Volume 2 - Issue 36 - Circulation 3,500 - Week of 09.03.09 to 09.10.09
About This Publication - Always Online at WisconsinDevelopment.com

Madison - 9/3/2009 - Madison's capital budget is often a little-noticed document each year, with some road projects or buildings like a new fire station garnering some scrutiny by the City Council. For the 2010 budget, however, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has already stated that will likely not be the case. Over the last week, Cieslewicz has announced two major components of his capital budget, which is separate from the operating budget. He set aside $16 million for potential city aid for the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment as well as $13 million in direct borrowing for a new Central Library....

Ken Notes: See Apex comments below...

Wisconsin - 9/9/2009 - State legislation has been introduced to allow more time for financially troubled tax incremental financing districts to pay off their debts. With a TIF district, a community typically borrows money to help fund a real estate development, perhaps by buildings roads and sewers to serve the new project. The project's property taxes are used to pay off that debt. Once the debt is paid, the taxes flow to the community, its school district and other local governments....

Ken Notes: Not a bad idea, but a well planned TID should pay off in far fewer than the 20+ years they have now. We may want to make a distinction between project driven TIFs (like Edgewater) and redevelopment districts. Finally greenfield TIFs should play by different rules altogether.

Madison - 9/4/2009 - The last time I talked to Irv Goodman was shortly after I wrote a column questioning why some of the city alders were so insistent that the Goodman Pool had to "break even." What was so egregious, I asked, about the city setting aside a small subsidy for a pool that was finally providing summer swimming fun for thousands of Madison boys and girls?...

Ken Notes: It is frustrating to me that the vision and philanthropy of such great men and women in our community is often challenged by those who never seem to have an option of their own. Let me be one of many to say thanks mr. Goodman we will miss you and your ability to get things done.

Madison - 9/4/2009 - We appreciate the support of the State Journal as Apex attempts to build a hotel that will support Monona Terrace. We were disappointed, however, that the Journal ran a picture of our hotel concept with a heading "On the back burner" on the front page on Aug. 28. The Apex project is not on the back burner - we hope to be digging within two years. The Hunden report indicates that the only reason our project's viability is being questioned is because we are not requesting TIF dollars...

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 - 9/8/2009 - Now Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wants to build a new library, and he supports The Edgewater hotel development project, placing it as the front-runner. I'd like to know where he's going to get all the money for these projects. He is going to borrow money and use tax credits and private fundraising over the next three years...

Ken Notes: I disagree here. Development spurs growth and brick and mortar is an investment in our future. The mayor should be careful and bring as many players to the table as he can, but we have an opportunity to enhance the downtown by partnering with the private sector on these projects.

Madison - 9/3/2009 - Madison's most controversial hotel project received some of its first design critique at Wednesday's Urban Design Committee. The body, stacked with several experienced architects and design professionals, can often get into the nitty gritty of building design, but one of the comments that most intrigued me was a relatively broad concern by architect Todd Barnett...

Ken Notes: Interesting thoughts but little substance as to how to get a project done. Also I would note that we have an architectural gem in the Terrace. We just need to fill it every week and the Edgewater project is a step in that direction.

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

New Glarus - 9/3/2009 - The New Glarus Brewing Co. sells beer only in Wisconsin, but that hasn't prevented it from becoming one of the 100 fastest growing food and beverage companies in the nation, according to an annual ranking by Inc. magazine. For the third year in a row, the New Glarus-based brewery has been named to the Inc. 500/5000. It is ranked 63rd in the food and beverage category. The ranking gets its name from tracking the growth of private companies in the U.S....

Ken Notes: We can grow our own new businesses in the State, and this one is a gem. Well worth a trip to the new plant...

Madison - 09/03/2009 - A pair of prominent downtown players are proposing a rival redevelopment vision for the Edgewater Hotel. The concept by local architect Kenton Peters and downtown booster Troy Thiel would essentially take the 11-story tower proposed by Hammes Sports and Entertainment and turn it sideways, addressing concerns about various ordinances limiting building height...

Madison Area - Sept. 9, 2009 - In lakes Mendota and Monona this summer: A slew of beaches closed because of dangerous algae. Green muck lined long stretches of shoreline. Tall weeds grew fast and thick. Yet over in smaller Lake Wingra, on Madison's Near West Side, the water has been so clear it almost resembles an aquarium, with a sandy bottom and native aquatic plants....

Ken Notes: Minnesota cleaned up their lakes and the difference is amazing...

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!...

Wisconsin - 9/9/2009 - A state appeals court says a Racine construction company isn't liable for an employee involved in a bid-rigging scheme. According to the 2nd District Court of Appeals decision, James Cape & Sons Co. area manager Daniel Beaudoin shared Cape's bid information for state work with two other construction firms. Beaudoin, Streu Construction Co. and Vinton Construction Co. then adjusted their bids so certain companies would win contracts...

Madison - 9/9/2009 - Riders can still board Badger Coaches at Memorial Union and the Dutch Mill Park and Ride near Stoughton Road and the Beltline. The city is discussing with Greyhound a new location at the former Popeye's restaurant near the Metro Transit East Transfer Point on Milwaukee Street, Metro general manager Chuck Kamp said. A Greyhound spokeswoman said the company hasn't made a final decision....

Middleton - 9/3/2009 - The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) is embarking on a massive project intended to increase building efficiency and environmental sustainability. The school board last week authorized a letter of intent for a contract with Johnson Controls, a consultant that will spearhead the initiative....

Mount Horeb - 9/8/2009 - The nonprofit organization that owns and operates Bargain Nook clothing stores in southwest Wisconsin has announced it will open its first store in Dane County. The 2,900-square-foot store, at 126 East Main St. in downtown Mount Horeb, is scheduled to open Nov. 1, said Lynne Johnson, retail sales director for the Hodan Center, a Mineral Point-based community rehabilitation program for adults with disabilities....

Madison - 9/6/2009 - Remember where Chi-Chi's used to be, at Mineral Point and Grand Canyon roads? The restaurant closed in 2004 and was later torn down, leaving a very visible gap for the past several years. But construction could begin before the end of 2009 on the first of a pair of buildings designed to house offices, shops, and, yes, even restaurants. Total Care Dental is the first tenant to sign a lease to occupy space in one of the buildings....

Ken Notes: And you can get a car for bringing a tenant to the project...

Fitchburg - 9/7/2009 - The Alexander Company has agreed to wait until the end of 2009 (and perhaps longer) before demolishing the Anderberg House. "Despite a lack of progress to date to reach such a solution, the house still stands as does our offer to sell the property to the city and/or discuss options to allow the city to move the home to an alternate location," Joe Alexander wrote, in a recent exchange of e-mails with Mayor Jay Allen....

Stoughton - 9/4/2009 - After a year of examining Stoughton's strengths and weaknesses, a report by the city's Economic Development Committee recommends the development of a comprehensive collaborative plan to revitalize Stoughton's's economy and improve its "liveabilty." In an Aug. 25 presentation to the Common Council, Finance Director Laurie Sullivan highlighted the tasks identified by the 55-member committee, the civic entities that will undertake them and deadlines to accomplish them....

Stoughton - 9/5/2009 - Do you have a green thumb, but no place to garden? Several area residents have begun an initiative that could mean starting a community garden here in Stoughton. The first step is a public meeting, according to Pat Lund, a member of the Pleasant Springs Garden Club and one of the local residents interested in pursuing the initiative,...

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...

National - 9/8/2009 - Public construction projects, usually an exercise in cost overruns, are getting cheaper as material prices fall and builders compete for contracts just to stay afloat, a silver lining for cash-strapped governments but a worry to some contractors who risk lowballing themselves out of business. Every state this year reported average winning bids coming in from 5 to 12 percent below estimate...

BELOIT - 9/9/2009 - Frito Lay has been awarded $2 million in financial support from Gov. Jim Doyle. The community development block grant will help the company expand and create 24 full-time jobs in Beloit. In addition, Frito Lay has become the 29th company in the state to be accepted into the "Green Tier" program....

Ken Notes: Mmmm... chips.

Metro Milwaukee - 9/3/2009 - Metro area economic indicators continue to struggle, as only four of 19 available Milwaukee area business activity indicators pointed upward in July,...

Ken Notes: A detailed report on the region...

Kenosha - 9/9/2009 - Bradshaw Medical Inc., a manufacturer of orthopedic and spinal surgical instruments, plans to build a new 60,000-square-foot headquarters building at 104th Avenue and 58th Place in Kenosha. The facility will replace the company's current 15,000-square-foot headquarters at 5732 95th Ave., Kenosha. The site of the new facility is about one mile west of the company's current headquarters. The company, which has 75 employees, is growing and needs more space...

Milwaukee - 9/10/09 The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has just announced it is withdrawing its proposal to use the former Pieces of Eight restaurant site on Milwaukee's lakefront as a location for the headquarters of its new School of Freshwater Sciences. The university's Real Estate Foundation announced that surprise decision after encountering opposition to the location, including criticism from some aldermen. The Common Council's approval for using the city-owned site was needed...

Ken Notes: This is too bad in that it would have placed education and research in line with art and entertainment. What a waterfront...

Milwaukee - 9/8/2009 - Milwaukee-based Kahler Slater Inc. has received the top award in Modern Healthcare magazine's 24th annual design competition. Kahler Slater won the Award for Excellence for its design of the Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital in Grand Rapids, Minn...

Milwaukee - 9/4/2009 - Developer Jim Haertel's plans to do catered events at the former Pabst brewery visitors center are proceeding, with his tavern license application to be reviewed Wednesday by the Common Council's Utilities and Licenses Committee. I reported in June that Haertel was reopening the visitors center, including the former Pabst gift shop and Blue Ribbon Hall, which closed in 1996 with the rest of the brewery. For now, the buildings are open just for tours, including an Oct. 4 benefit for the Hunger Task Force that includes a tour of the Pabst Mansion, 2000 W. Wisconsin Ave....

Ken Notes: I would serve a Capital Brewery or New Glarus product, but the location is way cool...

Milwaukee - 9/10/09 Retired business executive Michael Cudahy's decision to drop plans to help fund University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's engineering campus in Wauwatosa could open the door for Milwaukee to convince university officials to consider downtown as a site for that project, Ald. Robert Bauman says. Bauman issued a statement after I reported Wednesday that Cudahy was no longer going to fund the Michael J. Cudahy Innovation Park, at the Milwaukee County Grounds. The development, planned for east of Highway 45 and north of Watertown Plank Road, would include graduate facilities for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and private development....

Brookfield - 9/1/2009 - Compare the Brookfield Square area of 2004 to that of 2009, and you'll see a huge difference. New shops and restaurants border the shopping center at the southwest corner of Bluemound and Moorland roads, and another shopping center - admittedly with vacancies caused by closed businesses - sits to the north of Bluemound. Construction continues on a 144-unit luxury apartment complex farther north on Wisconsin Avenue, and a new bank office welcomes corporate visitors from across the country on Executive Drive to the west...

Waukesha - 9/9/2009 - Ashville, N.C.-based Volvo Rents, a division of Volvo Construction, which is a subsidiary of Volvo Group, is looking for a franchisee in the Milwaukee area to open stores in western Waukesha and southeast Washington counties. Volvo Rents leases general construction and industrial equipment including backhoes, excavators, saws, lifts and generators. The company's customers are typically small businesses....

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

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Ken

Kenneth Harwood
WisconsinDevelopment.com LLC
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