Kittitas County, CWU, and partners seek to improve region’s economic future

Kittitas County and the central Washington region will enter into an exciting new era of economic development later this month through a collaborative project with Central Washington University, designed to create a wide range of new and innovative business opportunities.

Thanks to a recent Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce, the project partners will complete a feasibility study and finalize plans to repurpose an unoccupied building across the street from the CWU campus.

The resulting vision and plan will enable engagement with investor partners to create a new technology transfer hub that could eventually lead to increased economic growth and more high-wage jobs across the region.

The phased modernization of the Old Heat facility, the historic steam plant that once warmed the CWU campus, will feature the development of a business incubator, plus research and development, and technological training spaces that will be used by entrepreneurs, businesses, and industries throughout central Washington.

CWU will be hosting a project kickoff event on Tuesday, April 29, called “Forging the Future: A Regional Collaboration for Innovation and Growth,” at the Old Heat facility, 509 E. University Way. The event will be held from 9-10 a.m., and members of the CWU and Ellensburg communities are invited to attend.

Rob Ogburn, Executive Director of CWU’s Business and Community Services (BCS) department, said the project partners also plan to expand programming for additional research and development, plus incubator space, throughout the facility.

“The opportunity to bring together networks of technology subject matter experts with investors and entrepreneurs is critical for the region,” he said. “The ability of our communities to make choices for our own future growth and resilience depends on supporting innovation and acceleration of ideas, both for new industries and for our existing businesses and industries. The wins from these interactions aren’t measured only in the number of new companies; this is also an opportunity for existing companies to find competitive advantage on a national and global level.”

Users of the upgraded Old Heat space will also have access to CWU’s subject matter experts for the purpose of developing and transferring technological innovations that can be applied in industries such as aviation, business, cybersecurity, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Ogburn explained that this expertise makes CWU a natural hub for economic workforce growth and innovation, with a service area that extends from Okanogan County through the lower Yakima Valley.

Kittitas County, CWU, and their project partners — including the City of Ellensburg and Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce — believe the presence of the centralized technology transfer hub will help spur industry growth, attract new businesses, and create family-wage employment opportunities that will eventually revitalize the local economy.