The first phase of construction on the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser was recently completed. The first phase included bringing utilities out to the site, putting in lighting, limited landscaping and paving the parking lot.

By ELENA OLMSTEAD

What once stood as a simple piece of land overlooking the Yakima River in Prosser is slowly turning into something iconic. 

For the past several years work has been going on behind the scenes to create the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center, a facility that will celebrate the area’s winemaking history. But in the last year the site has started to undergo a physical transformation. 

Over the summer the first phase of development started at the site said Robin Struyvenberg, an Issaquah-based consultant working on the Walter Clore Center project. 

She said phase one of the project included putting in needed water and sewer lines and bringing electricity out to the site. 

She said there was also some limited landscaping done and the parking lot for the facility was paved.

Now those working on the project are quickly moving onto phase two. Struyvenberg said they have put out a request for proposal to contractors for work on creating the facility’s outdoor events center. 

She said the outdoor events center will feature large open spaces, a catering kitchen and restrooms.

Once the outdoor area is completed, Struyvenberg said, people will be able to use the grounds for various events, including the Prosser Wine and Food Fair which plans to relocate to the location once phase two is finished in summer 2010.

Struyvenberg said the center’s structure will be completed as phase three of the project. 

She said currently they are waiting to see if they will receive a federal economic development association grant they applied for. 

If they receive the $2.5 million grant, they should know by the end of the year, then they plan on quickly moving forward with the construction of the wine and culinary center.

Jack Chapman, co-president of the center’s executive board, said he’s very excited about the progress being made on the project and the possibilities of receiving the federal grant.

He said they are hopeful news on the grant application will be positive. And if it is, he said they plan on starting construction of the center in early 2011.

As for the project itself, Chapman said he’s happy to be a part of it.

“It’s going to represent the entire wine industry,” he said of the center.

He said the center will showcase the story of how the wine industry came to be in Central Washington and the stories and history lessons that even people living in the area might not be aware of.