City of Pasco: City’s growth and diversity are leading to prosperity

Pasco continues to experience growth and a correspondingly positive economic climate. At nearly 72,000 people, Pasco is Washington State’s fastest-growing large city, edging out Bellevue and Seattle, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey.

Not only are a large number of people choosing Pasco as home, but the City’s ethnic, educational and economic diversity also continues to evolve. Over the past two years, household and median family incomes have risen and homeownership has increased to 66.7 percent.

Private investment in new commercial construction topped out at more than $110 million over 2016-2017, a high water mark for Pasco.

Major investments such as Volm Industries’ new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, major expansions at Twin City Foods, Simplot, and John Deere dealer RDO, as well as Autozone’s newest 500,000 square foot distribution center, demonstrate that Pasco businesses are reinvesting in the city and others are seeing Pasco as a desirable location.

These investments and others have brought hundreds of family wage jobs into the community and increased assessed valuation which eases the tax burden for all.

Looking forward, there are numerous active economic development opportunities in Pasco:

▪  The Road 68 corridor continues to grow and thrive. The former DNR property, south of Interstate182, is under development that will bring 700 new families to Pasco and 55 acres of commercially zoned property on the market.

▪  The Court Street corridor continues to see strong activity, which this past year, spurred the addition of a large Starbucks and an Advanced Auto Parts store along with a new McDonald’s to replace the one that was razed and rebuilt.

▪  Revitalization of Downtown Pasco continues and will soon be further buoyed by completion of the Oregon Avenue improvement project, major updates to Peanuts Park and the Pasco Farmers Market, along with coordinated façade improvements and the long-awaited construction of the Lewis Street Overpass in 2019-2021. Downtown Pasco, already a popular destination, will to continue to transform over the next several years into a more vibrant, welcoming and uniquely diverse cultural center.

▪  A major sub-area planning effort and environmental impact analysis is underway in the Broadmoor area of Pasco encompassing some 2,000 acres. The geographic center of the Tri-Cities, the area will see significant change over the next two decades, beginning with the installation of utilities in 2018 that will open the area for large-scale commercial and residential development.

Progress was also made on several quality of life issues in 2017 which include:

▪  The City’s Police Community Services Building was completed and moved into, which was not an easy task. Successfully picking up a 24/7 operation with a quarter-century of history in one spot and moving it, if only to the other end of the block, was far more difficult than imagined, involving multiple departments and considerable coordination – but city staff got the job done. This state-of-the-art facility will serve the department and the community for decades to come.

▪  Design of a new Tri-Cities Animal Control Facility, with construction to follow subject to approval of the partner agencies.

▪  Pasco Fire Department Station 84, the City’s fourth fire station, opened its doors. The project involved the creative use of available resources, in this case, refurbishing an old but adequate volunteer station and adjacent single-family home. This allowed for the quick deployment of much-needed services into a major portion of the city. This has already resulted in reduced response times in that area as well as across the city. While a modern station is planned in the future, this temporary facility put resources in place a couple of years in advance of the time to plan and build a new station.

Finally, a historic election cycle was held in Pasco, with all seven City Council seats up for election for the first time since the first Pasco city election back in 1891. Also, for the first time, 6 of the 7 City Council seats were decided by district voters in the general election.

The election results saw the selection of five new City Council members and two Council members re-elected. Pasco said goodbye to some very dedicated, longtime City Council members and welcomed new, and equally dedicated, City Council members at the beginning of 2018.

Great strides continue to be made in Pasco, and going forward, the city remains focused on its primary goal of providing high-value service to its residents and businesses.

This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 2:50 PM with the headline "City of Pasco: City’s growth and diversity are leading to prosperity."