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Washington is known for having incredible seafood, a multitude of coffee shops and rain, but has been short on the number of four-season destination resorts it offers tourists.
Developers of Suncadia, a resort community being built outside of Roslyn, hope to change that shortage.
The resort will feature a village, a private recreation center, a lodge equipped with spa, and three championship golf courses. Although Suncadia is years away from completion, 250 home sites at the development have already been sold.
Developers are among those who have designed some of the most recognized resort communities nationally. Lowe Enterprises of California has united with Jeld-Wen of Oregon to build Suncadia, which will occupy more than 6,000 acres in the Cascade foothills. The community will feature water sports, snow sports, horseback riding, hiking, climbing, motor cross sports, as well as the golf courses.
The resort is expected to increase tourism in Washington, according to state officials.
"Suncadia will improve the economic health of Kittitas County and bring in even more tourist dollars to the state," said Gov. Gary Locke, in a statement about the resort.
Suncadia is 90 miles from urban Seattle and developers hope to attract weekend travelers due to its location. The resort, coupled with the birth of numerous wineries throughout Eastern Washington, has made life "on the other side of the mountains" a more appealing prospect.
Suncadia is unique due to its rural appeal and mountainous terrain, said Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business.
"This resort will fill gaps, due to the fact that it is in a great central location and there is no other resort which has that level of golf in the entire state," he said. "It is an amazing opportunity."
Kittitas County has experienced an exponential amount of growth, which is expected to continue in coming years. Last year, the county had the fourth-largest amount of growth in the state. In Ellensburg, the effect of Suncadia is already visible in the area's housing demands, according to Alan Walker, the executive director of the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce.
"There has been more proposed housing developments in 2004 than in the last 10 years combined," he said.
The estimated economic effect that Suncadia will have on local communities is widespread, local officials said. Along with a high number of jobs being created in the local Roslyn and Cle Elum communities, the effect of increased tourism from Suncadia will be felt down the Interstate 90 corridor and to other Puget Sound areas. Suncadia will increase traffic over Snoqualmie Pass, which could raise the number of people making the trip to the local ski slopes, they said. This will trickle into increased competition between the ski areas and create growth possibilities that were not considered possible in the past.
J.J. Collins, vice president of marketing and sales for Suncadia resort, had a lot to say about the most important factors in the development of the resort as well as the development of the local community.
"The resort is based on the concept of lifestyle which encourages individuals to spend time with family and friends, to enjoy sport, indulge in art and cultural events, indulge in their lifelong learning program through local universities, as well as enjoying culinary masterpieces and wine," he said.
Ellensburg is preparing for the large boom by concentrating efforts on their already large tourism resources.
"The town has always been an outdoor Mecca for recreational activities and the town will continue to build off of that," said Walker. "However, as a town, we have decided to place an even stronger tone on public art within the community. The town has invested heavily in art galleries within the downtown vicinity and planned more events such as their Jazz and Blues festival. Next year we are planning a beer festival during the winter, and a cowboy music and poetry festival."
Debbie Strand, executive director of the Economic Development Group of Kittitas County, explained that along with the growth, which the community has shown in the last year, there is a larger focus on the trend of residents commuting over Snoqualmie Pass to work in the Puget Sound area.
"The area is unique, because it is so much more tranquil," said Strand. "By [building] an upscale resort, it allows for competition and a growth of the real estate market in our county, which is already visible in some areas of Upper Kittitas County."
According to figures on the initial purchase of home sites in the last year at Suncadia, 90 percent have been bought by people who live in the Puget Sound area.
Employment rates will rise in the community; in Cle Elum, residents have already seen a large splurge of jobs created, according to Charlie Glondo, a business owner and Cle Elum mayor.
"There have been so many jobs created both high end and low end, from areas of construction to administration and real estate," said Glondo. "The town is in support of the development Suncadia can provide."
Collins said Suncadia has invested over $28 million in development.
"This has occurred through both visible and invisible actions, helping the community build substantial employment as well as a tax base and many off-site improvements in water, sewer, and natural gas," Collins said.
Although the resort is far from completion, with parts of the village not estimated to open until 2006, portions of the area will be opening sooner.
The first of the three golf courses is slated to open at the end of this summer.
"The effect of the resort although felt initially, the exponential growth for the region will continue on a long-term scale, with the area continuing to develop for the next decade or two," said Strand.
