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Old Heat CERB Feasibility Study | 55 <br />1. New Industry Entry <br /> ◦Old Heat provides the initial platform for aerospace suppliers, agricultural <br />technology firms, advanced materials companies, and embedded <br />systems developers to establish a foothold in Kittitas County. <br /> ◦These sectors bring in outside revenue and integrate with supply chains <br />in adjacent metro economies such as King County and Yakima Valley. <br /> ◦Over time, this entry fosters local cluster formation, allowing smaller <br />firms to grow alongside and service anchor industries. <br />2. Technology Diffusion into Legacy Sectors <br /> ◦Through ACTI’s proposed training and technology integration programs, <br />Old Heat acts as an on-ramp for existing businesses. This would involve <br />helping local firms adopt AI, robotics, sensing, and blockchain systems. <br /> ◦This transition upgrades legacy industries into hybrid models (e.g., smart <br />agriculture, digitally integrated tourism), which raises productivity and <br />wages in existing businesses while expanding the industrial diversity <br />of the region by converting “Additive” and “Retentive” enterprises into <br />accelerative base industries, contributing to further growth. <br />3. Cross-Sector Convergence <br /> ◦Old Heat deliberately encourages the fusion of industries such as <br />agriculture with smart equipment, aerospace with embedded software, <br />and manufacturing with clean technologies. <br /> ◦This convergence creates new hybrid industries that are rooted locally <br />but competitive globally, adding depth and variety to the economic base <br />while establishing an intellectual property platform. <br />4. Institutional Integration <br /> ◦CWU’s applied programs provide a constant stream of talent and <br />research that feeds into Old Heat. <br /> ◦In return, commercialization and entrepreneurship activities ensure <br />that knowledge and know-how lead to positive “spill-over” of regional <br />capabilities, resulting in the creation of patents, and high-value <br />employment. <br /> ◦The result is a system where innovation becomes an embedded feature <br />of the economy, not an occasional event. <br />WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND LIVING-WAGE JOBS <br />Two critical components of regional diversification involve both the ability to <br />prepare and retain talent. Old Heat aligns with CWU’s mission as a steward of <br />place by training students, graduates, and residents for high-skill, high-wage <br />roles. <br />This includes: <br />• Entrepreneurship and innovation training through workshops, bootcamps, <br />and credit-bearing courses. <br />• Internships and applied projects linking CWU students with Old Heat <br />tenants, ensuring local graduates see viable career pathways without <br />leaving the region. <br /> <br />• Upskilling Programs for the existing workforce, focused on digital tools, <br />software, and advanced manufacturing practices. <br />The deployment of Old Heat towards and within high-value industry activities <br />leads to a multiplier cycle of economic returns where the input needs of the <br />business activity, as well as the engagement by the high-wage employees within <br />the local economic ecosystem leads to further economic impacts in the local <br />system. This increases the purchasing and business activities of the other local <br />businesses to further enrich the local supply chains in a ripple effect that benefits <br />both the local businesses as well as the local government’s revenue and ability to <br />fund and improve infrastructure. <br />Tables 2 and 3 show the estimated impacts of agriculture manufacturing, <br />aerospace manufacturing, using IMPLAN modeling and assuming Old Heat as <br />only a raw space for those industry activities rather than a continual funnel or <br />staging area for advance industry to move into the area.