Volume 2 - Issue 39 - Circulation 3,500 - Week of 09.24.09 to 10.01.09
About This Publication - Always Online at WisconsinDevelopment.com
Madison - September 30, 2009 - A report prepared for governors of 11 Midwestern states advises them to use their natural resources and manufacturing base to build a clean-energy economy.
The document will be presented next week as the Midwestern Governors Association convenes a jobs and energy forum in Detroit....
Ken Notes: Has anyone looked at fuel cell scalability. I think hydrogen will be our next fuel and WARF is currently marketing a new fuel cell. WARF.org may be my favorite website. We need to keep these ideas close to home.
Wisconsin - Sep 30, 2009 - Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. this week announced that it has extended its foreclosure moratorium an additional 90 days through Dec. 31, 2009.
The moratorium, which began in December of 2008, is on all owner-occupied residential loans for customers who agree to work in good faith to reach a successful repayment agreement. The moratorium applies to applicable loans in all M&I markets....
Ken Notes: Thank You! This is one of the best ideas I have seen. When we foreclose and dump the homes back into the market no one wins.
Madison Area - 9/29/2009 - The Madison Area Builders Association (MABA) Green Built Home Committee and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry Madison Chapter (NARI) Environmental Practices Committee have joined forces to co-host a Green Home Event scheduled for Sunday, October 4th from noon to 4p.m. located at Monona Grove High School.
The event is free to the public and is focused toward the consumer who is interested in saving money, saving energy and conserving the environment when building or remodeling. Business owners from both organizations will be in attendance, exhibiting and showcasing their environmentally friendly products and practices. Educational seminars will explain local green home constructionand remodeling guidelines, green products, point out incentives associated with energy efficiency and renewable energy products and help you understand the important connection between sustainability and the way you live....
Ken Notes: THIS SUNDAY!!!
Madison - September 29, 2009 - It's down to the wire for the Urban League of Greater Madison.
Thursday is the deadline to match a $380,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation and reach a $4 million fundraising goal to build and launch the Center for Economic Development and Workforce Training on South Park Street.
The Urban League needs to raise only $90,000 more to meet the Kresge challenge...
Ken Notes: You need to call today to help the program...
Madison - September 26, 2009 - The sketches and models that fill Kenton Peters' airy, colorful studio near the Capitol offer a portal to an alternative Madison. In that city, the Lake Monona shore is lined with an amphitheater, restaurants, promenade and marina, old storage buildings are replaced by high-rise affordable housing with a rooftop park, and winter-weary residents find refuge in glass-enclosed gardens....
Ken Notes: From great vision comes great development...
Madison - September 30, 2009 - Wisconsin's first progress report on stimulus spending is less than two weeks away, and those looking to keep funds transparent and accounted for said no detail is too small to overlook.
State officials said they won't know for sure whether stimulus projects are coming through as scheduled until the release of a progress report on Oct. 10. Until then, project numbers aren't yet concrete....
Madison - October 1, 2009 - Can Madison meet its current needs without compromising the needs of future generations? The sustainability of Madison will be on the table at three community meetings in October and November, with residents and city leaders getting together to look at how sustainability works. "Learn about what the city is doing to make Madison's community, economy and environment sustainable," Jeanne Hoffman, facilities and sustainability manager for the city, said in a statement. "We will also talk about Madison's Green Capital City projects and how your ideas can help make us an even greener city tomorrow."...
Ken Notes: This would work far better as a regional project. I see companies moving beyond the beltline if they find sustainability cost prohibitive.
Madison - September 25, 2009 - I believe Dane 101 posted this first, but I wanted to make sure it was up on this site, as well. Many Madison hotel operators have spoken against the use of tax incremental financing (TIF) for hotels in the past, but a group of six of them have now banded together to urge the City Council to vote against the $16 million TIF award for the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment that Mayor Dave Cieslewicz put in the budget. Tax incremental financing, for those who don't know, is a loan that cities can give developers of all sorts that is paid back through increased property tax values from development.
Ken Notes: This is too bad I would think all boats rise with the tide and more events downtown would be a good thing...
National - October 1, 2009 - For those who expected General Motors' once-funky Saturn brand to live on with a new owner, there has been a sad twist. Saturn, once billed as a different kind of car company, appears as dead as Pontiac and Oldsmobile. At the brand's 350 remaining dealers around the country, there were high hopes that a deal would be announced for GM to sell the brand to former race car driver and auto industry magnate Roger Penske....
Ken Notes: It is too bad that the original concept of small, efficient, low cost vehicles was lost over the years. I would have loved to have seen a new player revise the company.
Verona - 9/27/2009 - Kohoutek's open for business in Verona. And Isis, Juno and Heaven are on the way. For those unfamiliar with Epic's penchant for naming buildings after celestial things, those are the four new office buildings that are part of the company's latest round of construction. The four buildings, which will collectively hold roughly 1,700 offices, have been in various stages of construction over the past year, with Kohoutek opening in August....
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...
Wisconsin - September 29, 2009 - Last year, Wisconsin brewing companies hauled home a collective 15 medals from the Great American Beer Festival, the nation's most-watched beer tasting contest.
But this year, the state mustered just 5 medals at the GABF, a three-day industry-backed soaker held each year in Denver....
Ken Notes: This is sad. Wisconsin not in the top 10 in a field we once dominated.
Madison - September 29, 2009 - Marty Preizler was named the new director of graduate programs for the School of Business at Edgewood College. The college made the announcement in a press release Tuesday.
Preizler retired as President and CEO of Physicians Plus Health Insurance Corporation in Madison in January of 2008. He had spent nearly a decade in that position. During Preizler's tenure, doctors at University Hospital and Physicians Plus merged their practices into UW Health/Physicians Plus clinics...
Ken Notes: I like the idea of the business program being run by a businessman.
Wisconsin - October 1, 2009 - More than 15,000 new cars rolled off their lots through the federal subsidy program.
The Car Allowance Rebate System -- unofficially, Cash for Clunkers -- has parked nearly $70 million in payouts and more than 15,000 jalopies in Wisconsin, though regulatory entities will continue monitoring their final journey to the state's 257 authorized salvage yards...
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
Wisconsin - September 25, 2009 - Ever go into a local restaurant and find the service slow and unresponsive, the food cold and tasteless? It's a sorry place to eat, and we know it's doomed. Later, you drive by and see a "For Lease" sign that confirms our premonition. Most of us would say, "good riddance," but I personally have empathy for such failed enterprises - not because I like lousy food but because I know that every failed business leaves wreckage in its wake.
But alas, the Darwinian world of free-market economics is brutal. Every day, consumers support whomever they want to support and ignore those they don't....
Ken Notes: Very well said. Those who take the plunge create new jobs new leases and new revenue - but we seem to forget the sacrifice and risk. This is just a little more real to me today -- I am writing this with half a tooth (popcorn last night) and no dental insurance. It is tough out there give us a break...
Madison - October 1, 2009 - Stratatech Corp., Madison, has received a $1.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop a new product aimed at treating skin cancer.
The cell-based, gene therapy product would be used after surgical removal of the tumor. The living skin substitute is designed to stimulate the patient's immune system to eliminate any cancerous cells that remain after the tumor is removed...
Dane County - September 27, 2009 - Clayton Dunn, one of Dane County's most versatile and effective public servants, died late Thursday night at the age of 82.
Former County Executive Jonathan Barry, who appointed Dunn director of the Dane County Expo Center in 1987, spoke for many when he said, "Clayton was a thoroughly honest man who devoted his whole life to public service."...
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!...
National - October 1, 2009 - Consumer spending, propelled by the wildly popular Cash for Clunkers auto sales program, shot up in August by the largest amount in nearly eight years even though personal incomes continued to lag. The Commerce Department said Thursday that consumer spending rose 1.3 percent in August, even better than the 1.1 percent gain that had been expected. Incomes, the fuel for future spending gains, continued to lag, edging up 0.2 percent in August, the same as the July increase....
Ken Notes: How do we account for the incentive programs that have now ended.
National - September 30, 2009 - The chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. warned Wednesday the global economic recovery will likely be lethargic, even as the retailing behemoth sees great growth potential in China and India.
"The world recovery is going to be led by Asia although it's going to be very challenging. I think this recovery is going to be a slow one," Robson Walton told a global CEO business conference here....
Ken Notes: Smaller store Wal Mart now I know the downturn was real...
Madison - September 29, 2009 - More than 500 alternative fuel vehicles will be purchased in Wisconsin using federal stimulus money.
The Legislature's budget committee on Tuesday approved spending $15 million over the next two years on the advanced technology vehicles in 119 public and private fleets across the state.
The committee also approved spending about $5 million in stimulus money to offer rebates to customers who buy new energy efficient appliances, including dehumidifiers, dishwashers and freezers. The rebates would start this fall and last until the money runs out....
Fitchburg - October 1, 2009 - Fitchburg residents met with architects from Engber Anderson to discuss design options for the $14 million Fitchburg Public Library at the first of three public meetings. The second design meeting will take place Oct. 21 and will present an initial design based on concepts residents asked for at the first meeting....
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 - September 28, 2009 - Catching up on some higher education-related news ...
** Having trouble finding a decent job during the Great Recession? Perhaps it's time to start your own business.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced that four student-run businesses were awarded seed grants to help their startups. The $3,000 grants, which were handed out by the university's Office of Corporate Relations with the support of the chancellor's office, were announced after UW-Madison was recognized by Entrepreneur magazine and the Princeton Review last week as one of the nation's top 25 campuses for entrepreneurship at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.** The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) announced it has teamed with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) to promote "clean" technologies invented at UW-Madison....
Ken Notes: If there is a student group wanting to market FutureWisconsin.com and now FutureIowa.com give me a call. Adding all 50 states is a possability...
West Milwaukee - Oct. 1, 2009 - nGenX Corp. might build a new data center, with up to 20,000 square feet, in a redeveloping area of West Milwaukee.
The first phase of the center would have 5,000 square feet, and it could have up to four phases, said Robert Bye, executive vice president of nGenX, an information technology services provider based in Overland Park, Kan...
Milwaukee - Sep 30, 2009 - Saint John's on the Lake, a senior apartment complex at 1840 N. Prospect Ave. on Milwaukee's east side, has successfully sold $83 million in tax free municipal bonds for its planned 21-story, 88-unit expansion project, spokesman Rick Romano told BizTimes Milwaukee.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project will be held on Oct. 15, Romano said, the same day that the financing package will close....
OSHKOSH - September 29, 2009 - The defense division of Oshkosh Corp. has signed a roughly $800 million deal with the Pentagon to deliver nearly 2,500 new and rebuilt military vehicles.
Oshkosh Defense said Tuesday it will provide more than 1,450 new trucks and trailers. It will also deliver more than 1,000 tactical trucks that have been restored to like-new condition after being damaged in warfare.
The Oshkosh, Wis.-based company said it expects the work to be completed by May 2011....
Brookfield - Sept. 30, 2009 - Oxford Real Estate Advisors Inc., a Pittsburgh real estate investment management firm, has been granted a one-year extension for its plans to develop a Hyatt Summerfield Suites at 555 S. Executive Drive in Brookfield, a city official said Wednesday.
Jason Williams, neighborhood planner for the City of Brookfield, said the approval process required building permits for the project be obtained by Oct. 8....
Milwaukee - Sept. 30, 2009 - The von Briesen & Roper law firm has hired Terence McMahon, of Boerke Co., to help it look for a new, larger Milwaukee headquarters. The firm now leases around 53,600 square feet at on two and one-quarter floors at the 411 Building, 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. That lease expires in 2013, and von Briesen & Roper is seeking up to 75,000 square feet, with additional available space for growth, says Randall Crocker, president and chief executive officer....
Milwaukee - Sept. 29, 2009 - The Moderne apartment high-rise proposed for downtown Milwaukee has received preliminary approval for a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under that program, developers can obtain loans with 40-year repayment terms. In return, the developers pay interest rates that are higher than rates for conventional loans...
Milwaukee Area - Sept. 29, 2009 - The total value of August construction contracts for future building projects in the Milwaukee area dropped by 57% compared to contracts from August 2008, according to data released Tuesday by McGraw-Hill Construction. The total value of building contracts for Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties was $44.4 million, compared to $102.2 million, according to McGraw-Hill....
Ken Notes: We are not out of the woods just yet!!!!
Wisconsin - Sep 25, 2009 - The Building Owners and Managers Association-Wisconsin and the Apartment Owners & Managers Association of Greater Milwaukee have announced the results of their Office Building of the Year Awards, and annual apartment building awards.
The winners are:
Office - Category: Corporate Facility - Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Managed by Peggy Atwood and Inland Companies)
Office - Category: Renovated Building - Pabst Boiler House (Managed by Peggy Atwood and Inland Companies)...
Milwaukee - Sept. 25, 2009 - I've been spending some time on the stretch of E. Greenfield Ave, where University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Great Lakes WATER Institute is located, overlooking the harbor.
The institute's 8-acre grounds looms as a possible location for UWM's School of Freshwater Sciences now that the Pieces of Eight site is no longer an option.
The institute is where dozens of UWM scientists, faculty and students conduct ecological research, and it might make sense to have the school in close proximity....
Milwaukee - Sep 30, 2009 - Marquette University announced that it plans to build a new, $100 million College of Engineering facility at the southwest corner of Wisconsin Avenue and North 16th Street in Milwaukee. Four university-owned apartment buildings on the site will be demolished.
The first phase of the project will be a 5-story, 100,000-square-foot building. Groundbreaking for that project is expected in the spring, and construction is expected to be completed in August of 2011. The building will feature the Discovery Learning Laboratory, a 2-story engineering materials and structural testing laboratory and other teaching and research laboratories, common areas for students and office space....
Wauwatosa - Sept. 30, 2009 - Mo's Irish Pub is another step closer to razing two homes and building a controversial parking lot after the city's development committee supported rezoning the properties in a 5-3 vote Tuesday.
That decision came after more than 90 minutes of discussion, during which close to 60 residents, Mo's employees and aldermen wrestled with the issue in a packed committee room. In the end, the committee recommended that the Common Council rezone the residential properties at 431 and 443 N. 108th Place for off-street parking....
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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Kenneth Harwood
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