RICHLAND, Wash. — Built around 60 years ago, Richland’s old Economy Inn is now coming down. Demolition began a couple of weeks ago, removing hazardous materials that were in or around the inn.
“The old Economy Inn had fallen into disrepair, had attracted a clientele that didn't match the city's expectations, and so we had the opportunity to purchase the property, and we did,” explained Joe Schiessl, Deputy City Manager with Richland.
One busy Richland corner will look a bit different, as soon as the decades-old Economy Inn is removed from the ground.
“The objective is to tear it down and beautify the space,” said Schiessl.
That process has started, with crews working to remove the motel after years of wear and tear. The city is planning on replacing the building, and has suggested it as a new location for an older Richland fire station.
“Fire Station 71 is our downtown station, it’s our oldest station, and at some point, in the middle term, we will replace that station and this will be the location for that,” said Schiessl.
Driving by, you may see the heavy machinery and demolition equipment at the old Economy Inn, for at least a couple of weeks.
“But by the end of spring, we hope to have it completely finished and landscaped and green. We'll plant some trees on the site in locations that will accommodate the future of our stations,” said Schiessl.
That green space will remain until new construction starts on whatever the city decides to put on the corner of George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue.
Rylee Fitzgerald joins the KAPP/KVEW team as a multimedia journalist as her first job in journalism after graduating college. She graduated from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University with a degree in Journalism and Media Production in May 2022.
She started her journalism career at Hanford High School in Richland where she spent four years on the Falcon Report broadcasting team. She is an ardent writer and is typically found hunched over her computer writing either her novel, or a news story. With her love for writing, and her high school experience in broadcasting, nothing made more sense than to continue studying journalism in college.
Rylee finished her degree in just three years as an ambassador for the communication college, a producer for a Cable 8 Productions series, a camera operator for CougVision, and an MMJ for Murrow News 8. She spent a summer as a news intern at our sister station, KXLY, in Spokane before her senior year at WSU.
Rylee was born and raised in Tri-Cities, and eagerly comes back home after finishing college. She has a lot of pride for eastern Washington, as it’s the only place she’s ever called home.
