windermere tri-cities

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS
 
June 30, 2011 
 
 
Top 10 real estate boomtowns: 2020
U.S. population projected to jump 8.9% in next decade
By Andrea V. Brambila
Inman News™

The U.S. population will rise 8.9 percent between 2010 and 2020 to 337.1 million, according to projections from data analysis firm ProximityOne.

The firm’s estimates take into account results from the 2010 census as well as historical birth, death, migration and economic data. According to the 2010 census, the nation’s inhabitants grew to 308.7 million between 2000 and 2010, a 9.7 percent increase.

The 10 metro areas expected to see the biggest jumps in population between 2010 and 2020 are mostly in states that experienced increases of between 15 percent and 25 percent in the last decade: North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Georgia, Idaho and Colorado.

Rank    Metro area Pop. 2010  Pop. 2020 (projected)  % change
1 Raleigh-Cary, N.C.    1,140,057   1,546,556  35.7%
2 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash.  255,485   345,779  35.3%
3 Austin-Round Rock, Texas   1,729,845   2,302,813  33.1%
4 Provo-Orem, Utah    530,931   700,234  31.9%
5 Hinesville-Fort Stewart, Ga.   78,595    102,769  30.8%
6 Logan, Utah-Idaho    126,348   163,550  29.4%
7 Grand Junction, Colo.   147,759   190,114  28.7%
8 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas  779,858   992,706  27.3%
9 Idaho Falls, Idaho    131,198   166,378  26.8%
10 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.  1,769,001   2,236,368  26.4%

Source: ProximityOne

At the top, the Raleigh-Cary, N.C., metro area is expected to see a 35.7 percent rise in population by 2020, after a 41.8 percent rise between 2000-10. The area’s economy is buoyed by a relatively young population attracted to the area’s universities and research facilities.

“Raleigh (has) always been a hot spot for growth and relocation. It doesn’t surprise me that we are slated for tremendous growth,” said Sheri Moritz, broker at Keller Williams Preferred Realty in Raleigh.

“We have many great (businesses) in the area producing jobs that will eventually relocate people to the area.”

Even so, “I have not seen a huge surge in relocation and out-of-town buyers yet,” she added. If that population growth materializes, Moritz expects housing prices to rise as a result of limited inventory in the area, except in high-end homes.

Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash., is expected to see the second-biggest population increase by 2020 (35.3 percent), following a 32.6 percent jump between 2000-10. Chosen as one of

Inman News’ “10 Real Estate Markets to Watch in 2011″ in March, the area has a relatively low unemployment rate (7.3 percent in April) and a multi-industry economy.

“We are a transportation hub with rail, barge traffic and (a) freeway network. Our economy includes agriculture, with its growing grape/wine market, high-tech companies like Infinia, which manufactures generators powered by the sun’s energy, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, and the Hanford Project,” said Don Havre, broker at The Real Estate Firm in Kennewick, in that report.

That the Austin metro area was No. 3 on the list did not surprise Texas Discount Realty broker Aaron Farmer.

“I am starting to see a lot more out of state license plates driving around Austin. Austin has a diverse economy with a strong government and education base of jobs … but we are seeing a lot more tech companies moving here or increasing their presence,” Farmer said. 

“Facebook has an office here now, as does Google. Something that has been sometimes overlooked is that we also have a large tourist industry building up. We have many cool festivals like South by Southwest and Austin City Limits. We are also the corporate headquarters for Homeaway.com, which is a vacation rental company.”

No. 4, Provo-Orem, Utah, offers a conservative college-town feel and lifestyle fed by Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University, said Kib Jensen, a REALTOR® and consultant at TRH Property Group in Provo.

“I see a diverse group moving in, from former (Utahans) moving back to raise their families, to Latino families looking for a good place to raise their families, to others who are moving here to take a new or better job and take advantage of the great recreational outdoors Utah offers,” Jensen said.

The oil and gas industry helped spur an influx in population in Grand Junction, Colo., in the early 2000s, said Ron Fleenor, broker associate at Keller Williams Grand Junction Realty. The area’s population rose 25.8 percent between 2000 and 2010. For the past few years, however, those industries have been moving to areas such as North Dakota. That may mean unemployment will hamper population growth in Grand Junction, Fleenor said. The area’s unemployment stood at 9.6 percent in April, compared with 8.3 percent in Colorado as a whole, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“If the oil and gas industry does not return to the area soon, the situation will even be worse than it is now. There would have to be a serious increase in available jobs coming to this area in the next couple of years for our population to increase at all,” Fleenor said.

Of 366 metro areas, 43 are expected to experience population loss in the next decade. Of the

10 areas expected to lose the biggest share of people, most are in the former Rust Belt.

Nearly all — except for the Crestview metro area in Florida, and Jackson, Mich. — saw their populations drop between 2000 and 2010.

 Source: ProximityOne

windermere tri-cities

Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar, a Spokane-based, family-owned company, will open a Kennewick location at Columbia Center in the fall.

Trevor Blackwell, Twigs director of operations, said the company has leased about 7,600 square feet between Talbots and Ann Taylor Loft and will begin remodeling within a few weeks.

“We are shooting to open in late September or early October,” Blackwell said.

Vandervert Construction will remodeling the space, which will include an outdoor patio, a bar, restaurant seating, an exhibition kitchen and a private banquet room.

“It will have unique lighting fixtures and a liquor tower that goes up to the ceiling,” Blackwell said.

Initially, the Blackwell family, which owns five Twigs locations in the Spokane area, had planned to put the first Tri-Cities Twigs in Richland. But plans for the building they were going to lease, which was to be built next to the Hampton Inn in Richland, were shelved due to the recession.

In the interim, the Blackwells opened a Twigs restaurant in the Spokane Valley Mall — a location that has been very successful for them.

“We learned a lot about the built-in traffic (at the Spokane Valley Mall), and we liked that,” said Blackwell. “We saw the numbers that Columbia Center had and thought that would be a good next step for us as we continue to grow.”

Blackwell said opening the Columbia Center location will allow the company to gain some name recognition and build its reputation in the area. If successful, that could lead to more Twigs being built in the Tri-Cities in the future.

“Everyone in Spokane knows what Twigs is,” said Blackwell. “Getting the name of Twigs out into the Tri-Cities will be important for our success.”

The Blackwells opened the first Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar in Spokane a decade ago.  Now the family has four Twigs restaurants, Twigs at the Spokane Valley Mall, Twigs Downtown at River Park Square, Twigs South Hill at Regal Pond and Twigs Wandermere, in the Wandermere Business Park. The Blackwells also own Stix Bar & Grill on Nevada Drive in Spokane. And overall, they employ about 300 workers, Blackwell said.

Blackwell said the company prides itself on offering an inviting atmosphere paired with a fresh, diverse value-driven menu that keeps customers coming back.

“We don’t want to be a destination restaurant that people come to only on special occasions,” he said. “We keep it affordable so people will dine with us as often as they can.”

The Twigs menu changes seasonally, but offers a variety of soups, appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, entrees and desserts. From the Moroccan beef to Twigs gorgonzola fries to its Under the Sun pizza, there’s something to please any palate, he said.  The Kennewick location will also offer breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

Blackwell said the company will likely bring a few people from its other restaurants to create the management team for Columbia Center, which will have about 90 employees.

For more information about Twigs, go to www.twigsbistro.com.

——————————————————————————–

 by Mary Hopkin
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

windermere tri-cities

TRIDEC Requests Hanford Land for Economic Growth
The Tri-City Development Council asked the Department of Energy on Tuesday for 1,341 acres of Hanford land next to Richland city limits for economic development.
“TRIDEC intends this to be the first of several requests which will help offset future Hanford staff reductions,” wrote Carl Adrian, TRIDEC president, in a letter to Matt McCormick, manager of the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office.
The letter also pointed out that DOE has a long history of turning over Hanford land to community interests, leading to significant economic growth in the Hanford area and creation of jobs.

TRIDEC was joined in the latest request by the city of Richland, the Port of Benton and Benton County.
The request has the support of Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both D-Wash., and Rep.

Doc Hastings, R-Wash., plus the Tri-Cities state legislative delegation, all of whom sent letters of support to DOE.
“Lands no longer needed for cleanup should not be locked away by the federal government into perpetuity,” wrote Hastings. “In order to attract private investment and private sector jobs, portions of these land must be made available for transfer — and not limited to federal leases.”
The Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Hanford calls for most land in the 586 square mile nuclear reservation to be used for preservation or conservation as environmental cleanup is completed from the past production of weapons plutonium.
However, 10 percent of the land is planned for industrial use.
TRIDEC is requesting land bordered by Horn Rapids Road on the south and Stevens Drive on the east. The land primarily was used as a buffer area for parts of the nuclear reservation where plutonium production occurred. Before World War II, it was used for farming.

The parcel is one of the few “mega-sites” — a site larger than 500 acres — available for industrial use in Washington, according to the TRIDEC request. In the Tri-Cities, there are no other large and contiguous parcels of land near distribution systems to support industries that require a large manufacturing space or buffer areas for development and safe operations, the request said.

The site has access to large energy transmission distribution lines and switch yards, rail lines, ocean-going barges and major freeway systems.
TRIDEC and its partners are proposing dividing it into a 900-acre site, which would support one or two large enterprises providing 2,000 to 3,000 jobs combined. In addition three smaller 100- to 200-acre sites would support another 400 to 500 jobs combined.
“These new jobs will help directly offset the coming downturn in employment at the Hanford site as the cleanup mission nears completion,” the request said.
Hanford has about 12,000 workers, but 1,600 jobs are expected to be cut as most of federal economic stimulus money is spent by the end of September.
“The Tri-Cities also recognizes that Congressional funding cuts and completion of cleanup along the Columbia River will lead to an additional 1,000 or more jobs being reduced from Hanford before 2015,” the request said.

TRIDEC already has had interest from an undisclosed international firm looking for a large site. If the company selects the Tri-City site, it would invest at least $2 billion to develop a plant and would want to own the site rather than lease it.
TRIDEC is requesting transfer of the land at below market value because of the cost of improvements needed. Those include road, sewer, water and electrical infrastructure.  The request Tuesday for the 1,341 acres is the first of three that TRIDEC plans to request in the next five years.
“This could obviously be a big first step for the community in helping determine a piece of the post-cleanup future of the Hanford site,” said Colleen French, DOE Hanford government affairs program manager.
DOE Hanford officials have 90 days to review the TRIDEC proposal and decide if transferring the land is in the government’s best interest, she said.
In addition to replying to TRIDEC then, Hanford officials also will forward their recommendation to DOE headquarters. If the proposal moves forward, it would need approval by the energy secretary and then would be sent to Congress.
TRIDEC points out that DOE and other federal agencies have a long history of successfully releasing land to community interests, starting in 1958 when Richland went from being a “company” town owned by DOE for Hanford employees to a municipality with privately owned homes.
 

The Richland airport and hundreds of acres of nearby land were released to the Port of Benton starting in 1962. The Corps of Engineers also sold 290 acres to the port in 1961 for $100,000, leading to the development of a major dock used by the U.S. Navy for unloading nuclear materials bound for Hanford.
Camp Hanford and the 1100 Area of Hanford also have been released to community interests.

Now what was once federal land is home to Energy Northwest headquarters, InnovaTek, Battelle and Washington State University Tri-Cities.
In addition, 6,000 acres of former Hanford land west of Stevens Drive and south of Horn Rapids Road now is home to companies such as ATI Allvac Specialty Metals, PermaFix and Areva. Businesses on the acreage employ about 1,000 workers.

The proposal was put together by the following team Gary Ballew (City of Richland), Diahann

Howard (Port of Benton), Adam Fyall (Benton County), and Gary Petersen (TRIDEC).