Mighty Tieton

History

Ed Marquand first rode into Tieton in April 2005, while exploring the Yakima area on his bike. In an abandoned parking lot behind what is now the Tieton Lofts, he ran into a patch of goat head thorns that flattened his tires. He spent the afternoon in Tieton Park in the center of town repairing them. The town sparked his imagination.

Marquand is the owner of Marquand Books in Seattle, a high-end art book publisher. His ties to the Central Washington area go back nearly twenty years, when he built a cabin about fifteen miles from Tieton.

His initial research revealed that Tieton’s economic base was depressed, the real estate in the town was declining in value, and the area itself was safe and pleasant but lacking in economic opportunity. The traditional orchard industry was still strong but no longer structured to support single families as it had been earlier in the twentieth century.

Since Marquand's first trip here, he and his associates have invested heavily in Tieton real estate and the development of buildings close to the town’s center.

Kerry Quint is the Mighty Tieton projects manager. He and Marquand were art students together in the early 1970s. Quint ran a shipyard in Seattle for many years. When he retired, Marquand asked him to manage the Mighty Tieton projects.

Architect Philip Christofides proposed that a fruit warehouse be converted into fourteen live/work condominium spaces. Tieton Lofts were completed and fully occupied in 2008.

Several buildings have been refurbished, including Harvest Hall, Mighty Tieton Warehouse, and Marquand Editions Bindery. Several more buildings are available for upgrade and development.

See Mighty Tieton Properties