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Wanted: Economic vitality

Local leaders believe wheat center, niche industries would create new opportunities

For about 30 years, having a wheat museum in Ritzville has been a discussion among community members. Today, the Ritzville Public Development Authority (PDA) committee is moving forward with a business plan in hopes of building a Wheat Interpretive Center in Ritzville.

Erika Hennings, chairman for the Ritzville PDA, began helping community members turn their goal into a reality about four years ago. The group that had been attempting to build the wheat center did not have the funds to make progress on the project.

“We (PDA) were able to get some inroads to grant information that they weren’t able to do,” said Hennings. “We wanted to help them out. It started with a grant from the city to have the WSU students do some work.”

The project has two proposed development ideas, created by graduate students studying design at WSU, called Harvest Point and Heritage Plaza. The two groups of students created Powerpoint presentations as well as handouts describing the step-by-step planning of each project idea.

Both of the designs for the projects include adding more than just a wheat museum to the Ritzville community, but making it a complete interactive experience teaching about wheat and its potential uses. Each of the projects includes ideas for a discovery center, brewery, distillery, flourmill and restaurant that show the various uses of wheat.

The Heritage Plaza design includes a spaetzle (noodle) factory to also show the German heritage in the area while the Harvest Point design includes the plans for a German restaurant. Both of the projects have the same ideas, but the designs of the actual buildings differ greatly.

The students state the purpose of the project to be increasing economic growth in the community, creating jobs locally, creating interest for interstate travelers and revitalizing the Ritzville, downtown area. The proposed site for the project would be visible from the interstate in order to bring attention to the center and become a stopping point for travelers.

The main focus for the wheat center is to show the community’s heritage while creating hands-on opportunities for tourists to learn about wheat. The hope and end goal is that visitors make it a tradition to return to the wheat center and to encourage other tourists to do the same.

During the planning stages of center, the students met with community members in focus groups to determine what aspects to focus on for the project. The focus groups all showed an interest and desire for the center to focus on the most important aspect of the community, wheat, and to bring revenue into the community.

The Ritzville PDA is at the starting stages of building the business plan, but is working on contacting businesses in the Spokane area that have shown interest in expanding to Ritzville. The design and services inside of the Wheat Interpretive Center are to be decided after contacting interested businesses.

“We haven’t made any decisions for designs, there’s parts of both projects that we like. I’m sure down the road we would probably end up doing a compromise between the two,” said Hennings.

Kris Robbins, the city clerk, has been heading the project since the first funding was received for the feasibility study. Robbins works as the person of contact for the PDA committee and the city council, and presents updates at the meetings for both groups.

Robbins became involved in the project because she knows the development is important to the community. “Growth and development is the only sustainable source in government,” said Robbins.

The Ritzville City Council is in support of the project, and Ben Friederichs currently works as the liaison between the PDA and the city council. With the decision to continue forward with the project and starting a business plan, the PDA and Robbins have decided to take the first step towards making the center a reality.

“Our first step is finding out what businesses need to come here. We know what we want and who will come here, but what their need is, is something we have to find out,” said Robbins.

For Robbins, the most important part of beginning the process of bringing a wheat center to Ritzville is realizing that it is a slow process. Robbins knows that bringing even one business into town is a start to the overall goal of the business park.

“It’s not going to happen tomorrow. But I have no doubt that it will happen,” said Robbins. “It’s about making a little progress at a time. Even if we start small, and everything is in place or close to it, it’ll take about five years.”

Currently, Robbins is working on setting up meetings with various Spokane area businesses that have shown interest in expanding their business to the Ritzville area.

Dry Fly, a vodka distillery in Spokane, currently buys wheat from local farmers for an experimental vodka blend, and has shown interest in expanding to the area.

None of the businesses that are currently being researched would actually relocate to Ritzville, but rather just expand and use Ritzville as a secondary location.

A main reason for beginning the business plan is to be prepared for the time when funding becomes available for projects like the wheat center.

As Hennings explained, even though there is not much funding available now, the PDA needs to take the first step so they can be ready when there is funding.

For the community of Ritzville, the Wheat Interpretive Center serves as a place where local heritage is preserved and educational activities are provided to teach about local farmers and wheat. The educational feature of the center helps to provide visitors with a history of wheat farmers in the area and teach about the many different uses of wheat.

“It is about teaching people and helping them see the history of the town. It is about teaching up there and also downtown. It’s about helping more people learn about the history,” Robbins said.

Robbins believes that once the entire center is built, it should become an informational center for schools. The number of students that could visit from various educational facilities would help not only educate those students, but be a constant stream of visitors to the area.

The PDA hopes to continue working on the business plan during upcoming meetings and continue to take steps forward towards the creation of the Wheat Interpretive Center in the Ritzville area. The group also continues to look into potential locations for the center while they continue to talk to businesses about the potential expansion to Ritzville.

For those community members interested in learning more about the project, the models of both proposed designs are set up in the entrance of Ritzville City Hall, along with the presentations submitted by the design students at WSU.

Updates about the Wheat Interpretive Center are given during the PDA and city council meetings when relevant. For questions about the wheat center, contact Robbins at Ritzville City Hall at 659-1930.

 

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