North Gateway power center to begin construction

Big box, attendant retailers to increase community growth

The intersection of Highway 17 and Patton Boulevard will be getting much, much busier.

Engineering plans are nearing completion for the construction of a new retail center, called North Gateway.

The project is planned as a "power center," which is a name typically given in the retail business to a center that can accommodate several big box retailers in one location, according to Kim Foster, corporate counsel for the Aero-Space Port International (ASPI) Group, which owns much of the property that retailers will ultimately locate on.

The list of targeted retailers includes stores such as Fred Meyers, Lowes and Costco along with several restaurants, banks and smaller retail stores.

"The responses of the big box retailers are very confidential until they make a decision, but the overall response has been positive, especially with the Home Depot making a first move," Foster said.

"I think it'd be a big asset to the community over all — Moses Lake and Grant County — in bringing in growth and a wider range of opportunities for our citizens to keep their dollars in Grant County through the businesses that might locate there," said Scott Clark, director of planning for Grant County. "In addition, it really provides an incentive for other growth to happen as a spin-off."

Terry Brewer, executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council, agreed with Clark's assessment.

"In some cases, for this community to grow, we're going to have to see more retail," Brewer said, stressing the need for more jobs in the area. "There are some things missing for a lot of people."

Garnering attention from some of the big box-type stores also makes the community a little more desirable for someone looking to move to Moses Lake to retire or a change in lifestyle, Brewer said.

"It just gives us more tools in our kit to attract business here," he said.

Foster said that each big box retailer typically employs 300 people, and also generates about $500,000 per year in tax revenue to the local jurisdiction, city or county.

"So that's a direct benefit they would have," he said of the area. "Perhaps the bigger benefit is that as we continue to aggressively pursue large new industrial employers like Boeing and their subcontractors, having major retail facilities enhances our chances of getting larger industrial projects. You're trying to create a quality of life environment that will attract those large scale industrial employers."

Infrastructure for the project will be completed this summer under financing provided by the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration through a $2.4 million grant awarded to Grant County, the city of Moses Lake and the GCEDC.

The grant funding will provide a five-lane commercial boulevard upgrade to existing Loring Drive, and a new three-lane extension of Owen Boulevard and Westover Drive. The project will also include sewer and water utilities as well as sidewalks, landscaping and street lighting. Grant County will administer the construction with assistance from the city of Moses Lake.

Foster said that the power center has been in the works for about a year. The grant was awarded in September and he said that the county and the city would complete preliminary engineering this week.

The project will go out for bid about July 1 and construction on the infrastructure will be completed later in the summer or early fall. The hope is to have the first stores open next spring, Foster said.