The reason we know Fetch is a unicorn is because in March it raised a $210 million round of venture capital funding from Softbank, one of the world’s largest venture funds. Investors valued the company at upwards of $1.5 billion. It’s an exciting event and an opportunity for reflection...
Ken Harwood
Advocating for Wisconsin
Ken [at] KenHarwood.com
608.334.2174
Ken [at] KenHarwood.com
608.334.2174
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This Weeks Articles...
- Madison commission asks for three-block `Summer on State` proposal
- Scott Resnick: Fetch shows potential for high-growth technology companies in Wisconsin
- Plan Commission halts Raemisch Farm development over F35s, environmental impacts
- Titletown Development welcomes Miron Construction at Titletown Office
- Madison firm developing lab-grown seafood raises $1.6M in pre-seed round
- Kimberly-Clark to move 250 jobs from Neenah, will open Chicago location
- Milwaukee area beer gardens are growing. This summer`s lineup is to include new sites in downtown Milwaukee, Bayshore and Waukesha.
- Foxconn talks continue in Wisconsin
- New development proposal would mean a tear down of an old Madison icon
- Wisconsin legislators, ag groups push expanded ag export funding bill
- Wisconsin communities receive $90 million from HUD to address homelessness, develop affordable housing
- Affordable housing in high demand as Milwaukee approves $7M for efforts
- Newly Proposed Plan Aims to Address Madison’s Housing Crisis
- Report: Milwaukee housing leaders say affordable housing developments should be located near job hubs, suburbs
- OrthoIllinois withdraws proposal for Wisconsin ASC after controversy
- BMO Tower: Project of the Year — Milwaukee Business Journal 2021 Real Estate Awards
- Wauwatosa advances development with up to 525 apartments for site near village area
- Building a Gaming Industry Ecosystem in the Madison Region
- Wisconsin Restaurant Initiative Lends Helping Hand to Sheboygan County Restaurateurs
- This bird seed benefits more than just birds
- Hospitality industry struggling to hire
New 2021 Sponsor Opportunities
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With questions about a proposal to close six blocks of State Street on summer weekends, Madison’s Transportation Commission pushed off that decision Wednesday and asked for details on how the plan could work on just three blocks.
Proponents argue the “Summer on State” program, proposed by Madison’s Central Business Improvement District, is necessary to breathe life into Madison’s downtown and its struggling businesses....Ken Notes: I love this idea! I would love it even more if 20 feet in the center of State were set aside for a rubber wheel electric drive Trolley that runs from Terrace to Terrace. Just a thought.
Fetch Rewards has delivered to Madison its first unicorn — and, at least as important, lessons for how to achieve more high-growth startup companies.A “unicorn” in the technology sector is a venture-backed startup with a valuation of $1 billion or more. Currently, only 632 unicorns are in the entire world — across 11 countries. Just 10 of those unicorns are in the Midwest. So it’s a big deal that in late March, for the first time, Madison minted a unicorn named Fetch.
Ken Notes: Great story! I love the idea of Madison becoming a hub for companies like this.
Uncertainty around the future impact of the noise from F35 fighter jets based at Madison’s Truax Field led to the city’s Plan Commission halting a major development proposal earlier this week.The Plan Commission on Monday reviewed a proposal to rezone property at 4000-4150 Packers Ave. and 4201 N. Sherman Ave. in order to allow construction of 124 single family homes as well as a potential mix of condominiums, apartment buildings, mixed-use buildings and commercial space called Raemisch Farm....
...Full Story Here
Ken Notes: I hope that there is not a political agenda in this decision but I fear there is...
Miron is currently constructing building set for June 2021
completion, adding Green Bay location to its six other locations
Titletown Development LLC, the real estate development arm of the Green Bay Packers, today announced plans for Miron Construction to open an office at Titletown Office, which the firm is currently building.
"We`re pleased to have Miron Construction join us at Titletown Office," said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. "They`ve been a big part of bringing to life our vision not only for Titletown, but for Lambeau Field as well, and we look forward to them continuing their growth as a company here in the Greater Green Bay area."
Miron, a longtime construction partner with the Packers as the Official Provider of Construction Services for the Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field, has done extensive work at Lambeau Field and Titletown, including much of the ongoing work at Titletown. Miron will occupy part of the third floor of the building, nearly 23,000 square feet...
...Full Story Here"We`re pleased to have Miron Construction join us at Titletown Office," said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. "They`ve been a big part of bringing to life our vision not only for Titletown, but for Lambeau Field as well, and we look forward to them continuing their growth as a company here in the Greater Green Bay area."
Miron, a longtime construction partner with the Packers as the Official Provider of Construction Services for the Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field, has done extensive work at Lambeau Field and Titletown, including much of the ongoing work at Titletown. Miron will occupy part of the third floor of the building, nearly 23,000 square feet...
Ken Notes: GREAT COMPANY, great fit and a very cool space. Any interest in hosting a busload from Madison after you open?? Titletown is an amazing development...
Cultured Decadence, a Madison startup specializing in cell-cultured seafood products such as lab-grown lobster meat, said it has closed a $1.6 million pre-seed round of funding.The round was led by investors including Bluestein Ventures, Joyance Partners, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, gener8tor, GlassWall Syndicate, Bascom Ventures and Dao Foods, an investment holding company based in China.
“We’ve been impressed with the team’s skill set and scientific integrity,” Ashley Hartman, a senior principal at Bluestein Ventures, said in a press release. “We’re excited to join the pre-seed round for Cultured Decadence and for the potential of their technology to transform the market for seafood. We look forward to supporting their vision to create animal-free shellfish.” ....
Ken Notes: This one is interesting. I want to taste it without knowing about the lab part. Does FRESH WISCONSIN LOBSTER sound weird to anyone else???
NEENAH – Kimberly-Clark will move more than 250 positions in sales, marketing and executive management from Wisconsin to a new commercial center in Chicago, the company said Wednesday.
The move is expected to take effect in the first fiscal quarter of 2022, which begins in January.
The new Chicago facility will house the sales, retail and marketing teams for the company`s North American consumer products that include such brands as Huggies and Kleenex.
Kimberly-Clark said in an email that more than 2,500 employees will remain in Wisconsin.
See Also:
...Full Story HereKimberly-Clark moving 250 Fox Valley jobs to Chicago
Ken Notes: First Texas now Chicago, I question if KC knows the value of Wisconsin, our schools systems, our quality of life, our role in a global society. Why not Madison or Milwaukee if you think the Fox Valley does not provide "access to people and partners with diverse experiences, skills and capabilities to grow our brands with world class commercial capability". We need more global players in the state not leaving it...
A friend of mine moved to Dallas in the 80`s with KC for "lower taxes" he told me, I now live in a gated community, send my kids to private school and my sail boat is 178 miles away instead of across the street.
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The growing popularity of Milwaukee area beer gardens is creating new locations beyond their traditional sites in parks as summer beckons — and the pandemic shows signs of retreating.
Along with providing outdoor gathering spaces for people to have fun, some of the new beer gardens will bring more life to underused sites, including a downtown Milwaukee parking lot and an empty building at Glendale`s redeveloping Bayshore mixed-use project.
Ken Notes: Interested in Craft Beer, Wine, and Spirits in Wisconsin? Check out WisCraftNews.com you can subscribe for free!
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — We are waiting to learn details on a possible new deal involving the state of Wisconsin and Foxconn.
If you recall, Foxconn was ineligible to receive tax credits from Wisconsin for work done in 2019, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
WEDC said Foxconn did not meet the required minimum number of full-time employees hired to work on the project and the company did not follow through on its project that it described in the original contract.
Spectrum News 1 checked in with the state to learn new details on a possible contract, but leaders stress they won’t release information out of respect for the company until things are finalized....
What You Need To Know
- Foxconn was ineligible to receive tax credits from Wisconsin for work done in 2019
- WEDC said Foxconn did not meet the required minimum number of full-time employees hired to work on the project
- The WEDC is working with Foxconn to renegotiate
Ken Notes: Honestly why do we care? We made a deal with Foxconn based on jobs and build-out that they did not produce and therefore they did not collect. We now need to let them figure out where they are going and how can we help --- and WE SHOULD DO THE SAME FOR ANY WISCONSIN COMPANY. I believe Missy Hughes gets this at least I hope she does. We also need to make sure Foxconn and other growth in the area covers the investment made by the local communities in land acquisition and infrastructure build-out.
The third tallest building in Madison; that’s what JLA Architects is calling a newly proposed building near Alliant Energy Center.It’s a privately funded $40 million project that would stand 18 stories high, along Olin Ave. to John Nolan Drive. If the project does go through, it means the Wonder Bar Steakhouse and the Coliseum Bar would be torn down, leaving one employee of the 92-year-old building upset...
...Full Story Here
Two Wisconsin legislators say Governor Tony Evers’ export expansion proposal doesn’t go far enough. State Senator Joan Ballweg says, “We know that Wisconsin ranks first in exports for things like ginseng roots, prepared and preserved cranberries, raw fur skins, and bovine semen, yet these industries are excluded from the Governor’s proposal in his current budget.”
State Representative Tony Kurtz agrees. “Over 104 billion dollars we produce, but yet we only export roughly, you know, about 3.5 billion dollars.”
Ballweg and Kurtz introduced their agriculture and agribusiness comprehensive export program Monday, which would require the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to create a plan and achieve export objectives by June 30th, 2026...
...Full Story HereKen Notes: Good ideas but I think the privates sector has a better chance here and the real hurdles are at the federal level. DATCP and WEDC can help but we need a delegation at at national and global levels to make a dent...
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Notes:
GREEN BAY - Efforts to address homelessness and develop affordable housing in Wisconsin are getting a nearly $90 million boost from the American Rescue Plan.Wisconsin cities, counties and regional consortiums received a total of $89.9 million of grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to create affordable housing and provide services for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless....
...Full Story Here
Ken Notes: We need to rethink what an affordable home actually is. Now we do not build affordable housing we build subsidized housing and it is not the same thing, subsidized housing creates a dependency, makes it very difficult to leave, and cost us way too much...
Affordable housing development efforts in Milwaukee need more money, according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report released this week amid an ongoing push to meet that need.
...Full Story Here
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway calls the plan “Housing Forward.” It is a sweeping framework that aims to address the short-term goal of housing insecurity and the lingering issue of housing shortages across the city. Matthew Wachter, Madison’s Director of Planning, Community and Economic Development, said the plan builds on extensive research on the city’s housing issues.
“In the last seven years, the city of Madison has written seven different housing reports that look at different parts of the housing market…if you add all of those reports together, it’s 1,000 pages, it’s hundreds of recommendations, so what Housing Forward does is it goes through all of those and pulls out the ideas that rose to the top,” Wachter said....
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More financial support is needed to develop additional affordable housing units in metro Milwaukee, according to a new report.Wisconsin Policy Forum released a report Wednesday taking stock of housing affordability challenges in the city, where more than half of renter households spend at least 30% of their income on rent.
Based on a survey of dozens of nonprofit organizations and private developers whose work involves affordable housing development or housing services, WPF said increased affordable housing development was named as the strategy most in need of increased financial support. More than half (54%) of the 61 housing leaders surveyed said it was the top priority to address the housing affordability gap
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OrthoIllinois withdrew its application to build an ASC (Ambulatory surgery center) in Beloit, Wis., after a months long controversy over planning and zoning, the Beloit Daily News reported April 12.
The controversy began in October, when Rockford-based OrthoIllinois submitted a proposal for a conditional use permit to build a 25,605-square-foot ASC.
The proposal was met with criticism by Beloit Health System, which said the ASC could harm the level of care the system offers, according to Beloit Daily News.
The Beloit Plan Commission denied OrthoIllinois` conditional use permit on Nov. 18 in a 3-3 vote. OrthoIllinois resubmitted plans for the ASC Dec. 9, claiming the city made a mistake in considering the ASC`s zoning use....
...Full Story HereKen Notes: These are a very tough call, nice new development but it take the profitable part of your local hospital away while leaving their responsibility for emergency and no insurance health care both which lose money. A community needs to address it`s total care needs when allowing new development. If we are wondering why Health Care is so expensive we need to address these issues.
Developer Irgens overcame several challenges to complete the BMO Tower in downtown Milwaukee, the Business Journal`s Project of the Year for the 2021 Real Estate Awards. Find out more about the high-profile development that one of the newest addition to the city`s skyline...
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Wauwatosa officials advanced two developments that would add up to 769 more apartments to its already active housing market...
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Stay up to date by reading our MadREP Report, a bi-monthly newsletter that features regional economic development news, events and opportunities. ...Full Story Here
Between 2010 and 2020, the Madison Region has seen a 76.4% increase in Computer Systems Design and Related Services (NAICS 54151) jobs, a category that includes video game development. That number is even more startling when compared against a 50% increase throughout the United States. (Emsi)Wisconsin has a relatively low cost of doing business when compared to other states currently dominating the game development landscape. Business owners looking to relocate or establish new or satellite offices find Wisconsin to be an affordable option. The low cost of living/doing business, access to talent, the existing industry network and the high quality of life come together to make Wisconsin a viable option...
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The Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) and Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UW-Green Bay aspire to offer a wide array of services, resources and expertise designed to help lead both budding and experienced entrepreneurs on the road to sustainable success.Through this unique collaboration between the SCEDC and the SBDC, the Wisconsin Restaurant Initiative (WRI) has stepped to the forefront in aiding restaurant owners, many of which have been dealing with numerous challenges over the past year related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spearheaded by Southwest Wisconsin SBDC Business Consultant Jason Schleip, the Wisconsin Restaurant Initiative initially formed in December 2019 to address the specialized needs of the state’s restaurant industry...
...Full Story Here
The filler-free seed, branded as Birders`
Select, provides a means of income for Endeavors, director Kathleen
Clark says. It`s also a hit with the birds.
...Full Story HereIn this episode of Northland Outdoors, Chad Koel travels to Balsam Lake, Wis., to check out a program at Endeavors Adult Development Center, a service-oriented, nonprofit organization for adults with special needs....
EAU CLAIRE (WQOW) - Many restaurants and hotels are eager to welcome back customers and clients, but it`s hard to fully reopen when you`re not fully staffed.Sheila Arredondo, owner of Silly Serrano in Eau Claire, has been looking to hire another cook and cashier for months.
"It just blows my mind how I can put out an ad and it can be weeks or months before somebody even applies for the position," Arredondo said...
...Full Story Here
Ken Notes: WDNews relies on the actual journalism provided by your local media outlets. Without these partners we can not bring you the unbiased news, leads and updates you need to thrive in Wisconsin. Support your local media...
Note: I changed the link here to Toms Twitter account. JS limits the number of articles I can read so I look at TD`s Twitter feed every week. I`ll Still include JS articles but after ten you need to subscribe.
I also updated the picture because, well Tom is getting old and development is taking it`s toll!!!
Milwaukee
- 1/1/2020 Journal Sentinel business reporter Tom Daykin talks about
commercial real estate and development, including stores, hotels,
offices, condos, apartments and industrial buildings...
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.
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Edited and Published by:
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608.334.2174
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