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1.0 Introduction <br />1.1 Background <br />With apopulation ofjust over 18,000 as of the 2010 Census, the City of Eliensburg is uniquelypositioned in central Washington at the intersection of Inlerstates 90 and g2. It is the center ofcommerce and govemment for Kittitas County, which extends from the Cascades to the Westand the Columbia River to the East. tt It o popular destination for havelers because of itslocation' and a cluster of hotels and restaurants serve both exits to the community off ofInterstate 90. <br />Eilensburg is also known as the horne of centrai washington university and the annuaiEliensburg Rodeo that attracts national attention. The downtown has maintained much of itshistoric charm including Victorian, Art Deco, ancl vernacular buildings of the l9Z0's. As is thecase with many communities, downtown Ellensburg has changed frorn Ueing the sole center ofcommerce for the conrmunity as suburban-style commercial divelopment ha-s occurred in otherparts of the city. I{owever, Ellensburg has been very proactive in promoting and investing in thedowntown as a vibrant location for independent retaiiers, specialty dining,"a variety of businessand financial s ervices, government offi ces, cuitural attraciions, and speciaievents. <br />The community has not been content to rest on this success and has continucd to invest indowntown' In 2013, community leaders acknowleclged that a significant building in dowltown -the Geddis Building - was at risk of becoming a ,.iiou, blight on redevelopinglowntown. Thelarge building located at the pivotal southwest corner of 7,h Avenue and pearl Street was indecline' As a result, the City of Ellensburg, the Ellensburg Downtown Association, the KittitasCounty Chamber of Commerce, and the Eilensburg Bu.sinJss Development Authoriiy forged analliance forrnally called the Dor,vntown Revitali zatian Committee, but more commonly known as"The Downtowners," to purchase the building, hold it in trust, una .rrctt i;;;;;."er that isactively renovating the property and plans to acld new residential units and retail developrnent todolvntown' The Downtowners realized that this success could be parlayed. into an ongoingptoactive approach to continued public/private partnership investment in downtown Ellensburg. <br />1.2 Study Scope <br />This shrdy was commissioned to examine both the market opporhrnities for downtown as well asthe physical environment and to recommend how the Downtowners should continue to utilizetheir knowledge and connections to create investment and development opportunities in thecommunity. <br />This study involved,two key components that are closely intertwined. The first is anunderstanding of the Ellensburg market thrggsh a market analysis that looks at retail, rcsidential,office, and accommodations possibilities. The second is connecting this market knowledge withkey.sites and buildings in downtown Ellensburg to prioritize potential for future investment. ofparticular interest to the group was higher and bettei use of upper floor spaces in Ellensburg andover the cotlrse of the project examining a larger "footprint" toi Aowntown berume apparent. <br />3