Kennewick

When tending to their plot in Hansen Park’s community garden or strolling down its quiet streets, one might forget how close this southwest Kennewick neighborhood is to bustling retail and popular restaurants. Rows of densely populated suburban streetscapes are flanked by verdant lawns and recently built homes. At this community’s eastern edge, its namesake park invites local families to picnic and play just around the corner from home. This close-knit residential environment is just 2 miles away from the shopping centers along Columbia Center Boulevard and a block away from the local elementary and middle schools. With shopping, schooling and green scenery all within immediate reach, suburban Hansen Park offers homebuyers both quiet and convenience. Hansen Park is largely a product of the last 20 years, with most of its homes tracing their construction to the years 2003–2019. Ranch-style homes share tranquil residential streets with larger New Traditional buildings, with the largest houses occupying a 4,600-square-foot lot. Older ranch-style residences can sell for between $320,000 and $500,000, while newer New Traditional residences with large lot sizes trend between $550,000 and $920,000. This neighborhood’s streets run alongside sidewalks, sizeable front lawns and paved driveways, and red and green trees add extra color to the community’s verdant character. Hansen Park’s up-and-coming popularity as a quiet residential area has led to continued homebuilding in this community, with new apartment complexes currently being built at Hansen Park’s southern end. Hansen Park takes its name from a “Y”-shaped green space at the neighborhood’s eastern end. Here, a playground, a picnic shelter, paved walking paths and a community garden invite locals to stroll, play and plant just around the corner from home. Hansen Park is, by design, a quiet alternative to busier parks with regular events. “Community members have a plot at the community garden, and they can manage that plot and plant a few things,” says Kennewick Recreation Manager Brandon Lange. “We purposefully don’t have any events there; it’s one of the parks we keep as a non-program park and let the community enjoy that. We try to have a balance of parks with events and those with a natural feel.” Some residents, including those who live along Idaho and Hawaii Streets, have a small, heart-shaped lake as their backyard, and walking paths allow them to walk the loop around it. Hansen Park is situated just down Columbia Center Boulevard from major shopping centers like Columbia Square and the Columbia Center. Along the way to these malls, shoppers will pass Ranch & Home and Target department stores as well as a Lowe’s and HomeGoods. The Columbia Center is still a very busy retail hub, featuring a food court and a wide variety of shoe and athletic stores. Also along the boulevard is the Toyota Center, home to the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City Americans hockey team and a frequent concert venue. Closer to home, CG Public House and Catering and D’s Wicked Cider House pay homage to the Tri-Cities’ history as a center of Washington’s craft beer industry, with both brewpubs sitting just across Steptoe Street from Hansen Park’s western edge. Students can start their education at Ridge View Elementary School, located just a block east of Hansen Park, before going on to attend Desert Hills Middle School at the neighborhood’s other end. Ridge View has a B-plus rating on Niche, while Desert Hills receives a B. Kamiakin High School, given a B rating, is also recognized by Niche as being among the top 5 best public high schools in the Tri-Cities region and among the top tenth of high schools for athletics in the state. Named for the Yakima chief Kamiakin, this school’s “Braves” football program brings out intense school spirit during games against their rivals at Pasco High School. This school also offers a Running Start dual enrollment program with Columbia Basin College in Pasco, an initiative free of charge to participants. Most of Hansen Park’s residents drive, making use of Steptoe Street, Columbia Center Boulevard and State Route 240 to get around the Tri-Cities area. Commuters can also take the 48 bus to the Three Rivers Transit Center, an approximately 6-minute drive to the north, to access grocery and retail conveniences near Columbia Square.

While Kennewick’s Canyon Lakes neighborhood may be divided between 55-plus sections and all-ages residential areas, golf brings this community together. Canyon Lakes takes its name from the sprawling public golf course at its core, which has been ranked the best in Washington’s Tri-Cities by Golf Digest for 11 years in a row. Around this course lay hundreds of homes with diverse styles and verdant yards, while shopping and restaurant conveniences immediately border this neighborhood. With recreation at the center of the neighborhood and retail along its periphery, Canyon Lakes puts suburban relaxation and main-street shopping at the fingertips of its residents. Canyon Lakes’ housing makeup is diverse in both aesthetics and purpose. At the neighborhood’s eastern edge, The Village at Canyon Lakes consists entirely of 55-plus housing, most of them townhouses that sell for between $320,000 and $420,000. Other senior residents reside at the Brookdale Canyon Lakes and Fleur De’ Lis Homes assisted living facilities. The rest of the neighborhood is home to all kinds of residents, including younger families. Condos here range in value from $350,000 to $530,000, while New Traditional homes and custom builds can vary in price from $400,000 to $900,000. Canyon Lakes’ streetscapes are quiet, with warrens of residential lanes branching off from Canyon Lakes Drive. These side-streets have sidewalks, paved driveways and blooming front yards with hedges, trees of all colors and spacious lawns. The neighborhood of Canyon Lakes wraps around the Canyon Lakes Golf Course, which has frequently ranked among the top value golf courses in the country. This 18-hole, par-72 public golf course is rated 4.5/5 stars by Golf Digest, partly due to the 12th hole being the largest green in the Pacific Northwest. Golfers can dine at the course’s The Edge Steakhouse and Sports Bar, and the course’s Champions Room frequently hosts private events like weddings and company parties. For a more laid-back experience, Canyon Lakes Park has plenty of green space for family outings. “Canyon Lakes Park is tiny, and we don’t do many events there. We try to have a balance of parks with events and those with a natural feel,” Kennewick Recreation Manager Brandon Lange says. “There are a few amenities there, like a small picnic shelter and a tennis and pickleball court.” A walking path surrounds this park and welcomes visitors to take a stroll in the shade of dozens of trees. Residents aren’t far from Horse Heaven Hills Park, whose 20 acres include softball, tennis, soccer and playground areas, and from the popular Southridge Sports and Events Complex. This complex includes the Gesa Carousel of Dreams, an antique carousel that continues to entertain families a century later. Canyon Lakes is situated next to a major concentration of shopping on 27th Avenue, where shoppers can pick up groceries and home goods from Walmart and The Home Depot, catch a movie at Fairchild Cinemas and dine at both chain and local restaurants. Dagupan Grill has a mission of providing diners with “a taste of the Philippines,” with a broad menu reflecting Luzon’s diverse recipes. Just three blocks east of Canyon Lakes Drive, the Southridge Dugout Bar & Grill provides visitors with a sporty environment, highly acclaimed cheese curds and a taste of the Tri-Cities’ thriving craft beer scene. Students can start their education at Sage Crest Elementary School, given a B-plus rating by Niche, before attending the B-minus-rated Chinook Middle School and Southridge High School, which receives a B-plus. Niche ranks Southridge High among the top three public high schools in the Tri-Cities, and the school offers strong extracurriculars from music to football. Students can also take AP classes and engineering technology courses to prepare themselves for their post-secondary futures. Most Canyon Lakes residents drive to their destinations, although - just a block north of the neighborhood - travelers can hop on the 47 bus if they wish to access the shopping conveniences at the Columbia Center 8 miles to the northwest. The Trios Care Center’s Southridge campus is just 2 miles west of the neighborhood and across Highway 395, which offers easy access to the rest of the Tri-Cities.