Business View Civil and Municipal l December 2022

19 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 regulations the city has been working hard to restore. “We had grown to people putting siding over the bricks, and that was not nice. So, we’ve really upped our game there, along with adding unity park in the core. It’s been a number of years that we’ve been working on it and it’s an opportunity that really was timely,” she asserts. Moving forward, Mayor Lillquist sees a continued focus on Unity Park, a solid sustainability plan, and affordable housing, as well as ongoing collaboration with the county regarding economic development. As growth inevitably continues for Ellensburg, Behrends Cerniwey summarizes, “As we grow, we’re always looking for ways to retain the character and the quality of life to ensure that we’re paving the way for the future. How we grow is incredibly important, and that we are thoughtful about it is critical.” Driving growth in our community! FOR SCHEDULES, ROUTES, PARATRANSIT SERVICE, ALERTS AND MORE, VISIT www.centraltransit.org 509-925-8680 | transit@ci.ellensburg.wa.us 408 N Pearl St, Ellensburg, WA www.gallery-one.org ELLENSBURG, WASHINGTON We have an event nearly every weekend, and we are trying to capitalize on that with the new town square Unity Park,” says Lillquist. Behrends Cerniwey continues that “this was a wonderful opportunity to create and really showcase that gathering spot for locals, and to advance tourism and for locals. It’s a really wonderful project and this is something that we’re constructing with our federal ARPA funds. It will be an asset for our downtown.” The historic downtown district, which was rebuilt after a major fire in1889 is a point of pride for the city. “It demolished the wooden structures and they rebuilt in brick, and those buildings are still standing and very much loved by the community and by visitors,” Lillquist boasts. In an effort to protect the historical integrity of the downtown, Ellensburg has a Landmark and Design Commission that works with those wanting to remodel, keeping within the historical