Richland wants ‘eyesore’ building for next cop shop. Price tag raises questions
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- Richland City Council approved a $7.75 million agreement for 1200 Jadwin.
- The agreed price exceeds the property’s $1.27 million assessed value by over sixfold.
- Purchasing and renovating 1200 Jadwin will cost about $50 million.
The city of Richland is advancing plans to buy a derelict office building for more than six times its assessed value to serve as its next police station.
The Richland City Council voted unanimously last week to enter a $7.75 million purchase and sale agreement to buy the seven-story office known as the Tri-Cities Professional Center.
The seller is 1200 Jadwin LLC, a limited liability company controlled by Corey Bitton, a controversial Tri-Cities real estate investor and businessman.
The proposed price far exceeds the $1.27 million assessed value set by the Benton County Assessor for tax purposes.
The city, the county assessor and Bitton could not be reached Friday to clarify the discrepancy between the purchase price and the county assessment.
The property includes nearly 4.2 acres and a 126,000-square-foot office building with an expansive parking lot. Richland’s Urban Greenbelt Trail runs picturesquely beneath a bridge that connects a parking structure to the main entrance.
It was built in 1980 and has been vacant since Fluor, a Department of Energy contractor, moved out years ago. Windows are boarded up and there are other signs of neglect, including parched landscaping.
$15M less than new building
The city intends to use a portion of the building as its new police station, calling it the most cost-effective option to replacing the current cop shop, which it calls inadequate.
Purchasing and renovating 1200 Jadwin will cost about $50 million, an estimated $15 million less than building a new police station, according to both consultants and city staff.
While the deal appears to be an efficient approach to housing law enforcement offices, it has raised questions about the building’s value.
In October 2024, 1200 Jadwin LLC bought the property for $3.5 million.
A day later, it sold undivided ownership stakes to 14 Spokane-area investors for more than $6.5 million, according to a commercial deed of trust filed with Benton County.
The building was listed for sale “as is” for $7.94 million.
The city’s $7.75 million purchase and sale agreement decision came 18 months later.
The agreement gives the city time to scrutinize the building and order an appraisal. If it doesn’t like what it finds, it can back out of the deal and get its earnest money back.
Growing need for police space
If it does proceed, the imposing Brutalist-style building will become Richland’s new police fortress. Other city offices, including fire department administrators, could move in too.
The current police station opened in 2002 at 871 George Washington Way. The current building is considered too small to accommodate modern requirements and can’t be expanded.
The city hired Architects West Inc. and then Rice Fergus Miller Inc. to evaluate its options.
The contractors evaluated building a new station at two different sites and renovating the 1200 Jadwin building and found the latter the most cost-effective.
It is not clear if the city identified it as a possible acquisition before or after it sold to the current ownership group in 2024.
The council sees the move as a bold step that will not only give it a reasonably-priced police station, but will revive a building one council member once called an “eyesore” in a key corridor in central Richland.
Councilwoman Jhoanna Jones encouraged city leaders to show the community how badly police need more space.
“We’re not just spending because we feel like it. This is something we really truly need,” she said.
Councilman Kurt Maier praised city staff for finding a lower-cost option. He said 1200 Jadwin has the potential to be a new municipal resource that will pay dividends in decades to come.
He urged critics not to focus on the price or the seller.
“If I waited until I could pay less than the previous person’s price to buy a house, I would be homeless. That’s not how real estate works.”
Data center connection
The city plans to fund a portion of its $50 million police station project with proceeds from an unrelated transaction.
Atlas Agro has a deal pending with the city to pay $24 million for 275 acres of former Hanford land for a data center.
While that agreement is still pending, Joe Schiessl, deputy city manager, said there are no red flags to suggest it won’t happen.
Atlas Agro has a separate deal pending with the Port of Benton for a neighboring site where it says it will build a $1.5 billion “low carbon” fertilizer plant. The data center project is considered a key to locking in the fertilizer initiative.
Building owner
Corey Bitton, the listed seller of the 1200 Jadwin building, has been involved with several prominent properties across the Tri-Cities.
He once pleaded guilty to felony mail and wire fraud in connection with the state taxes and a mortgage application involving Pasco’s famed Moore Mansion.
Through his Columbia River Warehouse LLC, Bitton owns the former Welch’s juice plant in downtown Kennewick.
Until recently, the Public Market at Columbia River Warehouse operated on one side of the property.
In 2023, he sold the northern side of the plant to Benton County for $4.8 million for a recovery center then commissioners changed their plans.
That center is now about to open in the former Kennewick General Hospital building and the former juice warehouse remains vacant.
Richland has posted information and answers to frequently asked questions about the police station replacement project at cleargov.com.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM.