Kennewick, Washington:
Finding the Right Use for a Former Big-Box Store

BH Properties acquired a former Wal-Mart in Kennewick, Washington, in a market where, given the local constraints on new development, the big box was sure to have many opportunities for re-use. To be successful as new owners, however, BH Properties needed to overcome certain challenges and find the right tenant mix.

The Kennewick property reflected a typical challenge of big boxes: their extreme depth. Because the majority of retailers do not want depth of 350-400 feet (not atypical among big-box retailers), some owners simply wall off the back part of the building, tear it down, or find alternative uses for it, such as storage. Instead, BH Properties relied on a patient and flexible approach as the key to finding the right tenants for the site.

It took nearly three years, but BH Properties succeeded in creating an innovative solution for the site. Instead of leaving the back end of the deep building to be underused, BH Properties first found a tenant for the back one-third of the building: a call center for a leading online retailer. The call center, a relatively large employer, required a lot of parking space. The majority of the front of the building was leased to indoor/outdoor equipment and accessories retailer GI Joe’s, and the remaining 30-40,000 square feet were cut up for smaller tenants who satisfy different needs for the local market.

Following a brightening refurbishment of the building and its parking lot, the building is almost fully occupied, and the call center tenant is creating dozens of jobs for the local community.