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4.2.5 Cultivate ongoing partnership for "Signature Street', along University Way to emphasiu Central Washington University. Significant redevelopment is expected over the next five years along University Way between Main Street and Chestnut Street. Central Washington University has already constructed very attractive signs along the corridor. Over time, the City of Ellensburg should contemplate an ongoing partnership with Central Washington University to create a strong streetscape along the road and reinforce the intersection of Main and University Way as a gateway to downtown. 4.2.6 Consider community center in the city center. The YMCA was once a major attractor in downtown Ellensburg tor recreation and activities, which have now moved elsewhere in the city. Ellensburg should explore the Jong term possibility of a multi-use community center in the core of the community. Downtowns are always the best location for community centers for several reasons. These centers create economic spin off of having activities in an area where people can 1. walk to the location, 2. spend money in the area afterward, 3. share parking resources, and 4. serve as an attractor for additional investment. Several of the vacant or underutilized sites identified in Figure 10 would be ideally suited for a community center that could host meetings, events, the arts, and other uses. This type of project will require a cooperative effort and should be flexible enough to handle a variety of uses. 4.2. 7 Consider an employe,,..asslsted housing fund Employer-assisted housing programs provide incentives for employees to live within designated places near their place of employment. There are many benefits to such a program including reducing commute times, pollution, and stress; increasing employe.es' loyalty to the locale where they work; and providing a sustainable program to ensure that housing stays stable in a local market. Typically, large employers such as universities, hospitals, and governments create these funds to foster investment in the community they call home. Often times these incentives arc as simple as a small down payment assistance program in a targeted area, reduced fees in a highly targeted area, or a suite of benefits through a pubJic- private partnership. This program could continue to keep neighborhoods between downtown and Central Washington University stable, as well as encourage investment in more housing downtown and more upper floor conversion. 34