Volume 2 - Issue 40 - Circulation 3,500 - Week of 10.01.09 to 10.8.09
About This Publication - Always Online at WisconsinDevelopment.com

Madison - October 5, 2009 - Final plans for University Research Park II on the far-west side, including plans for some neighborhood amenities near the research park were approved by the plan commission Monday night. No story yet link takes you to URP II website..

Ken Notes: I did not find a story on this but the project is very interesting and will be huge for the west side. Layout found HERE.

Madison - October 2, 2009 - Developers and city officials will gather next week to mark the second and final phase of the ambitious but sometimes contentious transformation of Madison's former Midvale Plaza into a $34 million retail, residential and library center now known as Sequoya Commons. "In general, it has gone really well," co-developer Joe Krupp said this week, "despite the fact that we've been operating in a pretty tough economic time. We're where we realistically would expect to be (with the project)."...

Wisconsin Oct. 1, 2009 - Focus on Energy-Learn how to enhance your home's performance, save money, increase comfort, safety and value of your home. Tue, Oct 20, 2009 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM. Buying a home is one of the largest investments you will ever make. Join Carter Dedolph, Program Manager for the Homes Program with Focus On Energy, as he introduces the Focus on Energy Program, Wisconsin's resource for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Carter will discuss how a homeowner can take advantage of the Focus on Energy Programs, including Home Performance with ENERGY STAR and the financial incentives that may be available. He will also overview the Federal Tax Credit for energy efficient home improvements...

Ken Notes: Focus is a great program and it is free. A great resource for homeowners and Realtors alike. Thanks CB Success for hosting...

Madison - October 5, 2009 - It's an eerily vacant piece of property on busy East Washington Avenue. A newly built stretch of Winnebago Street cuts through the 15 acres to an unused traffic roundabout with an arm that leads to nowhere. On Sunday morning, a man throws a Frisbee for a dog. A battered camper, suspiciously like those whose overnight presence has provoked neighbor complaints elsewhere in Madison, is parked nearby. A flock of 20 geese peck at the scrubby weeds near a ridge of stacked brick in the center of the property....

Ken Notes: This project will require a lot of partners coming on board and I for one hope it works. This was a good idea developed at the wrong time.

Wisconsin - October 8, 2009 - Rose and Charles Murssal were on a good track, despite the economy. Both had jobs and she was headed back to nursing school. They'd bought a home in 2005 in a quiet, north Milwaukee neighborhood near their son's elementary school. But last February, when their adjustable rate mortgage spiked to $1,650 a month after rising from $950 to $1,200 in 2007, "we started running into problems," Rose Murssal says. Last month, the couple became the first homeowners in Milwaukee County to avoid foreclosure by sitting down with their lender and a mediator as part of a new Marquette University Law School program...

Ken Notes: I love the idea of mediation but am a little concerned about a state or federal mandate. I see the potential for disaster here. Lets encourage banks to work with consumers and if the feds want to help, they can make some low interest money available directly to the consumer that could be administered by the banks.

Wisconsin - October 7, 2009 - Desperate for relief, Rose Murssal made a costly mistake. Earlier this year, before she learned about a program that ultimately brought her face-to-face with her lender and saved her home from foreclosure, the Milwaukee resident sent $1,300 to a Florida firm that said it could help. She never heard from the company again, nor has she seen the money. Across the nation and in Wisconsin, sometimes unscrupulous mortgage lending has given way to fraudulent promises to help homeowners mired in foreclosure....

Ken Notes: Banks need to be seen as the good guys here, in a foreclosure everyone looses.

Madison - October 6, 2009 - When people in Dane County hear the words "regional transit authority," what usually comes to mind is the area's hot debate over installing a $250 million, 16-mile commuter rail line running from Middleton to the town of Burke near Sun Prairie. Advocates of the city's Metro bus system, however, are seeking to expand that definition by bringing another option back to the table: bus rapid transit...

Ken Notes: This would be a good fit for Madison. I continue to suggest we look at the new electric buses using hydrogen fuel cells or diesel generators to produce electricity. The latest twist is a GPS system that shuts down the generators in high pollution areas or quiet zones.

Wisconsin - OCTOBER 8, 2009 - If Wisconsin's economy was compared to a hospital patient, the patient would be on life support and the family would be gathering to consider end of life treatment issues. We have serious problems facing our economy, and policymakers continue to promote legislation that makes many of those problems worse. It's time to call a halt. Objective measurements of Wisconsin's economy indicate a continuing trend toward deterioration...

Ken Notes: We can do better no doubt, but I question why we are paying our advocates to point fingers rather than shake hands. Here is my two cents - Wisconsin is a great place to live, hire skilled employees, access great transportation, get an education, access health care, watch a sporting event, dine out, dine in, buy a home, raise children, see a show, start a new business or grow an old one. We tax too much to pay for some of these privileges and on paper that looks bad. It is bad, but if you want it all we may have just what you are looking for...

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 Area - October 7, 2009 - An increase in home sales and home remodeling projects has prompted Sub-Zero/Wolf to add a second production shift at its factories producing high-end appliances in Fitchburg and Phoenix. The company said Wednesday it has hired back 165 workers in Wisconsin and 40 in Arizona who were laid off earlier this year. They are needed to meet the increased demand for its "luxury" refrigerators, freezers and wine storage units, the company said....

Ken Notes: Now THIS is a good sign...

Madison Area - October 7, 2009 - When you walk into Full Compass Systems' new building at 9770 Silicon Prairie Parkway, you might be tempted to grab a guitar and play some riffs or noodle on a keyboard. Small groupings of musical instruments - looking ready to finger in an impromptu jazz session - dot the spacious lobby....

Ken Notes: If you are an audio junkie, nirvana is found HERE.

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 - October 7, 2009 - Governors from across the Midwest are working together to promote clean energy industry and infrastructure in the region despite heated competition between their states for new investment and jobs. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday that recent agreements by members of the 11-state Midwestern Governors Association aim to help make the region a center for clean energy....

Ken Notes: Our governor should visit the WARF.org website and encourage Wisconsin companies to develop the technologies for clean energy on which we hold the patents.

Madison Area - October 2, 2009 - It was hairy, it was scary. But the Urban League of Greater Madison, in a gut-churning finish, raised the $200,000 it needed to tap a $380,000 Kresge Foundation grant and put it over its $4 million goal fundraising goal to $4,111,720...

Ken Notes: Thanks to WDN readers who kicked in...

Madison Area - October 7, 2009 - David Thompson wipes his damp forehead and adjusts his glasses. He's dressed as if for a long hike - khaki hat, sturdy shoes - because he just never knows. A stroll around the west Madison neighborhood where he lives could turn into an afternoon of scrambling through overgrown ditches and ravines, snapping photographs and hunting for clues to buried streams. "Here's one," says Thompson, pointing out a shallow depression running between houses in the Westmorland neighborhood. There's no water, but there are other clues...

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 - October 6, 2009 - As the economy struggles, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is proposing to support basic services, barely increase spending and raise city taxes $70 on the average $245,000 home in 2010. On Tuesday, Cieslewicz will propose a $239.4 million "budget for hard times" that largely protects services such as public safety, streets, parks, libraries and busing without layoffs, mandatory furloughs or pay cuts....

Wisconsin - October 2, 2009 - Local real estate developer Terrence Wall hasn't officially announced a bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Russ Feingold. But critics are already questioning Wall for registering much of his business activity in Delaware. One Wisconsin Now, an advocacy group based in Madison, last week noted that the principal office of T. Wall Properties LLC is listed as Wilmington, Delaware...

Ken Notes: T. Wall is playing by the rules here. Most companies have Delaware addresses. The law may need to be changed, but using it is like driving 65.

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 - October 7, 2009 - Three Madison firms could get $12 million in military contracts if the 2010 defense appropriations bill gets through Congress, according to a news release from the office of Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.). The potential funding includes: -- $5 million to Astronautics Corp. of America in Madison for development of magnetic refrigeration technology for use on Navy ships. -- $4 million earmarked for the Rayovac Battery Group in Madison for a high energy density, low weight battery to power surveillance devices for the Navy. -- $3 million to Alfalight in Madison for an "eye-safe" laser rangefinder for the Army...

Ken Notes: New tech for Rayovac is great news...

Madison - October 7, 2009 - The new hardwood dance floor at The Cardinal is "so beautiful, you almost hate to go in there and dance on it," says owner Ricardo Gonzalez. Fat chance it'll stay so pristine. After closing abruptly in July, The Cardinal is reopening this weekend with a focus on dancing and giving Madison back a downtown institution that dates to 1908....

Madison Area - October 2, 2009 - Forward Community Investments, a Madison organization that provides low-cost loans and technical assistance to Wisconsin nonprofit groups, is getting a $1 million grant from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund...

Ken Notes: I am still nervous about paying all this back...

Wisconsin - October 1, 2009 - State tourism officials are re-evaluating the much-maligned slogan "Live Like You Mean It" and logo. And Tourism Secretary Kelli Trumble acknowledged in an interview this week that the troublesome slogan was not tested before it was launched in March...

Ken Notes: How about Hogs, Hops, & Hoofers spoken Here! They can even have my logo for free!!!!

Milwaukee - Oct. 7, 2009 - The Point on the River condominium development, which overlooks the confluence of the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers, has sold more than 50% of its units, according to a statement from Garrison Partners Consulting, which is overseeing marketing efforts....

Ken Notes: Another good sign. The Anchor Bank incentives had to help here as well. Congrats...

Kenosha - Oct. 7, 2009 - Town of Bristol-based American Land Development LLC plans to build a two-phased apartment development in Kenosha with about 600 units. The development, called Hawk's Ridge Apartments, would be built on a vacant 50-acre site on the south side of 60th Street, about a quarter-mile west of I-94....

Milwaukee - Oct. 8, 2009 - The city Redevelopment Authority plans to clean up a riverfront parcel that would be sold to a local restaurant operator and developer. The authority is seeking a federal grant to do an environmental cleanup on a city-owned parcel just south of the Highland Ave. footbridge, on the Milwaukee River's east bank. The 20,000-square-foot vacant lot then would be sold for $512,000 to Russell Davis, who holds a one-year purchase option for the property, at 1027 N. Edison St...

Milwaukee - Oct. 6, 2009 - A foreclosure suit has been filed against the owners of the troubled Park Lafayette condominium development on Milwaukee's east side. New York-based Amalgamated Bank, the project's construction lender, is suing investment group Renaissant Lafayette LLC, of Oak Brook, Ill., an affiliate of Renaissant Development Group, and Renaissant Development President Warren Barr, according to online court records. The case is pending before Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Timothy Dugan....

Ken Notes: Oh Mr. Mandel we have another one for you to look at...

Milwaukee - Oct. 7, 2009 - One, the 83-unit apartment building that is the first phase of Mandel Group Inc. North End development, is almost completely leased. The development is located along the Milwaukee River in the Park East corridor in downtown Milwaukee. All but one of the units has been leased, and there are applicants for the final unit, Mandel officials say. About 75 percent of the residents have moved to the building from outside of the city, said Mandel senior vice president Richard Lincoln. "There is a strong pent-up demand for new apartments in the downtown area," he said. "There really haven't been any market-rate apartments built downtown in the last 8 or 9 years."...

- Oct. 7, 2009 - Von Briesen & Roper s.c., a Milwaukee-based law firm, announced it has begun a search for a new and larger headquarters in the city. The law firm currently occupies two and one-quarter floors at the 411 Building in downtown Milwaukee. The company's existing lease with the 411 Building expires in 2013. Von Briesen has been a tenant in the 411 Building since 1985. Randall Crocker, president and chief executive officer of von Briesen, said the firm has engaged the services of broker Terence McMahon and the Boerke Company...

Milwaukee - Oct. 8, 2009 - A six-week work stoppage, along with bad publicity tied to several lawsuits, were among the factors that led Park Lafayerre to default on its mortgage, bringing a $100 million foreclosure suit. That's according to court documents filed with the foreclosure suit, brought by New York-based Amalgamated Bank against Renaissant Lafayette LLC, which owns the Park Lafayette condo towers, on Milwaukee's east side....

Milwaukee - Oct. 8, 2009 - The restaurant planned for the former Pieces of Eight site on Milwaukee's lakefront might include some boat slips. That was mentioned at today's meeting of the city Board of Harbor Commissioners, which approved conceptual plans for the restaurant proposed by developer Michael Cudahy and restaurateur Joe Bartolotta. The plans were unveiled Tuesday to a board committee....

Milwaukee - Oct. 1, 2009 - A 28,800-square-foot retail and office building at 211-213 N. Broadway has been sold to a local investment group for $1.8 million, according to the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds. The building was sold to 213 LLC by the James and Doris Rudig Revocable Trust. The four-story building, built in 1904, has an assessed value of $1 million....

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
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