A Spokane builder that has taken on an increasing number of high-profile construction projects in the Tri-Cities in recent years is looking to build a more permanent home for its operations in the area.

Port of Pasco commissioners recently accepted a letter of intent from Gen4 Properties LLC of Spokane for two lots encompassing an acre at the Tri-Cities Airport Business Center. Gen4 Properties is affiliated with Bouten Construction, which would be the tenant of the future building, according to port documents.

Details of the potential sale price for the property were not disclosed. Gen4 has 90 days to complete its feasibility process for the property, during which the port will not entertain any other offers on it.

“This is the culmination of more than a year of focused site selection around the region,” port staff wrote in the memo to commissioners.

Bouten’s resume of projects in the Tri-Cities is long and includes work on the Tri-Cities Airport terminal expansion, for the Kennewick and Richland school districts, multiple projects for Kadlec Regional Medical Center and the new Prosser Memorial Hospital.

It also is the lead contractor on the soon-to-open Pasco Aquatics Facility and Columbia Valley Center for Recovery in Kennewick.

The company reported 2025 contract revenue of $183 million. It currently leases office space in the professional building at 1060 Jadwin Ave. in Richland. Bouten President Tim Thomas told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business that the company has had a presence in the Tri-Cities since the 1950s but first established a permanent office in the area in 2009. It currently has 25 professional working out of the Tri-Cities.

"We just thought it was time to have our own space that we can grow into," Thomas said.

Port staff also said that Bouten likely would seek an exception to the port’s covenants for the Tri-Cities Airport Business Center, which are intended to maintain a professional-class business park. Those include a restriction on storage yards for equipment and materials. Commissioners did not take any action related to that matter, though port staff told commissioners said Gen4 Properties LLC is aware it may be requiring privacy fencing and/or landscape screening if the port agrees to an exception.

3/10/26 Noon: This story was updated to correct the address for Bouten Construction's current Tri-Cities office, clarify Gen4 Properties relationship to Bouten, update Bouten's contract revenue and add comments from Bouten President Tim Thomas.