Economic Development

This page will provide a quick overview of Wenatchee’s market area and related resources, while providing an understanding of the City’s planning efforts toward defining economic development goals, objectives and needs. For an overview of development areas and incentives click here.

Market

In understanding Wenatchee’s market and assets for the purposes of locating or expanding a business, there are several important factors to consider:

Wenatchee is the urban center for North Central Washington and the major urban attraction to this section of the Highway 97 Corridor. Based on the economic assessment done for the Wenatchee Waterfront Sub-Area Plan in 2003, it is notable that the urban area draws 36% of our four counties’ (Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Kittitas) retail sales – a population trade area of 211,900 which is expected to grow to 268,275 by 2025.

Wenatchee’s business and community assets serve the region, and they are representative of the area’s industry clusters:

1. Health Care: Central Washington Hospital, Wenatchee Valley Medical Center
2. Education: Wenatchee Valley College, Central Washington University (on WVC Campus), Confluence Technology Center, North Central Technical Skills Center
3. Agriculture: Wenatchee’s history as the Apple Capital of the World has defined the region’s agricultural infrastructure – which is state-of-the-art for fruit production, storage and packing, fruit shippers and marketers, and value-added processes including the newly flourishing Columbia Cascade Wine Region
4. Arts: The Stanley Civic Center, which includes the Performing Arts Center of Wenatchee and the Wenatchee Convention Center, The Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center, Riverside Playhouse, Sun Basin Theaters, Art on the Avenues, and Wenatchee Symphony
5. Technology: Confluence Technology Center is home to a Yahoo! data center as well as numerous small-to-medium technology firms that flourish in our area where our fiber infrastructure is renowned.
6. Recreation: From the Apple Capital Recreational Loop Trail to the Wenatchee Foothills Trails, and Mission Ridge to the Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center – one can understand why Wenatchee was rated as one of National Geographic magazine’s Top 50 Adventure Towns
7. Shopping: Numerous national, regional and local businesses have decided to locate and thrive in Wenatchee.
8. Lifestyle: Wenatchee offers home and office choices that mirror the distinct tastes of today’s mobile businesses; from lofts to state-of-the-art data centers, and live / work condominiums to mini-retreats, Wenatchee has it all.

For more information about the City of Wenatchee click here or follow these links to the Port of Chelan County and the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce. In addition, we invite you to visit www.choosewashington.com. This site is supported by the State of Washington and can provide valuable information on consumer buying habits, and effective buying income within very small radius of available real estate listings in the area.

Planning

Wenatchee has been the recognized leader in focused planning, and these efforts have resulted in significant new development in the community. The 2000 Center for the New West study set the stage and the DEVELOPMENT AREAS AND INCENTIVES section details incentives and projects that have resulted from this planning work.

The Center for the New West study advised that Wenatchee’s economic strength would come from building on existing assets, including the regional draw and quality-of-life features, while supporting the growth of smaller enterprises, such as Wenatchee’s burgeoning creative class, by strengthening local infrastructure. Wenatchee’s economic development goals include the following:

• REGIONAL CENTER - Promote the continued development of Wenatchee as the regional center of North Central Washington
• DOWNTOWN - Protect and strengthen the vitality of Downtown
• ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT - Foster the development of an environment that supports small business and the creative class
• QUALITY OF LIFE - Support the enhancement of Wenatchee’s built and natural environment as an attraction for community and business growth
• FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE - Work with regional partners to ensure that regional infrastructure needs are addressed 

During Wenatchee’s Comprehensive Plan update the City conducted an in-depth analysis of the current economy, land uses, housing, business and population needs for the future. This analysis helped shape the City’s economic development goals and set the stage for a productive future.

For more information on the City of Wenatchee’s economic development efforts, please contact:

Allison Williams
Executive Services Director
awilliams@wenatcheewa.gov
(509) 888-6216