The pace is picking up at Vista Field, which had two groundbreakings in the last 30 days as an eye care clinic and bridal boutique plan to make the Port of Kennewick-owned land home.

Plans for the 103-acre site at the heart of Kennewick have been in the works for a long time, and now the first few businesses have begun building, with more on the way.

Columbia Point Eye Care’s development broke ground on May 13. 

Owners Brandon Furness and Royce Barney bought the 6737 Azure Drive property in March, with plans for a 7,000-square-foot building to include medical offices, optical retail and 1,500 square feet of retail tenant space.

Construction on the clinic is expected to wrap up this fall.

At the May 13 event, Furness said they had originally hoped to build a clinic in 2019, but their plans were derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It took them a little while to regroup and find the right location, “but we feel like we’ve found it here, and we’re really excited,” Furness said. “When we first met with Amber (Hanchette) from the port, we were able to see the vision of this area and what it could be, and we’re really excited to be a part of it.”

The first project to break ground at Vista Field was Japanese restaurant Kuki Izakaya, breaking ground in November 2024.

Dirt began moving on Blueberry Bridal Boutique’s lot at 625 Crosswind Blvd. in April.

While Blueberry Bridal might not have been the first business to start building at Vista Field, it was one of the first to declare its intentions, said Tim Arntzen, Port of Kennewick’s CEO, at the April 17 groundbreaking. Owner Amber Keller was “the first in to show some faith in our project here,” he said. 

For Keller, who opened the Blueberry Bridal Boutique at 8901 Tucannon Ave., Suite 155, Kennewick, in 2018, “when it came time to dream even bigger, Vista Field was the only space I considered,” she said. “I believe deeply in this community and what’s being created here. It’s more than just a development. It’s about intention, growth and beauty.”

The port’s plans for developing Vista Field have been strategic. 

“Sometimes you have to kind of, you know, take a deep breath and hold the course and not jump at maybe the first thing that comes along, not modify your plans to water down the community vision,” Arntzen said. “The port commission’s been really, really good at that, at helping keep the vision.”

That vision includes transforming Vista Field into a walkable regional town center with both residential and commercial developments. 

Keller plans a 4,000-square-foot wedding boutique, which will feature viewing and photography areas, a mezzanine, a grand staircase and limited private event space, with construction expected to wrap up by the end of the year.

The recent groundbreakings kicked off an exciting season for the port and for Vista Field. Arntzen said they’ll likely see three or four more groundbreakings this summer. 

The Port of Kennewick also recently entered into an agreement with BlueChart LLC for the developer to build upwards of 300 single-family homes. Construction on that project could start by next summer.