RICHLAND, Wash. – Construction is humming along at the Wine Science Center, a $23 million building being built at the campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities in the heart of Washington wine country.
When completed, the Wine Science Center will be the center of research and education for the state wine industry. It is being built by the city of Richland on land donated by the Port of Benton. When it is finished, the land and building will be given to the university.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a WSU graduate, got the opportunity to tour the construction site Wednesday. The tour was led by Jeff Stewart of Lydig Construction Co. in Spokane, who is the Wine Science Center project superintendent. She was joined on the tour by WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor H. Keith Moo-Young along with members of the state wine industry and city and port officials.
Stewart told Great Northwest Wine that construction should be largely completed in October, a year after ground was broken on the project. The first grapes will be crushed in the working winery during harvest 2015.
Following are artists’ renditions of what the completed building will look like, along with photos from Wednesday’s tour.
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