Housing Growth Surges in SW Grant County, Washington in the Mattawa and Desert Aire Areas

MATTAWA, Wash., Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Port of Mattawa, housing growth has been surging over the past three years in southwest Grant County, Washington in the Mattawa and Desert Aire communities, which sit along the Columbia River in central Washington between Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams.

In particular, since late 2019, there have been 112 new apartments (2, 3, & 4 bedroom apartments) built in the City of Mattawa. In addition, from 2019 to today in 2022, 191 new residential units have been built in surrounding areas around the City of Mattawa, including but not limited to Desert Aire. Furthermore, it was recently announced that a residential housing developer will be building 101 single family homes and duplexes on the north side of the City Mattawa. In total, over 300 new residential units (single family homes and apartments) have been built in the greater Mattawa area in the past years, with another 200 new residential units projected to be built in late 2022 and during 2023.

According to Washington State census data, the greater Mattawa area (Mattawa, Desert Aire, Beverly, etc.) is one of the faster growing rural communities in Washington State and has a population of nearly 10,000 people. Additionally, Mattawa is only a one-hour drive or less from several major communities in central Washington such as Moses Lake, Othello, Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, Yakima, Sunnyside, and Ellensburg, which have metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's) with a combined population of nearly 1 million people.

Lars Leland, the Executive Director of the Port of Mattawa, explained that the growth in housing in the Mattawa/Desert Aire area is very much needed to support the economic, commercial and tourism growth that has been occurring in southwest Grant County over the past several years.  Moreover, as Mattawa and Desert Aire are not far from I-90 and are very centrally located between the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Ellensburg, Moses Lake, and Wenatchee, the amount of freight and traffic that passes through the Mattawa/Desert Aire area on SR 243 has been increasing dramatically over the past few years. The increase in traffic and freight going to/from the Mattawa area in the last several years mirrors the surge of housing being built there.

For more information, please contact Lars Leland of the Port of Mattawa at 509-761-9734 or [email protected].

The Port of Mattawa is located in southwest Grant County on the Columbia River in Washington State and is the closest inland port in central/eastern Washington State to the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. Grant County is the top agricultural production county in Washington State, and Mattawa is a major producer of wine grapes, apples, cherries, potatoes and onions and other high-value irrigated crops. The Port offers ideal sites for wineries, food processors, fresh produce packing companies, cold storage facilities, small manufacturers, and is a prime location for agribusiness companies because of its central location in Washington State near major irrigated agricultural production areas including the Columbia Basin and the Yakima Valley. The Port of Mattawa is also very close to Interstate 90 and enjoys some of lowest-cost electricity in the United States from Grant County PUD.

SOURCE Port of Mattawa