Tri-Cities Research District: Embracing digital communication and developing flexible space for innovation
Tri-Cities Research District’s (TCRD) 2020 submittal to the annual Progress Edition envisioned a year ahead without drastic deviation from the way business is conducted. However, as we all know now, by the time the Progress Edition hit our doorsteps, we were all newly quarantined under the statewide stay-at-home order.
To the credit of TCRD’s member institutions, we had already begun to envision the type and frequency of virtual engagement to expand our physical locale to a global audience.
The shift to virtual communication was thrust upon many of us, along with the requisite ‘zoom-fatigue’ just around the corner as we all began to conduct business from home offices and backyards. One might inquire what a research district, defined by a physical boundary, does when the very fabric of our physical work is drastically changed?
Our primary effort in 2020 was emboldened by work-from-home; we newly re-engaged by presenting our virtual board meetings as an opportunity to convene and share individual strategies to overcome socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19. We refreshed the Tri-Cities Research District website with a focus on partnership, collaboration and workforce development in our target sectors.
The TCRD eNews was expanded to a monthly publication for the bulk of 2020 to replicate the conversations and idea-sharing in the events we could not sponsor in person. Finally, we came together to launch www.discoverrichland.com, a resource sponsored by the Port of Benton and City of Richland to recruit, advertise and share the story of technical innovation in our community.
Discover Richland focuses on the shared target sectors of Clean Energy, Agribusiness and Research & Innovation; distilled from the broad sectors of companies located within and surrounding TCRD’s boundaries. While focusing on the intersection of those sectors in North Richland as a result of the physical location of the Research District, the resource itself represents the distribution of industry throughout the region and state. Discover Richland paints a picture of the veins of industry that establish Tri-Cities as a major crossroads contributing to cost-effective intermodal transit, affordable carbon-free energy production and a powerhouse of agricultural production feeding the nation.
We continue to look to regional socioeconomic growth as we slowly emerge from COVID-19, and place great importance on the successes of our region in measuring how we can provide valuable resources in 2021. Industrial and commercial property remains a strong and desirable asset to develop; industrial and commercial flex space saw very little decrease in demand throughout 2020, with 2,500 to 5,000 square feet the most requested unit size. With corresponding residential real estate demand in Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and West Richland, we see a strong housing market to support the further creation of jobs and startup enterprise that can be nimble and responsive to the economy.
To respond to the demand in our community, we are exploring financing and grants to develop new commercial flex space that will complement what the private sector has built for the market. With pre-existing demand for approximately 7,500 – 14,000-square-foot innovation and commercialization center, as was identified within the TCRD 2006 Master Plan, we feel confident that we can aid in preleasing sufficient space to justify an economy of scale to develop additional shell-only attached bays.
We’re looking forward to a strong recovery in 2021 and remain positioned to convene partners with the acumen to contribute to that recovery. Special thanks are due to our board of directors and the member organizations they represent. To learn more, follow us and our partners by visiting www.tricitiesresearchdistrict.org.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 12:05 AM with the headline " Tri-Cities Research District: Embracing digital communication and developing flexible space for innovation."