November 2022 Volume 21 | Issue 11
Pasco road deal signals the start of development at Broadmoor By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
Labor & Employment
Union electricians, contractors to build $7.5 million training center in Kennewick Page A23
Business Profile
Kennewick business designs custom clothes for canines Page A32
Real Estate & Construction
Brewery to open second location with restaurant, patio, river views Page B1
NOTEWORTHY “Let people know we haven’t forgotten about the women. We’ve spent almost a million dollars already. That’s a lot of money to us.” -Andrew Porter, executive director, Union Gospel Mission, on building a women’s shelter in Kennewick.
Page A13
The ink was barely dry on a $39 million road improvement plan for Pasco’s Broadmoor area when Big Sky Developers dispatched excavators. Big Sky’s heavy equipment as much as anything signifies development is coming to Broadmoor, the 1,200-plus acre collection of sand dunes that has long been the spot where Pasco envisions homes, stores, offices and recreation amenities to serve its growing population. The city extended sewer lines to the area in 2019. And on Halloween, the city council signed off on a bond package that will upgrade area roads, including the Broadmoor-Interstate 182 interchange, to keep up with traffic levels. Rumors about development have swirled since land first went up for sale in 2018. Now, they’re giving way to actual projects. Big Sky, owned by David Greeney and Brad Seabaugh, is among the first to move dirt at the site of The Dunes, a 222-lot subdivision. The duo are well known in west Pasco, where they developed 350 to 400 half-acre and acresized lots north of Burns Road. The road runs between the residential neighborhoods with oversized lots to the north and city-scale development envisioned at Broadmoor on the south. Big Sky has a project with one-acre lots to the north. The Dunes is directly across Burns and will offer smaller lots for homes hooked up to city water and sewer service. It paid $5.4 million for the site in April and began preparing to break ground when the infrastructure package passed. The Dunes is a significant shift for Greeney and Seabaugh, who built their business creating lots for county-style living, usually served by septic systems rather than sewers. The future is density, Greeney said. “The city is trending, at least in Pasco, to have smaller lots and more density. It’s what came up and what’s available,” Greeney explained. Big Sky Developers turns bare land into buildable lots, which it sells to homebuilders. Its cusuBROADMOOR, Page A11
Courtesy Grace Clinic Cardiologist Dr. Iyad Jamali checks Angela’s pulse at Grace Clinic during a followup visit. He volunteers at Grace Clinic and practices at Kadlec Clinic – Inland Cardiology in Richland. Angela’s last name was not released to protect her privacy.
Majority of Grace Clinic’s patients have jobs but no insurance By Laura Kostad
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
The majority of the patients Grace Clinic serves work hard at their jobs to make ends meet – but they don’t have health insurance. They arrive at the Kennewick clinic seeking free medical care offered by a team of compassionate medical professionals who volunteer their time. “Most of our patients, and many of our volunteers, work at local businesses … By offering free health care, we are literally strengthening the workforce by helping people work and care for their families,” said Avonte Jackson, Grace Clinic’s director. The Tri-Cities’ only free health care clinic turned 20 this summer and recently celebrat-
ed its 100,000th patient visit. “What’s important to understand is it’s 100,000 times someone walked in to access a service they wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Grace Clinic CEO Mark Brault, who was named the 2022 Tri-Citian of the Year.
Filling a community need The clinic provides free medical, urgent dental, mental health counseling, telehealth, prescription assistance and food pantry access to low-income residents of Benton and Franklin counties and Burbank, which is in Walla Walla County. Their patients’ annual income must be at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or $55,500 for a family of four. uGRACE CLINIC, Page A3
Kid-focused luggage turns tots into airport rock stars By Laura Kostad
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
A Richland business has figured out a way to inject more fun into travel for kids. When Wesley and Yen Brown started traveling internationally with their then 8-monthold son, Keanu, they were quick to jump on products to smooth the transition from home to airport to destination. “We turned to creating something because we weren’t finding what we were looking for,” Wesley said. “As stressful as it is for parents to travel with children, it’s stressful for the kids too, so we wanted to create something fun, whimsi-
cal,” he said. While at an airport bar in Japan, the couple began sketching on the proverbial napkin a new idea for taking the tedium out of traversing airport terminals: a parent-powered rideon suitcase designed specifically for kids. Their Younglingz business was born. They call the kid-friendly luggage the Lil Flyer. Intended for kids aged 2 and older, and up to 50 pounds (max total load weight including suitcase contents is 80 pounds), the hard-sided suitcases feature a padded seat, seatbelt and sturdy 360-degree swivel wheels for a smooth ride over most surfaces – even uYOUNGLINGZ, Page A4
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