23 Apr Vista Field Redevelopment Underway
The long-awaited urban town center is one step closer to reality.
On April 22, 2019, officials from Port of Kennewick, City of Kennewick, Benton County, and the port’s construction contractor Total Site Services, gathered with the community for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off phase one infrastructure for initial roads, utilities, streetscape, a commercial plaza, linear park, and water features.
Vista Field represents one of Washington state’s most extensive new-urbanism master plan endeavors and the most ambitious undertaking in the Port of Kennewick’s 104-year history. The community driven-development plan was years in planning. Every detail to come is the result of the community’s substantial and valuable feedback, and the close collaboration between the port, the City of Kennewick and other partners.
Redeveloping Vista Field is about addressing an identified need for gathering places; about creating connections for recreation; a density of development; about family activities and multi-generational neighborhoods. A place where small-scale streets and terminated vistas attract those wanting mixed-use neighborhoods. Where walking and biking and transit are embedded in the physical design. Where mom and pop, locally-derived specialty retailers and commercial ventures abound. Where parking is strategically tucked behind liner buildings – using architecture and scale to create a sense of place. Where thoughtful planning works to engage the public with civic spaces, and neighborhoods boast 24/7 vibrancy. Where a true mix of uses is celebrated; where linear parks and water features create unique livability; and arts and culture are celebrated as a powerful catalyst for economic development.
Phase one infrastructure will open nearly 20 acres for private development. Port of Kennewick will sell or lease parcels and then use those proceeds to fund each phase of infrastructure until all 103-acres are developed. At full build-out, Vista Field is expected to:
- Add 750,000 square feet of retail, office, service and entertainment
- Foster 1,100 residential units: single-family homes on urban sized lots; condominiums and apartments; live above/work below; multi-generational living
- Create three acres of parks and open spaces
- Fulfill 1% of the region’s anticipated growth over the next 20 years
- Infuse half a billion dollars in private sector investment!