In 1998, a small community came up with a big idea and a new seed was sown in the heart of Washington’s apple country. Five years and $12 million later, that vision blossomed into reality. The Confluence Technology Center represents the power of partnerships, proof that committed communities can successfully shape the future of their own economies.

Ever in search of new, healthy ways to stimulate the regional economy, the Port of Chelan County recognized that in order to entice the best companies with the best jobs to North Central Washington it would have to offer, among other things, highly trained people to fill those jobs.

The answer was the CTC. The CTC represents the single largest investment in economic development ever undertaken by the Port of Chelan County. By constructing a facility designed both to cultivate the region’s existing technology community and to provide a state-of-the-art professional, technical and business training center, the Port and its partners put North Central Washington on the map for those new and expanding technology companies ready to flee the confines of the major metropolitan areas.

Raising the odds

"The CTC is to industrial development what a major irrigation system is to farming," according to Joyce Stewart, deputy director for the Port of Chelan County. It’s an analogy well suited to the agricultural regions of North Central Washington.

Believing that economies can be strengthened through the diversification of their industrial base, the Port took its early cues from a report prepared by the Center for the New West that singled out the creation of an information technology cluster in the region as one of the brightest hopes for the future of Chelan County’s economy.

With an initial investment from the Port of $1 million in the form of property, roads and infrastructure, the project was underway.

"It will result in better paying jobs for men and women in North Central Washington. The CTC raises our odds in the very highly competitive game of business recruitment," says Stewart.

How the CTC was funded

From the outset, many local and regional agencies understood the promise of the CTC.

An early collaboration between the North Central ESD and the Port of Chelan County later expanded to include a broad spectrum of people and agencies at the local, state and federal levels. United States senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell supported the project from Washington D.C., while at home, the Chelan County PUD and Wenatchee Valley College joined in to move the project forward. In the end, $12 million was assembled to build the CTC.

• $1 million - Port of Chelan County initial contribution (land, roads, infrastructure)
• $4.5 million – Loan procured by Port for construction
• $2.7 million – Local Option Tax Share appropriation (dedicated to projects that further economic development)
• $1 million – Washington Community Economic Revitalization Board ($825,000 zero-percent loan/$175,000 grant)
• $2.8 million – Chelan County PUD (lease/purchase/utilities)
  Total project budget: $12 million

Building with community in mind

At every stage of the project, the CTC was constructed with an eye to maximizing benefits to the local community. In seeking a contractor to build the facility, the Port of Chelan County took the unusual step of splitting the general contract into four, smaller contracts, thus making it easier for local contractors to bid on the work.

The strategy was a success. The nearly $1 million electrical contract was awarded to Wells and Wade Mechanical of Wenatchee. Local architect Terry Johnson of PKJB Architectural Group designed the building, CPA Al Cordell of the local firm Cordell Neher and Company served as the project’s auditor, and financing for the construction loan was made through Cashmere Valley Bank.

Hopes for the future of the CTC
"In seeking new business, you need to be ahead of the curve and the CTC allows North Central Washington to be in that position," said former North Central ESD superintendent Gene Sharratt, one of the early proponents of the CTC concept. The return on this community’s investment, in addition to achieving its original goals of providing customized training, will be the chance to "attract, incubate and ultimately spin-off new business opportunities for our community," according to Port of Chelan County Executive Director Mark Urdahl.

Timeline - From vision to reality