The hulking grain elevator that has loomed over West Clearwater Avenue since 1941 has new owners after an online auction closed with a final bid of $800,000, nearly double where bidding stood just an hour earlier.
Rob Duncan, Tyler Duncan and Troy Walker of Irrigation Specialists of Pasco won the Oct. 22 auction, topping a field of 24 bidders with an initial offer of $675,000 before a late round of bidding pushed the final price to $800,000, NBC Right Now reported.
The seller, Fortunato Inc., is led by Richland investors Rosemary and Fred Giacci, according to the Tri-City Herald. The sale was run by Pasco-based Musser Bros., which auctions commercial and agricultural property across the region.
A landmark with no public reserve
Musser Bros. did not disclose a reserve price before the auction, and the seller retained the right to reject bids, according to a Tri-City Herald story posted on NewsBreak. The winning bidders have until Nov. 24 to close the deal, after adding a 6% buyer's premium on top of the $800,000 sale price.
Scott Musser, president of Musser Bros., described the property's appeal in blunt terms to NBC Right Now: "That property is a very unique, one of a kind, iconic structure. A Tri-Cities landmark, for that matter. And it's not just a three bedroom, two bath home that's in a neighborhood with 500 other likekind properties."
What's on the 1.47 acres
The property at 6500 W. Clearwater Ave. includes a 10,000-square-foot warehouse, a 48-by-36-foot elevator base, a 16-by-30-foot drive-through bay and a 10-by-30-foot office addition, according to NBC Right Now's reporting on the sale. The site was built in 1941 as a General Mills Sperry Division facility to move local farmers' grain onto rail cars, according to property records cited by the Tri-Cities Business News. The elevator has a capacity of 200,000 bushels, NewsTalk 870 reported.
It hasn't stored grain in years. Instead, the Giaccis' company drew roughly $53,000 to $60,000 a year from leasing the warehouse space and renting rooftop space to cell carriers for antennas, the Herald and NBC Right Now both reported. One set of antenna dishes was removed from the roof in the middle of the auction, though neither outlet detailed why or whether other carrier leases will continue under the new owners.
Zoning leaves the door open
The property's current commercial zoning allows a range of retail and professional uses under Kennewick's development code. Musser floated ideas including self-storage, retail space or even a restaurant, according to NBC Right Now's earlier coverage ahead of the auction. Neither Irrigation Specialists nor Duncan or Walker has issued a public statement about plans for the site.
The elevator has functioned for decades as an informal landmark on the west end of Kennewick, a visual marker for drivers heading in and out of town. Gale Metcalf, a longtime volunteer with the East Benton County Historical Society, told the Tri-Cities Business News that the surrounding roads were once used for drag racing, back when the area was still largely undeveloped. NewsTalk 870 noted the structure was long considered the unofficial western edge of Kennewick in the 1960s.
What happens next depends on the Nov. 24 closing deadline and whatever permits, if any, Irrigation Specialists files with the city of Kennewick afterward. For now, the tower that generations of Tri-Citians have used to gauge their place on West Clearwater Avenue stays put — its future use still an open question.
