Volume 2 - Issue 25 - Circulation 3,500 Week of 06.18.09 to 06.25.09

Madison - June 22, 2009 - From high-profile development projects like Union Corners on East Washington Avenue, the BioAg Gateway north of the Beltline between U.S. 51 and Interstate 90 and the Central Library downtown to inventive online services for local businesses, the city's Economic Development Division is not short on ideas for improving Madison's relationship with business. But what the city and local businesses can afford in time and money will likely curtail what Madison can implement over the next year. The ideas stem from the three- to five-year strategic economic development plan the City Council passed in August 2008, shortly before stock markets crashed and the country -- Madison included -- settled into a major economic recession...

Ken Notes: The meeting is over but let's hope the focus is on working with the companies and leaders that are here and growing as well as attracting new companies with proven business models. I also believe that the surrounding communities will offer the corporate diversity that could be very attractive to new and expanding businesses.

Wisconsin - 06/25/09 As traffic increases on the more than 100 FutureWisconsin Project websites, we have developed a series of questions and answers for users, developers and news outlets. We are asking professionals to share this information with others interested in promoting economic development in Wisconsin...

Madison Area - 6/24/2009 - The Madison area offers key resources to help high-tech companies grow from expert university researchers and technology transfer capabilities to a stable economy and talented labor pool. In 2008, high-tech companies earned $6.5 billion in annual sales/revenue and/or government awards that generated more than 30,000 jobs in the Madison area...

Ken Notes: 2009 Directory Available Now.

Wisconsin - Jun. 22, 2009 - Senate Democrats are moving to close a loophole that has given developers huge property tax breaks by planting crops on land that is zoned for residential or business purposes. In some cases, lots have roads, utilities and street lights and are straddled by houses, but the developers get a break on the assessment and taxes because they have farmers grow corn, winter wheat or other crops...

Ken Notes: The fix is not to eliminate the loophole but rather to create a fair assessment for land being held for development. The developers are partners with the community and will create the tax base of the future. If the holding costs are too high they will move projects to areas further from the core where costs are less. Then we will see sprawl complaints.

Milwaukee - 6/24/2009 - Republic Airways Holdings is acquiring Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines from TPG Capital, a private equity firm. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in four to six weeks. Republic will acquire 100 percent of the equity of Midwest and TPG's $31 million secured note from Midwest...

Ken Notes: I feel bad for this one. I know Tim personally and his commitment to the State and the employees of ME has been exemplary. His dream to create the best airline in the world was visionary. By the way Madison could use a small new airline - just a thought.

Madison - June 19, 2009 - As a resident of rural Iowa County and president of a company working to develop Wisconsin's biofuels potential, I want to voice my strong support for the Wisconsin Working Lands Initiative. The Working Lands Initiative now being considered by the Legislature is the result of several years of thoughtful development, with input from people across the state. My business, C5-6 Technologies, understands the importance of the development process in perfecting a product. I'm impressed with the dedicated efforts of those who fashioned the Working Lands Initiative...

Ken Notes: A very interesting perspective. We need to combine this plan with a comprehensive regional plan for development growth that supports the needs of business.

MADISON - June 20, 2009 - The Assembly's top Democrat reportedly told General Motors executive this week that he wouldn't back a state budget deal with the Senate unless it includes business incentives that could help a bid to restart the General Motors plant in his home city of Janesville, officials said. Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan "is so adamant and committed to getting this done that he's going to get it done," said former state lawmaker Tim Cullen, co-chairman of a state task force on the Janesville plant. "These are important matters in our effort to get General Motors to come back to Janesville."...

Ken Notes: We need serious commitments from GM if we are to invest in our future. History suggests major investments are quickly set aside if profits are impacted and in this case we may be offering the wrong carrot. What if we were to invest directly in the employee like offering to help with pension or benefits at least the money stays in the state.

Madison - 6/24/2009 - CUNA Mutual Group will double its stake in the retirement-plan business in a single stroke next week by purchasing a Kansas-based administrator of 401(k), profit-sharing and related plans. CUNA Mutual's acquisition of CPI Qualified Plan Consultants in Great Bend, Kan., will result in the Madison-based insurance company servicing about 7,500 retirement plans with assets nearing $10 billion. It also represents the company's first full-scale venture beyond the credit-union marketplace for one of its core products, company leaders said...

DETROIT - 6/24/2009 - A Michigan congressman says General Motors Corp. could decide as early as this week where it will build a new line of small cars, with Janesville one of three factories in the running. Rep. Gary Peters, whose district includes one of the other three factories in the running, presented letters to GM Tuesday signed by 20,000 people hoping the automaker will choose its Orion Township plant near Pontiac. Elizabeth Lowery, GM's vice president of environment, energy and safety policy, accepted the letters at GM's downtown Detroit headquarters...

Ken Notes: Lets hope that it is the quality of the worker that brings GM back to Janesville. Plan B should be the development of an alternative fuel vehicle in the State. If anyone is listening I like hydrogen fuel cell powered mass transit. This will happen who will lead is the question.

WISCONSIN - This is a comprehensive data base of all business professionals in development, planning, government, commercial real estate, architecture, construction, and service providers to business. Any professional may enter his or her own business card for free. FutureWisconsin is Wisconsin's own social networking data base to promote new business in the state...

Ken Notes: Network with professionals doing business in the state...

Madison - 6/25/09 - From the front porch of his 19th century home on the quiet, tree-lined 1300 block of East Wilson Street, Dan Wehrman often can hear the comments of bicyclists pedaling past. "People come off the east side bike path and say things like, 'God, I just love this street,' " says Wehrman, 61, a homeowner there since 1992....

Wisconsin - Jun. 23, 2009 - The Wisconsin Chapter of NAIOP, which represents commercial property developers, is among the business groups unhappy with the proposed state budget. The state chapter has written a letter to state legislators, saying the 2009-'11 budget proposal contains "some of the most anti-economy, anti-development legislation seen in decades." The development industry is "limping on a broken leg and these policies kick out our crutches," the letter says....

Middleton - June 23, 2009 - If you've ever run out of toilet paper late at night or toothpaste in the morning, Alice.com is hoping to lure your business. Founded by Madison serial entrepreneurs Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire, the online shopping venture is making its public debut today, after a test period with about 200 people nationwide. Alice.com is aimed at providing household essentials, such as toiletry items, garbage bags and detergents, delivered to customers with no shipping charge. It includes a reminder service...

Ken Notes: A very interesting concept. Middleton could be the next Bentonville, Arkansas.

Wisconsin - Are we feeding the wrong end of the bear? OK, clearly not my best analogy, but it does illustrate the bear market economy and the challenges we all face. If we shovel money into to the wrong end of our economic problems, we fail to address the famine that is the causing the problem in the first place. For the past few years, we have seen an economy stimulated with easy credit and the assumption that the American dream was at hand. We borrowed, we spent, we invested, or at least two of the three. When the economy stumbled, the banks tightened the credit markets and the dream started to become a bit of a nightmare...

Ken Notes: This guy is nuts...

WASHINGTON - 6/24/2009 - With signs the U.S. economy is improving but still fragile, Federal Reserve policymakers are considering whether some programs intended to drive down rates on mortgages and other consumer debt should be slowed down. Fears have grown on Wall Street that the Fed's radical efforts to lift the country out of the longest recession since World War II could ignite inflation later on...

Ken Notes: If we are asking for concessions from employees we need to work hard to control inflation.

Middleton - 6/25/2009 - The City of Middleton's plan commission and landmarks commission have approved a site design for the Mustard Museum project at the corner of Hubbard Avenue and Parmenter Street. Following a cave-in during attempts to restore a historic building known to many residents as "the Friendly Store" and the subsequent demolition of the structure on May 19, High Pointe Properties (HPP), the property owner and developer, committed to build a new structure utilizing as much of the historic brick from the old building as possible. ..

Madison - 06/25/2009 - Here's something you might not know from media coverage of the UW-Madison's plans to remake the tip of Picnic Point: The plans are actually quite controversial. "There were people who were extremely emotional," says Ron Wallace, co-director of the UW-Madison's creative writing program, of the June 9 campus meeting he attended on the subject. He estimates about half the 50 people there were "vehemently opposed," and was stunned to see a TV news report that did not mention this....

Recent commercial property listings from PropertyDrive.

Wisconsin - More than $336 million in federal stimulus money has been allocated to counties, cities, towns and villages in Wisconsin. Of that total, about $124 million has been allocated through the state Department of Transportation for road, bridge and transit projects. And more than $48 million in Housing and Urban Development funds has been allocated...

Ken Notes: Great Resource

Madison - Jun. 24, 2009 - In a sign that a potential state budget deal could be approved soon, a special Assembly-Senate conference committee started work late Wednesday on a compromise to send to the full Legislature. After a 2 1/2 -hour meeting, however, the committee had made no major decisions on the more than 180 differences between the Assembly and Senate versions of the budget....

Wisconsin - June 21, 2009 - Like a financially strapped consumer facing higher credit card bills, the governor and legislators are setting the state up for unprecendented debt payments over the next four years under state budget proposals. By 2012, yearly payments on that debt will likely consume at least 4.5 percent of the state's total income from taxes and fees, according to projections by both the Legislature's and Gov. Jim Doyle's budget offices. That's 13 percent higher than the 4 percent threshold state officials have widely considered to be a reasonable limit....

Madison Area - JUN 25, 2009 - The economy may be in its worst slump in decades, but at least one industry is still sprouting new companies and adding jobs in the Madison area. Technology companies boosted their revenue by more than $500 million in 2008 and added about 1,000 jobs over the previous year, according to a survey by Madison Gas & Electric...

Waterloo - Trek Bicycle added and renovated 200,000 square feet of offices in phases from 2004 through 2008, investing millions to create an environment that would attract the world's best designers and managers to Waterloo, Wisconsin...

Ken Notes: We can learn a lot from the Treks and EPICs who have demonstrated good design can lead to better staff and a higher quality product.

JUN 25, 2009 - Gail Berberich's dream home would be a lot sweeter if she could take advantage of the historically low interest rates banks are offering. But because the two-bedroom, 2½-bath ranch is atypical by design, Berberich says she can't refinance because she can't get an appraisal...

Ken Notes: Interesting problem. Pictures reveal a very nice home.

The seller of real estate is required to file a Real Estate Transfer Return (RETR) with the County Register of Deeds when recording deeds of property conveyances. State statutes require those returns to be filed electronically beginning July 1, 2009. Below is a link to the electronically filed Real Estate Transfer data as of July 1st 2009 and forward. The data will be updated on a weekly basis...

Ken Notes: This link is a regular feature of WDN...

Treasury Department Debt to the Penny Link
CNN Money Scorecard
Government Recovery Website
Wisconsin State Budget Google News

Create a vibrant, innovative and prosperous entrepreneurial business climate, nurturing, connecting and celebrating entrepreneurs and their companies...

Ken Notes: A valuable resource worth visiting for all businesses in the state. A special thanks for BizStarts for compiling and sharing the resource!...

Madison Area - One of the Madison Region's big opportunities for the future is to position ourselves as leaders in the bio and green economy, already a growing focus area for Thrive with the intersection of our target sectors of agriculture and biotechnology. The A & O Initiative recognized that we are transitioning from the non-renewable petroleum-based economy to a renewable bio-based economy and that the region is already a leader on many related fronts...

JANESVILLE - June 25, 2009 - It's no surprise that home foreclosures are on the rise, but some locals are saying a recent article in USA Today is making it look worse than it actually is in Rock County. Local economic officials are disappointed in the negative publicity. The closure of the General Motors plant in Janesville has garnered national attention. Statewide, Rock County has among the highest unemployment rates...

Verona - 6/24/2009 - After two more short delays, the new Badger Prairie Health Care Center is ready to be built. The $22 million nursing home for the mentally infirm on East Verona Avenue went out for bids this spring, and while the numbers that came back had those involved in the process practically jumping for joy, procedural matters caused the bid approvals to be delayed until last week. But the County Board gave it the green light last Thursday, and a groundbreaking has been tentatively set for early next week....

Madison Area - June 18, 2009- The listing of area building permits is gathered from records filed with planning officials in Madison, Fitchburg, Middleton and Sun Prairie...

Ken Notes: A few more!

Madison - June 21, 2009 - When Apple unveiled its iPhone in 2007 and then allowed "outsiders" to write software for it last year, David Francis started dreaming big. A former Apple employee, Francis has been writing software for Mac computers for about 20 years, and his small Madison company, FTS Consulting, focused on that field since its founding in 2000....

Ken Notes: Try pointing your iPhone browser (or any internet browser) to www.FutureWisconsin.com/gadget/ to find any city, chamber, development professional, or commercial property in the state.

Wisconsin - This section allows you to access any of our current space needs and acquire some brief detail regarding each. You'll notice that in addition to posting our current RFPs and RFIS, we are listing other significant needs for which we are seeking space....

Ken Notes: Brokers should check this often...

Wisconsin - June 18, 2009 - In 2008, Wisconsin launched a $150 million grant program for renewable energy projects. The program, which is intended for research and development or commercialization of new clean energy technologies, requires matching funds of at least 50 percent...

JUN 23, 2009- The troubled U.S. economy hit its first turning point in January, when the stock market began to inch back up, but it will be early 2010 before unemployment eases much, Michael Knetter, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, told a conference on Monday....

Wisconsin - Jun. 20, 2009 - With the elimination of the capital-gains tax exemption in the Senate version of the state budget, the disconnect between the political leaders and business leaders in Wisconsin is just about complete. The 60% exemption from state income tax for capital gains was one of the few tax advantages of doing business in Wisconsin. Gov. Jim Doyle, desperate for more tax revenue to fill a huge state deficit, took the exemption down to 40% in his budget. The Senate version eliminates it completely...

Wisconsin - Jun. 24, 2009 - The Natural Resources Board approved a substantial revision of zoning regulations on Wednesday that aims to improve water quality along the state's waterways. The regulations, which were originally written more than 40 years ago, would set new limits on the construction of hard surfaces close to lakes, rivers and streams. But the new rules would also eliminate a controversial measure that limited landowners from making improvements that exceeded 50% of the value of the property from 35 feet to 75 feet of the shoreline....

Beloit - Jun. 23, 2009- Food ingredients and flavors manufacturer Kerry Group on Tuesday officially opened its $50 million technical center in Beloit, site of the Irish company's headquarters for North and South America. Construction of the 250,000-square-foot expansion was aided by $6 million from the State of Wisconsin and $4.7 million from the City of Beloit. The expansion has brought about 250 jobs to Beloit, bringing Kerry's employment in the city to a little over 600, Larry N. Arft, city manager, said. In addition, he said, Kerry is continuing to add jobs....

Wisconsin - Jun. 23, 2009 - A high-speed rail route linking Milwaukee and Madison holds high promise for improved transportation and economic development in Wisconsin. And now it turns out it may bring an added plus for folks in communities such as Hartland, Oconomowoc and Brookfield: more peace and quiet...

Ken Notes: I agree that it would have a positive impact on development. We will need to tie the system into other transit options in MKE and MAD.

Milwaukee - Jun. 20, 2009 - At the former Pabst brewery visitors center, there's been a sign hanging for nearly 13 years that Jim Haertel is eager to take down. It reads, "No Tours Today!" Haertel this week will reopen the ornate visitors center, including the former Pabst gift shop and Blue Ribbon Hall, which closed in 1996 with the rest of the brewery. At first, the building will be open just for 45-minute tours. Eventually it will be available for catered events....

Ken Notes: Check out the photos with the story! Would you guys consider hosting a developers tour and meeting?

Milwaukee - Jun. 23, 2009 - The financially troubled Staybridge Suites development in downtown Milwaukee could end up being operated by a court-appointed receiver, and that could lead to work resuming on the long-delayed project. SJ Properties Suites Buyco EHF, an Icelandic investment fund,...

Pewaukee - Jun. 24, 2009 - Pewaukee-based Reese Brothers Development Inc., and owners Kenneth and James Reese, are suing their lender, Equitable Bank, claiming the lender breached its loan agreement with the developers. According to the suit, filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Equitable agreed to lend $1.6 million to Reese Brothers to develop a residential subdivision in Pewaukee. But the Wauwatosa-based bank breached that agreement by failing to honor draw requests...

Milwaukee - 6/24/2009 - Reykjavik, Iceland-based SJ Properties Suites BuyCo EHF, an investor in the Staybridge Suites development in downtown Milwaukee, is asking a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge to appoint a receiver to take over and complete the long delayed development....

Jun. 24, 2009 - With its major plants running under capacity and the boat industry sinking during the recession, Fond du Lac-based Mercury Marine has become the subject of intense speculation that it may seek to consolidate operations either in Wisconsin or Stillwater, Okla. For Wisconsin, the stakes are great. Mercury Marine is one of the most storied names in the boat engine business and employs about 1,900 workers in Fond du Lac. The firm also employs 400 workers at a facility in Stillwater....

Milwaukee - Jun. 22, 2009 - Milwaukee may have an opportunity to shape the future of Wisconsin eminent domain cases. A current case facing the common council includes a dispute between owners of a private parcel of land and the city that wants the land to be developed. Rafael Cetina, who wants to keep his land, said the city is unfairly taking it to give it to Pete's Fruit market, a nearby grocer, using eminent domain...

Kenosha County - Jun. 25, 2009 - The Kenosha County community of Pleasant Prairie, home to LakeView Corporate Park and other business parks, hopes to develop an incubator for technology-oriented business start-ups. The 2009-'11 state budget, which is still pending in the Legislature, includes a $700,000 grant for what has been dubbed the Pleasant Prairie Technology Incubator Center. The state Department of Commerce grant would be provided only if the center obtains matching funds of $700,000 from other sources....

Milwaukee - Jun. 22, 2009 - The heavy rains that fell last week, bringing floods and sewer back-ups around the Milwaukee area, did not affect the former Pabst brewery complex, thanks to new detention basins and other measures. Those include bio-swales, grass and plant strips along new sidewalks being built as part of the Pabst complex's redevelopment. The bio-swales captured and slowed the flow of rain water, said Mike Mervis, spokesman for developer Joseph Zilber. "We didn't have any back-ups, we didn't have any flooding," Mervis said Monday....

Wisconsin - Jun. 19, 2009 - Monarch Homes of Wisconsin LLC has filed updated bankruptcy records that show it owes over $7 million to its creditors, including just over $6 million in unsecured debts. Monarch, which is being liquidated, this week reported in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that it has liabilities totaling at least $7.58 million. It reported assets of $1.42 million. Slinger-based Monarch's unsecured claims total $6.16 million. The company's largest unsecured creditor is Kenosha-based First Banking Center, which is owed $3.5 million from a loan, according to court documents...

Franklin - Jun. 19, 2009 - Plans for a 101-room Hampton Inn and Suites in Franklin are "edging forward," developer Ed Eldridge told me Friday. Eldrige hopes to begin construction by this fall. The Hampton would be built on 2 acres that Eldridge owns west of S. 76th St. and south of W. Loomis Road. The hotel plan got initial city approvals last summer. Since then, the credit markets have tightened and the recession has deepened. But Eldridge said he remains committed to the project....

A single source for all economic development news for Greater Madison and beyond. Wisconsin Development News, (WDN) is published weekly by Ken Harwood.

Available to commercial brokers, developers, financial professionals, community planners, public officials, the press and others who have expressed an interest in Wisconsin development. All stories should link to their original source in the original context. These pages may contain advertising, and I encourage patronage of both our sponsors and the related advertisers and publications I link too.

We link to Editorial and Opinion articles each week, this does not suggest we agree with the stance of the author. The "Ken Notes" items are the opinion of our editor. We will include any comments or feedback sent to WDN. Ken also writes a monthly column for Capitol Region Business Journal and other state publications.

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Ken

Kenneth Harwood
WisconsinDevelopment.com LLC
P.O. Box 930234
Verona, WI 53593-0234
608.334.2174
ken@wisconsindevelopment.com