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Advocating for Wisconsin
Ken [at] KenHarwood.com
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After the city of Madison and Beitler Real Estate claimed each had defaulted on the terms of their development agreement, Mayor Paul Soglin reiterated Tuesday that both parties are working toward building a hotel downtown as part of the Judge Doyle Square project.
The city and its development partner, Beitler Real Estate, have disagreed over portions of the project for about the last year.
“We are aligned in the singular goal of getting the hotel constructed, and if people would silence themselves in regard to any personal feelings involved in this matter, it would certainly help,” Soglin said at a press conference Tuesday...
IGNORE THESE ARTICLES....
Ken Harwood: Speculation on Judge Doyle Square project is not helpful
`Nothing short of bizarre`: New dispute emerges between Madison and Judge Doyle developer
...moreKen Notes: I wrote, in my op-ed above, that the press, some of the attorneys, and some council members may not be helping the process and as ugly as it may seem a project of this magnitude is a process. We have a public records issues when some of the discourse becomes public as in this case.
The Mayor is 100% correct that “When you’re negotiating these matters, public discussion does not help when you’ve got some people, who I think, probably want this thing to fail,”.
When a project is approved and even more so when it is in the dirt the political part of the process is over! I am now fully supportive of the City and the developer -- and in case you forgot this was not my favorite proposal. One more thing -- we have very good professionals in our development department please let them do their jobs.
Stakeholders and community leaders are hoping the planned expansion
and redevelopment of the Alliant Energy Center will help the state`s
agricultural and dairy industries and create an economic development
boom in the area surrounding the center.The expansion would get $30 million in state funding under a proposal Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday.
The $90 million project, which is the first phase of a master plan, will convert the Exhibition Hall from being a regional exposition center to a full-service convention center for all of Wisconsin and the upper Midwest.
Evers said many venue users have grown out of the facility, so the investment is necessary in order to compete with other venues across the region....
...moreKen Notes: I hope this time we have all the stakeholders at the table. We can not create a world class venue at the price of losing our world class events. I want a long term contract with World Dairy, Canoecopia, and all the rest before we spend a dime. A a former director of the National Association of Tax Professionals I promise we looked at price as well as venue and if we promised 2,000 rooms the event space was almost free. Thus without a hotel to drive the space, rents have to be affordable... Look at Monona Terrace truly world class facility yet vastly under utilized. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Planned development projects on South Park Street could temporarily leave the neighborhood without a grocery store.
While residents have long expressed their concerns about being without a grocery store, Madison officials say they can help residents access other grocers.
The Pick ‘n Save at 1312 S. Park St. is the only major full-service grocery store in the area. SSM Health plans to purchase the property and demolish the store later this year in order to build a clinic...
Ken Notes: We need a new plan for housing in the area and nice housing at that. The Welton plan is only a start and starting with affordable housing make the rest a challenge. We may want to ask developers to look at market rate condos and apartments that are more affordable than downtown while still being close.
Use the corridor as a BRT test route to create a urban link with the downtown. Use Monona Bay, lake Wingra and the Arboretum as amenities. Make the neighborhood walkable and a destination. Allow height, urban renewal, and a continuation of what is happening by the hospitals to create a new East Washington like neighborhood. Until you want to live there you have work to do.
Also you need a big plan -- the library and other buildings were not enough and the new school will be an island if you do not build a community around it. Ask 100 people in Madison what Park Street means to them therein lies your challenge...
Foxconn Technology Group is eyeing an office building on Capitol Square for a possible lease or purchase.
A limited liability company named FE One West Main Madison registered with the state Department of Financial Institutions on Feb. 14 using Foxconn’s Milwaukee headquarters address. Alan Hung is listed as the registered agent.
The Taiwanese electronics company has used a similar naming structure for its other real estate purchases in Wisconsin, according to The Milwaukee Business Times, which first reported the registration on Tuesday....
Ken Notes: It is a great building!
Nearly two years after submitting plans, Skogen`s Festival Foods has announced that its long-awaited store in Verona will be constructed this year and open this fall.
The 67,000-square-foot store is planned for a site next to Blain’s Farm & Fleet on the city`s east side and adds to the highly competitive grocery industry in Dane County. That includes Verona-based Miller`s Market, which was founded in 1902 and now has a 52,000-square-foot store in the city`s downtown plus a location in Mount Horeb....
...moreKen Notes: I will remain a Millers loyalist and I live 20 miles away.
Department of Administration Secretary-designee Joel Brennan on Wednesday told an audience of business leaders the Republican-led Legislature did Gov. Tony Evers` administration "no favors" by curbing the governor`s influence on economic development initiatives. He added that the administration has forged a positive relationship with Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Mark Hogan.
A set of laws passed during a lame-duck session in December gave lawmakers greater influence over WEDC and gave the WEDC board, not the governor, the authority to appoint the agency`s CEO. Evers` power to appoint a CEO will be restored in September 2019...
See Also:
Analysts weigh in on Foxconn`s impact on Wisconsin
Ken Notes: We need a set of good accurate talking points regrading Foxconn. We know they are reevaluating their option while exploring new markets. Lets give them a chance to do this without throwing stones. Also lets send a clear message to other businesses looking at Wisconsin that this is a great place to grow, a place where you can work with you community and government, a place where we value good jobs paying a living wage, a place that provides great education... recreation... social events... housing... entertainment...
Or we can continue to let the national media call us stupid while we blame each other!!
The preliminary plan, led by Wisconsin-based developer Bob Dunn, envisions millions of square feet of high-rises constructed on a platform covering Metra tracks above the level of Lake Shore Drive. The site runs just west of Lake Shore Drive between the Field Museum and McCormick....
...moreKen Notes: We need to get Bob more Wisconsin canvass (and stop taking him to court) he has great vision and can get even the most difficult projects done and done well. This concept is very cool, hope you get it in the dirt, or sky as the case may be!!!
The amount of cash provided to commercial developers by Wisconsin communities would be limited under the new state budget proposal from Gov. Tony Evers.
While that wouldn`t stop local money flowing to such projects as Foxconn Technology Group`s factories, it could affect future developments in Milwaukee and other communities...
...It "would undo years of bipartisan work to create the most important, and really the only tool Wisconsin municipalities have to spur economic development and create jobs," said Jim Villa, chief executive officer of the Wisconsin chapter of NAIOP, formerly known as the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties...
...moreKen Notes: Here is our chance to create a new BIPARTISAN veto proof TIF law that allows every community to invest in the projects they want, while leveling the playing field.
As Mayor of Neenah, an Alderman in Verona, as well as an ED professional I can attest to manipulating TIF laws to ones own advantage (legally by the way). Milwaukee, Madison, Waukesha, Green Bay, and many more have turned this into an art form while other communities are in the dark, some even TIF adverse. We need to simplify TIF, tie investments to signed development agreements, and use TIF to help growing businesses as well as new ones. Also the Governors limit of 20% is actually fairly generous.
The original intent of blight improvements and seeding infrastructure are still interesting ideas but have very little to do with how the laws are actually used.
Does Madison’s first “skyscraper” need to be razed for a new Historical Society museum?
Every nook and cranny of the old building holds a story.
In 1915 developer Leonard Gay offered Madison a swank new office building, the tallest in the city, which represented the city’s first foray into a new building type known as the skyscraper.
Ken Notes: A great read and so many issues. It would be interesting to see Hodve and the City do an RFP to address the building, needs of the Historical Society, and potential adaptive reuse.
Ken Notes: I included a link to this last week but it was broken -- this one works and I will keep it at the bottom of WDNews for a while as a resource.
If there is enough interest I can put together a seminar on this and bring in some experts to explain it. Fitchburg is using SmartCode for an new subdivision in the community.
The Future Wisconsin Project on Friday unveiled a report with 30 recommendations for the state to address its workforce challenges, including continuing talent attraction campaigns, incentivizing people to move to the state and fostering more immigration.
“The most pressing has been, of course, workforce,” Bauer said...
See Also:
WEDC’s $10 million request denied
...moreKen Notes: I agree, but first WMC needs to become far less political so that their voice is seen as more pro jobs and business and not as political agenda driven.
If the WEDC wants to be funded, and I agree that it should be, they need to ask the new administration exactly what they would like to see from the organization.
I know WMC will be upset with these observations and suggest I do not know what I am talking about but at least I can demonstrate my advocacy is about jobs, growth, business and the Future of Wisconsin....
What is a Tax Incremental Financing District?...
What Are The Proposed Changes?
While there are many advantages to TIDs, there is concern that TIDs increase the tax burden on citizens within the community. Governor Tony Evers` proposed budget, introduced as 2019 Senate Bill 59 on March 1, 2019, attempts to address this concern by proposing three changes to future TIDs. Those changes are:
-
Capping the developer allocation to 20% of the NIR (currently, there is no statutory limit to the amount of NIR that can be allocated to a developer),
-
Requiring TID project plans to include "stress tests" to test the "TID`s finances and feasibility under different economic situations, including a slower pace of development and lower rate of property value growth than expected in the TID," and
-
Allowing cities and villages to transfer TID money to its general fund if the "city or village erroneously report a higher value increment for its TID by an aggregate amount of at least $50 million."...
Ken Notes: I have been advocating for simpler TIF rules with stronger guarantees especially for smaller communities. These changes are anything but that. The stress test specifically would be both difficult and expensive for cities to complete. Also how do you develop infrastructure for a project with no specific project on the boards. We need a simple TIF program for smaller cities to help expanding or new businesses with a development agreement based incentive that is bank financed up front.
Foxconn Technology Group said Monday that its manufacturing facility
in Wisconsin will be producing flat-screen panels by the end of 2020,
with construction starting later this year.
The news came after the worldwide electronics manufacturing leader sent mixed signals earlier this year about whether it planned to suspend work in Wisconsin. After a meeting with President Donald Trump, Foxconn’s leader recommitted to building a smaller manufacturing facility in Wisconsin than what was originally promised...
A link for Kens Note:
Top 10 Medical Imaging Companies in the World
...moreKen Notes: I am guessing they can find some medical/industrial applications by then. It will be fascinating to see if Apple or other new players enter these markets. I added a link above that I found interesting...
Ken Notes: If you come please say Hello, I work with the speakers all weekend.
Hair tied back with a purple bandana, Josey Chu hands out samples of artisanal condiment pastes inspired by Southeast Asian flavors she remembers from her childhood in Singapore — flavors she struggled to find in Madison when she first came to the city as a student in 1999. In a small plastic cup, she mixes rice with pastes she hand-crafts using family recipes she discovered in her late mother’s cookbook collection. They were handwritten Malay-Chinese recipes passed down by her Peranakan grandmother.
Chu, who is not related to this reporter, is one of the Madison vendors showcasing local products at the Garden & Landscape Expo at Alliant Center in early February. Chu hopes her small business, Madame Chu, will one day find a home at the Madison Public Market, which the city is aiming to open in 2021...
...moreKen Notes: The Market needs a business manager to get the key components and tenants that will fund the diversity and healthy food that will make the market special. I know it is not fun to talk about the boring stuff, the stuff that pays the bills, but without an economic engine in place the market will open and close in the same year.
The former Northridge Mall Boston Store will be demolished to make way for a future light industrial development, or other new use, under a proposal from city officials.
The city will seek a $250,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to help finance the demolition under a plan that`s being reviewed Thursday by the Redevelopment Authority board...
...moreKen Notes: Hard to see these go. We need a task force to be preemptive on the big boxes that will be vacant soon....
In 2017, the last yacht produced by the Palmer Johnson Yacht Company floated out of its Sturgeon Bay shipyards before the company moved its operations to Europe. If the loss of at least 100 jobs wasn’t enough of a blow to Wisconsin, there was also this: Because of a wrinkle in state law, the company was able to lower its state tax bill by deducting its moving expenses. Now, a group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to prevent that from ever happening again.
Assembly Bill 10, which received a hearing on Wednesday, March 6, before the Assembly Committee on Federalism and Interstate Relations, would eliminate tax breaks for a series of moving-related expenses for companies that leave Wisconsin or the country. It comes as the latest attempt by lawmakers to adjust Wisconsin’s business incentives in response to a series of scandals at the state’s economic development agency and questions about the enormous amount of money being offered Foxconn Technology Group in return for its plans to build a massive factory in Mount Pleasant....
...moreKen Notes: I am far more worried about the loss of jobs...
Ken Notes: Like I said it is about the jobs, and Kohler is a legacy company for the state. What if we offered say 5 Million or (20K per job over 10 years) plus 10% of the expansion value in TIF to build the addition here in Wisconsin. I know it is too late and we may still be short of the 18.5 they got from Mississippi but it would send a positive message to other companies considering similar moves.
I remain an advocate for a fixed program available to all growing businesses.
Also everyone should read the article to see exactly what Mississippi offered...
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HKS Holdings, a real estate development company based in Milwaukee, and Concord Hospitality Enterprises, a hotel development and management company based in Raleigh, N.C., began construction on the Renaissance Hotel in Wauwatosa, Wis., which will be the first full-service, Marriott-branded hotel in the area.
The 198-room hotel will include amenities such as a concierge lounge, a fitness room and event spaces located on the 12th floor. The property also will include a 4,500-square-foot grand ballroom, additional meeting space and a destination restaurant...
...moreKen Notes: Wauwatosa may have to become it`s own State soon because they have ED down to a science.
Cedar Rapids has forgivable home-loan program with similar goals
LA CROSSE, WIS. — When the Lyons family was looking to move off French Island, a neighborhood on the outskirts of La Crosse that was closer to work and school in the core of the city, they discovered a housing incentive called the La Crosse Promise that offers $50,000 in college scholarships for building a new house in one of two older neighborhoods.
They talked with a builder, loved the blueprints, lined up financing and in short order purchased one of a handful of new builds in Powell-Poage-Hamilton, a deteriorating residential area blocks from downtown. If Adam Lyons, 35, and Kelsey Lyons, 36, stay in the two-story home for four years, they will earn the scholarship that can help pay tuition for their boys Owyn, 13, and Cayden, 12, at any accredited college or university...
Ken Notes: A very interesting program! I want to remind everyone of an idea I wrote about several years back in light of our current tuition loan crisis.
I believe we should create a fund to refinance existing student loans as well as making new for tuition paid to State schools (both Tech and UW)then make the interest paid on the new loans a bottom line tax deduction on State Income taxes. It would keep graduates in Wisconsin, would be available to all students, would be easy to administer, would allow the state to work with State banks, and would attract more students to enroll in our public institutions.
A developer has scaled back plans for a grocery store, housing and parking on a 3.5-acre, city-owned lot on South Park Street. But city staff say the $18 million project still doesn’t meet some design standards and requires too much public financial support.
Welton Enterprises is now proposing a 30,000-square-foot grocery store (rather than 40,000 square feet) facing South Park Street with 90 parking spaces, and a separate four-story building at the rear of the lot with 52 units of mixed-income housing (instead of 69) and 70 parking spaces, half of it underground, on the vacant lot at 1402 S. Park St. Under a second plan from another developer that the city is also expected to take up, an existing grocery store next to the site would be demolished and replaced with a medical clinic...
Ken Notes: Grocery is trending smaller so doesn`t this make sense...
Ranger Power is getting closer and closer to developing the largest PV project ever developed in Wisconsin, according to the Daily Jefferson County Union.
Per the Union, Panger Power is in the process of obtaining permits to develop a 149MW, utility-scale solar installation in the town of Jefferson, just 30 miles east of the state capital of Madison.
The solar farm, named Badger State Solar, would be developed atop 404 hectares of land of privately owned land near the intersection of two highways, benefiting from an American Transmission Co. (ATC) substation already located at the site...
Also Of Interest!
...moreKen Notes: This is a lot of land and a lot of power. 1,000 acres give or take. Not as big as the proposal west of Madison (300MW) but still big none the less. My only question is shouldn`t we look at rooftops first. Farm land is a commodity rooftops are not!
“My job is real simple,” says Tom
Gallagher, CEO of Dairy Management Inc., the national dairy promotion
and research group that is funded by farmers’ checkoff dollars. “I have
to get the industry to do things with your product after it leaves the
farm that consumers want.”Gallagher spoke to dairy farmers March 13 during an annual business conference organized by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin. He was joined in talking about how dairy checkoff dollars are used, by Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.
Per capita consumption of milk in the United States has been declining steadily for decades, said Gallagher. The real growth has been in cheese and especially in cheese destined for making pizza and in cheese used in fast food outlets....
...moreKen Notes: Still one of the best organizations in Wisconsin.
The Water Council announced the sixth round of winners for the BREW Accelerator and the third round of winners for the BREW Corporate Accelerator powered by A. O. Smith Corporation.
The BREW (Business – Research – Entrepreneurship – in Water) is the world’s leading freshwater seed accelerator with a focus on innovative startups that address global water challenges. Startups selected with commercialization potential are connected to funding, hands-on business training, space in Milwaukee’s Global Water Center, executive level mentors and corporate R&D resources.
“The BREW Accelerator program is a critical contributor to The Water Council’s economic impact,” said Steve Glynn, director of innovation at The Water Council. “The program fosters the next generation of water tech innovators and connects them with the resources they need to advance their ideas. I look forward to hosting these amazing entrepreneurs in Milwaukee and connecting them to BREW partners across the region and around the world.”...
...moreKen Notes: I remain a huge fan of the Water Council, they are doing much to place Wisconsin in the international spotlight in a very positive way.
“Founded in 1976 by George and Candy Gialamas, The Gialamas Company specializes in Class A Commercial Real Estate. Old Sauk Trails Park, is one of the most prestigious business parks in Wisconsin; containing numerous office buildings supplemented by restaurants, hotels, financial institutions, a childcare facility and a walking/jogging trail system....
...more
Downtown Milwaukee’s former Grand Avenue mall would receive $9 million in city financing help for its redevelopment under a new proposal.
If approved by city officials, it would be the latest in a series of public funds that have gone to the Grand Avenue site since it was first developed in the early 1980s.
The city cash for the project, now known as The Avenue, would be used to pay public access improvements within the buildings, as well as improvements to the outdoor public plaza at its main entrance, according to information disclosed Thursday....
...moreKen Notes: This is such an iconic space, I hope it can be redeveloped into something very special. Since the anchors are gone, could we attach some hotel space and transit options. The Ritz at Pentagon City near WDC comes to mind and you can still get a $700 room for $150 on the weekend.
What is a Tax Incremental Financing District?...
What Are The Proposed Changes?
While there are many advantages to TIDs, there is concern that TIDs increase the tax burden on citizens within the community. Governor Tony Evers` proposed budget, introduced as 2019 Senate Bill 59 on March 1, 2019, attempts to address this concern by proposing three changes to future TIDs. Those changes are:
-
Capping the developer allocation to 20% of the NIR (currently, there is no statutory limit to the amount of NIR that can be allocated to a developer),
-
Requiring TID project plans to include "stress tests" to test the "TID`s finances and feasibility under different economic situations, including a slower pace of development and lower rate of property value growth than expected in the TID," and
-
Allowing cities and villages to transfer TID money to its general fund if the "city or village erroneously report a higher value increment for its TID by an aggregate amount of at least $50 million."...
Ken Notes: I have been advocating for simpler TID rules with stronger guarantees especially for smaller communities. These changes are anything but that. The stress test specifically would be both difficult and expensive for cities to complete. Also how do you develop infrastructure for a project with no specific project on the boards. We need a simple TIF program for smaller cities to help expanding or new businesses with a development agreement based incentive that is bank financed up front.
What is a Tax Incremental Financing District?...
What Are The Proposed Changes?
While there are many advantages to TIDs, there is concern that TIDs increase the tax burden on citizens within the community. Governor Tony Evers` proposed budget, introduced as 2019 Senate Bill 59 on March 1, 2019, attempts to address this concern by proposing three changes to future TIDs. Those changes are:
-
Capping the developer allocation to 20% of the NIR (currently, there is no statutory limit to the amount of NIR that can be allocated to a developer),
-
Requiring TID project plans to include "stress tests" to test the "TID`s finances and feasibility under different economic situations, including a slower pace of development and lower rate of property value growth than expected in the TID," and
-
Allowing cities and villages to transfer TID money to its general fund if the "city or village erroneously report a higher value increment for its TID by an aggregate amount of at least $50 million."...
Ken Notes: I have been advocating for simpler TID rules with stronger guarantees especially for smaller communities. These changes are anything but that. The stress test specifically would be both difficult and expensive for cities to complete. Also how do you develop infrastructure for a project with no specific project on the boards. We need a simple TIF program for smaller cities to help expanding or new businesses with a development agreement based incentive that is bank financed up front.
What is a Tax Incremental Financing District?...
What Are The Proposed Changes?
While there are many advantages to TIDs, there is concern that TIDs increase the tax burden on citizens within the community. Governor Tony Evers` proposed budget, introduced as 2019 Senate Bill 59 on March 1, 2019, attempts to address this concern by proposing three changes to future TIDs. Those changes are:
-
Capping the developer allocation to 20% of the NIR (currently, there is no statutory limit to the amount of NIR that can be allocated to a developer),
-
Requiring TID project plans to include "stress tests" to test the "TID`s finances and feasibility under different economic situations, including a slower pace of development and lower rate of property value growth than expected in the TID," and
-
Allowing cities and villages to transfer TID money to its general fund if the "city or village erroneously report a higher value increment for its TID by an aggregate amount of at least $50 million."...
Ken Notes: I have been advocating for simpler TID rules with stronger guarantees especially for smaller communities. These changes are anything but that. The stress test specifically would be both difficult and expensive for cities to complete. Also how do you develop infrastructure for a project with no specific project on the boards. We need a simple TIF program for smaller cities to help expanding or new businesses with a development agreement based incentive that is bank financed up front.
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget would invest $78 million in the state’s Broadband Expansion Grant Program. The governor has set a goal to provide all homes and businesses in Wisconsin with high-speed internet by 2025.
Angie Dickison, state broadband director with the Public Service Commission, told WPR’s “The Morning Show” earlier this week that she’s hopeful state lawmakers will sign off on increased funding to expand broadband internet access across the state.
“What if your best or only option for internet access was via Wi-Fi at the local fast food restaurant? We hear that from folks,” Dickison said. “In 2019, broadband access isn’t just nice. It’s necessary.”....
...moreKen Notes: Don`t do it. Sit down with all parties and develop a 5G strategy for the entire State. Government is far to slow to invest in technology -- we can accomplish far more by developing the next generation and making it available to more (if not all) citizens. 5G is fast wireless and the future....
Brick by brick, the city of Madison is trying to fill the need for affordable housing.
On Thursday a grand opening was held for a development on Madison’s far east side. It’s nearly full, with 70 of 94 apartments already occupied. The project broke ground just over a year ago, in November 2017.
And on a cold winter day, more people were moving into the apartment complex — dubbed HARMONY @Grandview Commons — as state and local leaders held a ceremony for a project they said will provide high-quality, affordable housing to working families...
Gov. Tony Evers wants to boost unemployment benefits and remove barriers to qualify for them as part of the next state budget, but critics say the state shouldn’t sweeten jobless benefits at a time of record-low unemployment.
At stake is whether to overhaul the state’s safety net program of temporary financial support for people who lose their jobs involuntarily.
It would be the first time since 2014 that Wisconsin has increased the maximum rate for unemployment benefits — calculated as a percentage of what an employee earned before losing a job, up to as much as $370 a week. Evers wants to raise that maximum to $406 a week...
Ken Notes: I am worried that we are getting into a spending deficit that will prevent job creation. We need every program on the table and make cuts to fund the ones we now want. Also we need to do an economic/job impact study on existing and new programs.
Located at 1004 N. 10th Street, St. Anthony Place opened on March 15. The redevelopment now features 60 modern apartments, 39 of which will house individuals with housing vouchers from the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services’ Housing Division.
“St. Anthony Place is a huge step in Milwaukee County’s effort to end chronic homelessness in our community and provide permanent, supportive housing for those in need,” said Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. “Since our coordinated effort to provide housing first began in 2015, overall homelessness in Milwaukee County has dropped by 40 percent. This project will surely help us reduce that number even further. It’s a prime example of how Milwaukee County leverages creativity, resources and partnerships to reinvent a vacant space for public good.”...
...moreKen Notes: Now this is a very cool project. What a great use of space... We may need to schedule a tour of this facility, send me an email if you are interested, use Ken @ KenHarwood.com...
GENERAL CONTRACTING
Residential - Commercial - Retail - Controlled Environments
FIRE / WATER / STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION
DESIGN / BUILD & REMODELING
“Located in the Madison region for over 30 years, Engineered Construction is an industry leader in commercial construction and the restoration of commercial and residential fire and water damage.” See comments from our clients here. ...more
MADISON — Department of Administration Secretary-designee Joel Brennan on Wednesday told an audience of business leaders that the Republican-led Legislature did Gov. Tony Evers` administration "no favors" by curbing the governor`s influence on economic development initiatives. He added that the administration has forged a positive relationship with Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Mark Hogan.
A set of laws passed during a lame-duck session in December gave lawmakers greater influence over WEDC and gave the WEDC board, not the governor, the authority to appoint the agency`s CEO. Evers` power to appoint a CEO will be restored in September 2019...
See Also:
Did Business Leaders Fail on Foxconn?
Ken Notes: The answer to the second story is NOT YET. Foxconn is changing direction from displays -- to research, manufacturing processes and medical devices, this is a big leap -- we need to work with them and make sure we are only funding what we get in return. This may be difficult for infrastructure and roads but jobs should be easy to track...Oh and stop showing the plant layout - we get it they are not building that one!!!
There could be a casino coming to Beloit. The Ho-Chunk Nation is seeking federal approval for the plan, but the final decision would be up to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
As the Beloit proposal looms and another casino could be built in Rockford, Ill., just how many casinos can the southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois market support?
A different casino project, proposed by the Menominee Tribe for Kenosha, died a few years ago. Then-Gov. Scott Walker rejected it, in part because of opposition from the Forest County Potawatomi. Its Milwaukee casino is just 40 miles from the rejected Kenosha development. However, the Potawatomi says it would not fight the Ho-Chunk plan for Beloit, which is twice as far away. Evers says if the item makes it to his desk, he`ll consider all angles...
Some Residents Thrilled, Others Leery Of Proposed Beloit Casino
With financial partnership from the Wisconsin State Office of Energy and Madison Gas and Electric, the city of Madison announced this Tuesday it will purchase 20 additional electric vehicles by 2020 and charging stations.
Madison received a $129,000 grant from the state and plans to buy Chevrolet Bolts, zero emission cars that can travel 240 miles on a single charge, over the next two fiscal years...
There is an initial suggestion that rail service between the Twin Cities and the Twin Ports could return after 34 years.
Amtrak has reportedly expressed interest in spending $600 million on a route that would be called the Northern Lights Express. Passengers would be carried between Minneapolis and Duluth-Superior, with four round trips offered each day. Federal grants and local matching funds would pay for the service. One Amtrak official says it could be running in a couple of years....
SEE ALSO...
...moreKen Notes: Interesting, but I am guessing there are a lot more people interested in Minneapolis Madison Milwaukee and Chicago!!! Call me crazy...
A landmark building in downtown Boise is under new ownership.The Owyhee, at the corner of Main and 11th streets, was purchased last week by Wisconsin-based development firm Hendricks Commercial Properties, as first reported by the Idaho Statesman. This is the same company that bought large portions of BoDo along Broad Street in 2017.
The Owyhee, a 1910-era hotel, was renovated and turned into an upscale mixed-use development by Los Angeles-based development company LocalConstruct in 2013.
The new owners don’t have immediate plans for the building, or for two nearby parking lots acquired in the sale, Hendricks CEO Rob Gerbitz told BoiseDev.com...
Ken Notes: Diane we need you here in Wisconsin, you have made such a difference everywhere you invest... If you have not seen the Ironworks area in Beloit you should make a visit...
Many employers don`t realize they, too, can be a part of this great tradition
Fast forward to 2019: Wisconsin has nearly 14,000 active apprentices working for approximately 2,500 employers. Though the true origins of apprenticeship can be traced back to the middle ages, and even Babylon, it is safe to say that apprenticeship is rightfully a Wisconsin workforce tradition—and it’s here to stay....
Ken Notes: I`ll pitch this one more time - I own WisconsinApprentice.com and would love to do a weekly news aggregation featuring the efforts on all the Tech Schools, Businesses, and government support for these efforts. I need a grant or sponsors to fund the effort because there is some cost involved to do it right. The potential for the expansion of this program is huge, it is great for students, good for business, and encourages the use of our fabulous Tech program. Any interest????
As an affiliate of McMahon Associates, Inc., IPR provides Public/Private Partnership (P3) opportunities for a vast array of projects in small to medium-sized communities, as well as offering Municipal Administrator Services to local governments on an as-needed basis... and... A sponsor of Wisconsin Development News ...more
Spring break, one of the busiest seasons of the year for the Wisconsin Dells area, is just around the corner.
The Wisconsin Dells has more than four million visitors a year and is growing to accommodate more than just families, according to the Wisconsin Dells Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Romy Snyder, the executive director for the bureau, said about 40 percent of guests are adults without children and visitors from meetings and conventions. She said changes and expansions in the area are creating more than just family fun.
“You are seeing more development along the lines of more wineries popping up, more restaurants that cater to adults, nightlife,” she said...
...moreKen Notes: Interesting. On that note Madison could use a couple of family hotel venues. I am sure many EPIC trainees would love to bring their families to the city...
The restoration of the 1905 Winter railroad depot is one step closer to reality following a Sawyer County committee’s agreement to advertise for bids on the project.
The Friends of Tuscobia Trail (FOTT) have been pursuing the restoration of the historic depot in Winter since 2008. The goal is to turn the facility into a trailhead resource for the Tuscobia Trail, a welcoming center for the Winter Chamber of Commerce, a site for historical displays and the FOTT headquarters... ...moreKen Notes: Hopfully a reader has some ideas for this project....
A recently appointed Public Service Commission chair faces a confirmation hearing Tuesday in the state Senate.
Wisconsin clean energy advocates are hopeful that the state’s Public Service Commission — widely considered too tight with utility interests and even hostile to the spread of distributed solar — may be poised to take a more proactive role in the state’s shift to cleaner energy...
...moreKen Notes: It will be interesting to see if there are 2-1 votes....
Common Council approves MOU
The Racine Common Council voted to approve the agreement Tuesday night.
The deal outlines a number of activities FEWI Development Corp. and the city will engage in collaboratively “on projects of mutual agreement” to pursue smart city ideas. Each individual project would be subject to separate project agreements.
...The technology deployed in Racine could include a network of wired and wireless sensors, cameras, monitors, electronic devices, data communications, high-speed networking, predicative analytics, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, remote monitoring and transportation technologies....
Ken Notes: If I can read between the lines Foxconn is looking hard at future technologies that they can grow into. I hope they succeed....
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
(WEDC) is inviting Wisconsin companies seeking to establish or expand
their exporting efforts to participate in a global trade venture to
France and the United Kingdom from June 15-26. The registration deadline
is April 19.
The week-long trade venture will include visits to Paris, London and Birmingham, which are markets of particular opportunity for Wisconsin companies. In each city, participating companies will be scheduled for customized business meetings with potential local partners selected specifically for their companies by Wisconsin’s authorized trade representatives in the markets, based on the company’s needs....
...moreKen Notes: Paris, London and Birmingham - tax deductible 11 days I wish I had a bigger company!!!
The Common Council on Monday night approved
seeking up to $500,000 in state grant funding to help
spur improvements at a disused former manufacturing site
near downtown.The near-unanimous vote — one council member was absent — marks the city’s first effort to acquire the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s idle sites redevelopment program grant. The money would go towards tearing out concrete slabs, which are all that remain of the former factory, and revitalizing sewer, street and other infrastructure near the onetime Gehl Manufacturing center.
The site has gone unused for about a decade, and has been completely vacant since the city several years ago tore down the former factory at South Forest Avenue and Water Street. Developers in the past have approached West Bend about building multifamily housing units on the 8-acre parcel, but those plans have fallen through.
The $500,000 grant would be the largest possible allowed under the state economic development corporation’s idle sites program, which authorizes grant funds up to that amount to help jumpstart projects at disused or abandoned properties... ...more
Stay up to date by reading our MadREP Report, a bi-monthly newsletter that features regional economic development news, events and opportunities.Find older issues here.
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Could you live on $7.25 an hour or $1,160 a month (pre-tax, full-time minimum-wage pay)?
Could you pay your mortgage on this? Afford a studio apartment? Utilities? Child care? Car? Gas? Food? Medical bills? Of course not. Millions in America, however, have no choice but to try (and fail), given our ultra-low minimum wage.
Yet some still have reservations about raising it, asking, "But aren’t ‘low-skill’ workers like burger-flippers and dishwashers supposed to make less as an incentive to acquire skills?”
Ken Notes: The minimum wage is not the issue, raising it will just make hamburgers more expensive. What we need is more jobs paying a living wage and a clear path for everyone to get there. I vote for apprenticeship, school to work programs, less tax benefits for those not paying a living wage and offering benefits, less hand outs and far more hand ups. If we do raise the minimum wage place an age limit on it so kids do not drop out of school or forego college. 30,000K would look pretty cool to our youth...
E. J. Plesko & Associates will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its coming affordable Fitchburg Senior Housing project on Thursday. The development at the corner of Traceway Drive and Fish Hatchery Road will create 160 affordable units.
But what exactly makes an apartment “affordable”?...
Ken Notes: A must read!
When Republicans introduced legislation nearly a year ago trying to keep Kimberly-Clark from closing two plants in the Fox Valley, they said the company didn’t approach them asking for incentives. Instead, their bill was an attempt to change the company’s mind.
Kimberly-Clark’s lobbying reports underscore that, showing the company didn’t spend anything to lobby the Capitol until the waning months of last session. They also add some detail to the company’s late — and ultimately unsuccessful — push to get the Senate to approve the bill before then-Gov. Scott Walker’s administration stepped in with a package to keep open one of the plants...
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The virtues of making the Village of Waterford a place to live, work and play could be featured on high-profile billboards on interstates 43 and 94 as part of an effort moving forward.
Village Administrator Zeke Jackson and the Village Board discussed a proposed marketing program that could include using various strategies and resources. The plan includes raising the profile of five sites across the village eyed for development or redevelopment...
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Young people are natives when it comes to using technology, from smartphones to tablets and from social media to video games, but they can be aliens when it comes to working in tech jobs.
Despite the coast-to-coast glut of well-paid jobs in tech professions such as coding, cybersecurity, and network management, the pipeline of potential workers is much smaller than what observers would prefer...
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Foxconn Technology Group announced
winners of the second round of the Smart Cities—Smart Futures
competition at the SC Johnson iMET Center in Sturtevant Wednesday.According to a news release, during the ceremony Foxconn recognized 30 “outstanding” ideas submitted by students, faculty and staff representing Carroll University, Concordia University, Gateway Technical College, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee School of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Platteville, and UW-Whitewater, among others....
....For more information about the competition, visit: https://wismartcities-smartfutures.com/
Findorff, builders of Wisconsin`s finest projects...and ...A sponsor of Wisconsin Development News
At Design Concepts in Madison, one of the companies named in the Top Workplaces survey, a third-floor cafe opens up to a patio. The cafe, dubbed "The Tree House," provides an area for employees to relax and recharge and includes a snack bar, foosball and ping pong tables.
A common thread runs through companies in this year’s Top Workplaces – they have all carefully crafted cultures in which employees are engaged, where customers are prized and values and goals are shared.
Leaders at these companies have worked to engineer strong cultures, building employee loyalty and a sense of shared purpose, burnishing their public image, helping to increase employee retention and strengthening the bottom line....
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5 Lakes Forum to be held in May
The one-day event will be held on Tuesday, May 14 at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., and aims to attract hundreds of attendees from the Great Lakes states.
This is not the only Midwestern entrepreneurship conference. The Great Lakes International Innovation Summit was held in Milwaukee in October, and was targeted to entrepreneurial service providers, such as incubators and accelerators. In April, the 8th Annual Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference will be held in Omaha.
But the hope is this new Milwaukee event can gather startups and investors together in a unique way.
“What we’re really trying to do is bring together the best entrepreneurs and the best technology people from around the region,” said Kathleen Gallagher, executive director of Milwaukee Institute, a nonprofit technology industry advocacy organization. “We really hope to help people make more connections and forge more collaboration.”...
Notes:
A major utility in western Wisconsin has announced plans for a new solar farm in Jefferson County.
Dairyland Power Cooperative plans to purchase 149 megawatts of solar energy from the Badger State Solar project. That`s almost six times Dairyland`s current solar investment and would more than double the state`s solar production. The new partnership would create one of the largest solar farms in Wisconsin.
The solar farm would be built by development company Ranger Power on private land in the towns of Jefferson and Oakland...
Ken Notes: Solar is now very cost effective so we will see more and more projects com online. This is good for the State but we may need to address policy that defines how they come on line. Arkansas has a plan that is interesting....
Troy Maggied, executive director of the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, describes the challenges the housing stock in southwest Wisconsin presents to economic development during the Southwestern Wisconsin Economic Development Summit....
...moreKen Notes: Remember RPC`s we are so close to having a great Statewide economic development policy an team...
The Waukesha County
Center for Growth, Inc. has added three new members to its board of
directors: Tom Fotsch, chief operating officer and owner of EmbedTek
LLC; Patti Kneiser, vice president of employer services for
Froedtert Health; and Jennifer Zierer, manager of local affairs for
We Energies.Fotsch is chief operating officer and owner of EmbedTek, which designs and manufactures embedded computers and integrated displays and provides software development services for the military, medical, manufacturing, video surveillance and other industries. Prior to working with EmbedTek, Fotsch was chief operating officer of Dedicated Computing LLC. Fotsch has been involved with several business and nonprofit organizations, including the Waukesha County Business Alliance, The Salvation Army, the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, the Wisconsin Air Force Academy Parents Association and several other organizations... ...more
A lot of housing is being built in Madison, but experts say it’s far from enough.
As of late February, 822 single adults and 144 households with children in the area were homeless in shelters, living outside or in a car, or other places not meant for human habitation, according to the Dane County Homeless Services Consortium. And that doesn’t include those doubled up, staying with friends or family, or paying for motel rooms...
Ken Notes: Neither talks about taller buildings, smaller spaces, or working with market rate developers to lower the market rates. With a need for 13K units we are going to have to get creative, like after WWII creative. Lets start with a home for every homeless vet, then expand on the models that work best.
613 Williamson Street - Suite 210 Madison, WI 53703 - 608.467.1513
We are a team of commercial real estate experts devoted to ensuring commercial tenants receive conflict free, tenant-focused advice. Please Watch our video here.
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Green Lake’s Heidel House Resort and Spa has announced it will be closing its doors ahead of the summer season.
Heidel House, which has been hosting guests on the shores of the popular vacationer’s lake since 1945, will close May 20, the Ripon Commonwealth Press reported.
...moreKen Notes: Too bad I like this place....
They’re in Wisconsin, and Kenosha County is among one of the state’s best places to find work.
In reports released Wednesday, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and the Manpower Group Employment Outlook survey said the year has started on a positive note, with unemployment staying about the same in January as compared to January 2018...
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A judge has blocked Kohler Co.’s plans for a new golf course because the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved the development in sensitive sand dunes and wetlands without enough information to gauge environmental harm.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday if Kohler or the DNR would appeal administrative law judge Mark Kaiser’s ruling throwing out the wetland permit the agency approved in 2018.
The permit is one of two the DNR has issued since 2017 that were reversed based in part on testimony about department managers ordering approval against the advice of staff members who said the projects wouldn’t satisfy state law protecting wetlands....
Ken Notes: Let me go on record suggesting that Plan B here will not be as good as the project on the boards. Also Kohler has donated land and done so much for the region. I want them to continue to thrive in the state.
NEWaukee announced on March 4 that its beloved metropolitan night market would return for the 6th year, and released the event dates for 2019.
The NEWaukee Night Market is a free, outdoor event that showcases a variety of local vendors, performers, and artists. Held monthly during the summer, the Night Market serves as a platform for a wide variety of experiences that engage people of all backgrounds and ages.
The NEWaukee Night Market will be held on West Wisconsin Avenue between Plankinton and Vel R. Phillips Avenue from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. on June 12, July 10, August 14, and September 11...
St. Croix Economic Development Corporation (EDC) announces a new effort to address workforce issues and challenges faced by employers in the St. Croix Valley. Workforce attraction and retention are top issues for employers. Through retirement and attrition, more people are leaving the workforce than are entering it. In response, St. Croix EDC, in conjunction with UW-Extension and Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College-New Richmond, is conducting a confidential on-line survey of St. Croix Valley employers to build a better understanding of workforce challenges and identify effective ways to address them...
LAKE DELTON — Two of the newest additions to the state’s tourism industry were featured here for the first full day of the Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
The three-day event is allowing host Kalahari Resorts & Conventions to offer a peek at its $35 million, 112,000-square-foot addition to its conference center that, by August when it opens, will more than double the amount of meeting space at the resort and enable more and larger events....
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The state Public Service Commission heard testimony Wednesday on plans for a solar farm in Manitowoc County, but a decision is likely a few months away.
Wisconsin Public Service teamed up with Madison Gas & Electric with a plan to operate two solar energy facilities, including one along the Lakeshore. One proposed site is located in the towns of Two Creeks and Two Rivers, just south of the Point Beach Nuclear Plant. The site would cover about 1,300 acres and is expected to generate 150 megawatts, which is enough to power about 41,250 homes a year....
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The city could soon see new housing for dozens of families.The
Wisconsin Rapids Planning Commission approved 4-1 the rezoning required
for Brookfield-based developer Premier Real Estate Management to build a
48-unit, multi-family apartment complex on Washington Street,
near Mid-State Technical College. Voting no to the proposal was District
7 representative Thaddeus Kubisiak, who is the only City Council member
on the commission. ..
A regional economic development representative told the Rhinelander city council Monday there`s a person interested in doing a larger-size development downtown.
Jim Rosenberg of Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation describes what is planned...
...moreKen Notes: There are so many great cities in Wisconsin that are not on the Economic Development map which is too bad...
New Perspective Senior Living is set to start work later this year on a new senior living community in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
The 128-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community will have amenities such as a two-story lobby and reception area with fireplaces, water features, three dining venues, an indoor warm-water pool, a full-service beauty salon and spa, activity center, movie theater and dance hall.
Plans call for an official groundbreaking ceremony to be held sometime during the spring, with an opening slated for late summer of 2020.
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A new multi-family apartment complex development is on the right track for construction.
At Monday afternoon`s Planning Commission meeting, the commission heard from both the developer and the public on rezoning 3411 Washington Street for a new multi-family apartment complex. The development project comes from Premier Real Estate Management, who currently manage two other apartment complexes in the area. One of those properties is neighboring senior apartment complex River Grove....
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Special Guest Perspective by Dan O’Donnell
Just call him “Two-Faced Tony.”
The most noticeable trend of the early days of the Evers Administration is the new Governor’s penchant for promising something and then quickly reversing course.
He intimated that he wouldn’t abide by new laws the State Legislature passed in extraordinary session before promising to follow them the next day. He repeatedly announced plans to dissolve the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation before abandoning them.
On the campaign trail, he said “everything is on the table” when it comes to new revenue streams before telling the Washington Post a few days before the election that he won’t propose any new taxes...
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Notes: I disagree with EVERY WORD! I am a conservative, but I support many of the ways the Governor is trying to move us forward. Dan does not get politics at all and he is NOT advocating for Disadvantaged and Minority Students. He wants more money, and to get that you have to support the businesses that pay the bills. To get that you have to increase the brick and mortar that generated the property taxes that pay for education. To get that you have to create jobs that pay a living wage. To get that you need to get involved in your schools to make them better.
This budget has been pronounced DOA so now we are tasked with dealing with each program individually, an uphill battle at best. We need to look for bipartisan solutions, if Tony had submitted a budget that eliminated WEDC and expanded the Voucher Program he would not have had a place to start talking -- now we do!
An old building in downtown Rhinelander could get new life, but it may take an initial public investment.Most of the details about the development haven`t been revealed at this point on purpose. Rosenberg told Newswatch 12 the developer wants to remain private for now to protect his potential purchase.
"There have been some smaller renovations projects in the downtown, but this project is larger and adds a housing component," Rosenberg said via email. "For that reason, I think it has the potential to be more catalytic."
Land & Space Development Database
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Ken Notes: Tom Daykin is the source for ED news in MKE. This is a permanent link to articles in his blog which is updated daily...
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Ken Notes: "Ken Notes" may be reprinted in context without permission. Attribution should be Ken Harwood, Editor Wisconsin Development News or Ken Harwood Advocate for Wisconsin.