalizer.
For the Toppenish-based university, the move is part of their “full press” to expand market share among the Tri-Cities, and to fulfill unmet post-secondary and workforce development opportunities in the region.
Heritage University in the Tri-Cities currently offers six baccalaureate programs: criminal justice, business administration, accounting, education, social work and psychology.
The open-enrollment institution mostly serves first-generation college students from Hispanic-Latino backgrounds, whose families live in the Yakima Valley. Their programs include holistic social and wraparound services to help students overcome barriers and find academic success.
Gilmer believes there are people in the Tri-Cities who aren’t being served by WSU Tri-Cities or Columbia Basin College, and could benefit from Heritage’s offerings.
He hopes their investments in Kennewick pave way for future partnerships in Pasco and Richland.
“We believe it’ll be a growth area for the university,” he said. “We want to find those students that are the right fit for Heritage University, and give them an additional option for higher education here.”
“We want to be the downtown higher education partner” of Kennewick, he said.
‘Real capacity’ for growth, investment
Heritage has operated a regional site at Columbia Basin College in Pasco for more than two decades. It offers CBC students the opportunity to transfer to one of several baccalaureate programs while staying in the Tri-Cities.
Three years ago, it moved into the downtown Kennewick building.
Between the two satellite campuses, Heritage serves 125 Tri-City students.
Gilmer — who is nearing the end of his first year as the university’s president — hopes to double enrollment here in two to three years time.
“We think there’s a real capacity for that here,” he said. “We know that Columbia Basin and WSU Tri-Cities are strong institutions... We are all in agreement that we want to cast ourselves as collaborators instead of competitors. We see it as a win when a student chooses to go to college, regardless of which one of the colleges the student chooses.”
Heritage has invested a lot into the Herald building, including naming its wing “Ballou Hall” after substantial Tri-City donors.
It has three classrooms — soon to be six this fall — as well as space for financial aid, admissions and mental health personnel. It’s also plush with new furniture and amenities.
Students have access to a no-pay food pantry, in-person counseling, tutoring, gas cards and space for activities and student life, said Adriana Villafan, associate vice president for student affairs and co-chair of the Tri-Cities site.
About 15 FTE staff — including three full-time instructors — currently work at the Herald building.
Various and diverse efforts
Part of the university’s investment in downtown will include engaging with business leaders to understand how it can tailor programs to workforce needs. That includes expanding in the future to add master’s degree programs, Gilmer said.
The idea for a “university district” downtown came about from talks with the city, but were influenced by similar efforts at two universities he led in West Virginia.
“It really is largely about creating the brand of a university inside the brand of a city, and then marrying the two of those together,” Gilmer said.
How will each organization measure success of this new partnership?
Gilmer said that will come down to future enrollment targets to justify the expansion, and if it’s able to parlay this partnership to new relationships with other communities.
“I don’t believe in silver bullets, in any context,” he said. “I believe it takes a whole lot of various and diverse efforts converging to accomplish the goal. We’re one element — I think a major element — of the city’s attempt to revitalize downtown, but we don’t bear the full scope of that.”
Both the city and university will also be looking at their impact on downtown foot traffic, the number of new business openings, the number of co-hosted events or programs, the share of graduates working in the Tri-Cities, and post-graduation placement rates.
