Idle Sites program offers redevelopment help

When commercial printer RR Donnelly closed in 2004, 700 of Waterloo, Wisconsin’s 3,300 residents lost their jobs. The company’s 330,000-square-foot building sat vacant, becoming an “eyesore” within the community and a reminder of what was lost. Officials from the small town in Jefferson County knew revitalizing the property would provide a much-needed sign of hope for the area.

The community sought help from both public and private partners to revitalize the site, which included the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC’s) Idle Sites Redevelopment Program. The program, which launched in 2013, offers grants of up to $500,000 for the development of large industrial and commercial sites that have been idle for more than five years to revitalize local communities and eliminate blight having a harmful impact on local economies...

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