Background

The Tri-Cities Science & Technology Park Association was established in 1990 to capitalize on the breadth of expertise available in the business and technical organizations located in North Richland.  Numerous companies were involved in sophisticated and highly technical work in support of current government programs.   As the nature of the government work changed, innovative entreprenuers began new businesses and existing technical businesses shifted their own focus to remain viable.  The result was a packaging of these existing assets into a unique resource for regional business development that became the Tri-Cities Science & Technology Park.

The original by-laws stated that the primary purpose of the Park was to "bring together resources from government, education, and the private sector to foster the development, promotion, financing, and operation of technological and scientific applications for the benefit of economic development and diversification of the Tri-Cities area."

In 2007, the S&T park was renamed the Tri-Cities Research District.  The new District's planning and development is directed by a 15-member board comprised of major stakeholders, including the City of Richland, Battelle, Port of Benton, Solaris Group, LLC and Washington State University Tri-Cities. In addition to the name change, the board formally adopted new bylaws by which to proceed and agreed to focus on a smaller 1,600-acre area for development and recruiting tenants. The changes were based on recommendations from a study conducted by Angelou Economics. 

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