Volume 2 - Issue 9 - Circulation 3,500 Week of 2.26.09 to 3.5.09

Sun Prairie - 3/03/200 - A Milwaukee-based company that stores and protects data has opened a new, 87,000-square foot facility in Sun Prairie while adding 10 new jobs here. Datastore announced Tuesday the opening of its records center in the Sun Prairie business park off of U.S. 151. The company has been using a temporary facility in the town of Windsor for its Madison-area business....

Sun Prairie - MAR 4, 2009 - When the 130,000-square-foot Sun Prairie Target has its grand opening on Sunday, it will be among 27 nationwide that the company is opening simultaneously, including Hawaii's first two Target stores. The Sun Prairie store, north of Highway 151 at Highway C, is the Madison area's fourth Target and is less than five miles from another store near East Towne Mall...

Ken Notes: Seems Sun Prairie is on the upside of a dismal economy. Proof that planning, vision and working with projects pays off in the long run. I also think we need to see the Hawaii stores, road trip? Sponsors?...

Wisconsin - MAR 5, 2009 - Wisconsin Cheese Originals was launched Monday to promote the state's artisan and specialty cheesemakers. The organization will host educational seminars and tasting events. It will sponsor the Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival Nov. 6-7 at Monona Terrace....

Ken Notes: I hope we remember that dairy, beer, paper and ag built this state and will play an important role in our long term survival. We do have something special here.

East Isthmus Neighborhood - March 2, 2009 - Peng Her, local businessman and Hmong activist, started work at a new job Monday as executive director of the East Isthmus Neighborhoods Planning Council. It's one of three city-funded consortiums that are supposed to boost the clout of residents by leveraging the strength of neighborhood associations. Her said Madison's investment in rebuilding East Washington Avenue gives the council's member associations a major project on which to build their own initiatives and an opportunity to shape a major gateway to the city, but the fact is that the council has been laboring to find its focus....

Madison - March 2, 2009 - A South Side city block once notorious for daytime drug deals and prostitution is on the verge of being redeveloped into housing for senior citizens. City officials are discussing plans to buy and raze seven rental properties at the corner of Cypress Way and Badger Road in the Burr Oaks neighborhood and to build 60 to 90 senior housing units with access to assisted care for $12 million. Currently, the buildings contain 48 rental units...

Ken Notes: I hope this works, but I can't help noticing the irony in bringing a vulnerable senior population to Madison's highest crime area. Let's hope Clint Eastwood take the first unit.

MADISON - February 26, 2009 - Environmental recovery work on 42 different properties around Wisconsin will be helped with $1.7 million in brownfield grants seed money, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Thursday. The money will be used by communities for demolition, environmental assessments, and removal of abandoned tanks and containers, with the work expected to spur economic development in the 29 communities, the majority of them being rural. "The cleanup and safe reuse of brownfield...

Wisconsin - March 2, 2009 - Although southeastern Wisconsin currently has the only Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in the state of Wisconsin, elected leaders, business owners and community partners across the state are taking notice of the need for expanded mass transit and the economic development potential it holds. Gov. Doyle should be applauded for promoting the creation of RTAs in the biennial budget, and legislators should support this measure as an important way to generate both short- and long-term economic development in our state. Metropolitan areas across the nation have already recognized regional economic development as the key to a successful future. While our current system is bound by municipal lines...

Ken Notes: As a member of the area's MPO, I want to point out that the RTA and trains are not one in the same. I support the RTA in that it would create more comprehensive long range planning and better systemic design. I have yet to see the financial viability or community support for a rail transit system. Plan for it maybe, but build it only when it makes sound financial sense.

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...

Near East Side Madison - March 3, 2009 - A developer is trying to transform much of a Near East Side residential block without significantly changing the neighborhood's character. Michael Matty and partner Stone House Development want to refurbish eight houses, demolish 11 others, and build 85 lower-cost apartments with underground parking in three buildings on a block bounded by East Gorham, North Blair and East Johnson streets. The houses to be preserved on Gorham and Blair streets are in a national historic district, but those to be demolished are not....

Madison - March 5, 2009 - The reconstruction planned for Camden Road in the blocks between Pflaum and Tompkins Drive would add things that most Madison streets already have -- curbs, gutters and sidewalks. But the improvements, which residents say they don't want, will cost homeowners thousands of dollars, WISC-TV reported. The complete project will cost $550,000, and of that, residents on the street will be responsible for nearly $200,000....

Wisconsin Dells - 3/05/2009 - A four-day conference scheduled to start next week and designed to help waterpark industry leaders better deal with the down economy has been postponed because of insufficient registrations. The event, organized by Arizona-based JLC Hospitality Consulting and scheduled for the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, has been rescheduled for Sept. 20-23...

Ken Notes: Lets get a Madison group together in September and lobby for a facility in Dane County...

Madison - March 2, 2009 - There's a city of Madison referendum question among the Supreme Court, superintendent of public instruction and City Council races on the April 7 spring election ballot. It's a question that, for once, isn't about spending more taxpayer dollars, but simply approving a plan to let Common Wealth Development turn Olbrich Gardens' old Garver Mill into public, accessible space for budding artists, complete with studios and space to display their artwork. It would be paid for with private grants and some state and federal funding...

Ken Notes: It is good to know that one Dave is thinking outside the box and another Dave is making him do it in the light of day - I applaud them both!

Sturtevant / WISCONSIN - Feb. 27, 2009 - Sturtevant - With the stroke of a computer keyboard Thursday night, Ruud Lighting Inc.'s wireless lighting-control system flickered to life. A split second after a technician inside Ruud Lighting's warehouse typed a command into his laptop, streetlights along 92nd St. outside blinked off, then back on. The company's Beta Lighting division began producing light-emitting diode streetlights in August...

Ken Notes: Are we paying attention here, Wisconsin Company, true proven cutting edge technology, billion dollar market. We need to invest in winners not long shots.

Recent commercial property listings from PropertyDrive.

Madison - March 2, 2009 - Kudos to the city of Madison for considering changes to a well-known development tool to focus on "living wage" jobs. The city would use its potent tax incremental financing authority to do that as it seeks to attract, keep and expand business and target improvement in high-need areas...

Ken Notes: Careful here. Incentives and cooperation are a good thing but mandates in one community often create development in another.

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 Area - February 26, 2009 -

Madison Region - March 1, 2009 - According to Thrive's first "State of the Madison Region Report," this area ranked highest among six regions in 2006 in the percentage of total employment in manufacturing. The Madison region ranked below average in the percentage of total employment in public administration....

MADISON - 3/04/2009 - American Family Insurance Group saw a net loss of $297.9 million for 2008, a steep reversal from the $82.4 million net gain posted in 2007. The Madison-based company chalked up the loss to payouts for continuing big-ticket damage from storms and catastrophes coupled with collateral damage from the soft economy, according to annual financial results released Tuesday....

Ken Notes: Still a great company and my bet is they will fair better than many.

Wisconsin - 3/03/2009 - Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin, parent company of AnchorBank, got some breathing room Monday on its $116.3 million debt to US Bank. An agreement was announced to postpone Anchor's $56.3 million payment, which was due Monday, to May 29, when the entire $116.3 million will be due....

Ken Notes: Why not create some breathing room for the millions of credit card holders paying 28% interest and $39 late fees. If you owe a little it's your problem if you owe a lot it's our problem?

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

Milwaukee / Madison - Feb. 27, 2009 - Milwaukee central-city developer Damon Dorsey, whose projects included the publicly financed Scoopz frozen custard and burger restaurant, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Dorsey and his wife, Maria, made the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Thursday. They listed assets of $679,150 and liabilities of $1.55 million, which includes unsecured claims totaling $975,216. Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings involve selling assets to partially pay off debts....

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!...

Oconomowoc - MAR 4, 2009 - Construction began Wednesday on a Brennan's Market in Oconomowoc. The 26,125-square-foot specialty grocery store is adjacent to Pabst Farm Market Place and will be part of a larger retail development. Brennan's Market, which started in 1942 with Frank Brennan's fruit and cheese stand in Monroe...

Fitchburg - March 3, 2009 - The future is looking a bit more promising for Fitchburg's Drumlin Garden. Ald. Jay Allen said representatives of the Alexander Co., which purchased the five-acre property to develop as part of its 70-acre Novation Campus, met Monday with representatives of Fitchburg and the Madison Area Community Land Trust, which has expressed interest in acquiring the site that has been hailed as the birthplace of the state's sustainable urban agriculture movement. Allen said he will ask the Fitchburg Plan Commission tonight to table a resolution...

Ken Notes: Again thumbs up to Alexander for staying at the table and Allen for looking for solutions.

Middleton - MAR 4, 2009 - The Wine Boutique, 6220 University Ave. in Middleton, is closing. The store, owned by Kelly Gilboy and which opened in 1994, is scheduled to close by March 27. In a letter to customers posted on the store's Web site, www.winebtq.com, Gilboy said she was closing the store to spend more time with her three young children...

Madison Area - 3/03/2009 - Three area companies were among those honored Thursday night at the Wisconsin Manufacturing of the Year Awards program in Milwaukee. The program, now in its 21st year, highlights Wisconsin companies that show a commitment to business excellence. GE Healthcare of Madison ...

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...

Middleton - 3/5/2009 - On the eve of a round of public hearings on the matter, the Middleton Common Council on Feb. 17 reaffirmed its support for state legislation enabling the formation of a regional transit authority (RTA), though not without some debate about what exactly such a body would entail...

Fitchburg - 3/4/2009 - The Fitchburg Library Board got what it requested from the City Council Feb. 24: a green light to authorize planning, fund-raising and probable construction of a $14 million library near Lacy and Fish Hatchery Roads, at a cost to taxpayers sharply reduced from earlier estimates...

Stoughton - 3/4/2009 - The afternoon session of last week's Historic Stoughton Marketing Conference had commerce leaders working together to figure out Stoughton's defining characteristics and the archetypical customer they are trying to "sell" the city to. Taking what they learned from the speakers during the morning session, about two dozen of Stoughton's entrepreneurs, artists and government leaders worked in the Fire Department meeting room to develop a unified vision of what Stoughton has to offer consumers...

Wisconsin - 3/04/2009 - The rumble of idling diesel trucks at a highway rest stop is a familiar sound to many travelers. Truck and bus drivers routinely run their engines during breaks to provide heat or air conditioning in the cab and electrical power for the radio or refrigerator. Keeping the motor running also eliminates the need for a "cold start," which is hard on bearings, seals and other engine parts....

Ken Notes: Why not focus on cleaner trucks for the future?

Madison - March 3, 2009 - The American Transmission Co.'s proposal to put a 345-kilovolt power line along the Beltline got personal for me last week. On Friday, Madison Park Superintendent Kevin Briski "pre-filed" testimony with the Public Service Commission in advance of actually testifying at hearings scheduled in a few weeks. Briski's testimony concerned the impact of the proposed power line on Odana Hills Golf Course....

DES MOINES, Iowa - 3/05/2009 - Interstate Power and Light on Thursday canceled plans for a $1.8 billion coal-fired power plant in Marshalltown, citing the economy and uncertainty over state regulations. Many in the Marshalltown area had welcomed the huge economic boost the plant offered, but others questioned the need for the power it would generate and the greenhouse gases it would produce...

MILWAUKEE - Mar. 2, 2009 - A proposal that would create higher wage standards for commercial developments that receive at least $1 million in city financial assistance was recommended for approval Monday by the Common Council's Community and Economic Development Committee...

MILWAUKEE - Mar. 3, 2009 - The Common Council Tuesday delayed acting on a proposed ordinance that would create wage and hiring standards for development firms that receive project financing from the City of Milwaukee...

Milwaukee - Feb. 26, 2009 - The parking structure under construction at the former Pabst brewery complex in downtown Milwaukee will be financed through $15 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits, it was announced Thursday. The credits, which are given by the federal government for financing commercial projects in lower income areas, are being provided through two non-profit groups: the Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund and First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprises...

Milwaukee - Mar. 2, 2009 - Two developers are proposing to build over 350 apartments, including some for moderate-income renters, on a 2-acre lot in downtown's Park East area. Fair Market Development LLC, owned by Harry Drea, of Madison, and Robert Schultz, of West Linn, Ore., was the only development firm to respond to Milwaukee County's request for proposals for the county-owned lot, which is bordered by N. Broadway, E. Ogden Ave. and N. Water, N. Milwaukee and E. Lyon streets....

MILWAUKEE - 3/04/2009 - Fair Market Development LLC, which is proposing a $76 million development, called Eco-Square at Park East, with about 400 residences and 10,000 square feet of retail space in the Park East corridor, is placing a heavy emphasis on community benefits with the project. Fair Market Development has hired Marvin Pratt & Associates, owned by former Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt, who will help assure that the project meets its economic empowerment objectives....

Waukesha County - 3/05/2009 - They called it "Cow County USA." Maybe because of the big Sale and Stock Pavilion built in downtown Waukesha in 1919. Maybe because of the large number of famous registered Holstein herds in the county such as Pabst Farms, Klussendorf, Sunnylea, Kyland, Arwyn (Morris Brothers), Wern Farms, Brookhill, Keystone and Budjon. Maybe it was because someone came up with the fact (or maybe a guess) that there were more purebred dairy cows per square mile than any other county in the U.S....

West Allis - Mar. 4, 2009 - A foreclosure suit has been filed against the developers of a new condominium project in West Allis. Equitable Bank says West Allis Development LLC defaulted on a loan and owes $5.2 million. The bank is seeking a foreclosure judgment against West Allis Development, and the appointment of a receiver to operate the property....

Franklin - Mar. 5, 2009 - Two Franklin condominium projects developed by area real estate investors Jeffrey Klement and Gerald Klamrowski have been hit with a pair of foreclosure suits, claiming investors defaulted on their debts and now owe nearly $6 million. North Shore Bank filed the lawsuits in Milwaukee County Circuit Court....

Milwaukee - Feb. 27, 2009 - Milwaukee real estate developer Joseph Zilber announced Thursday a series of new executive appointments at Zilber Ltd., his family-owned holding company. Zilber, who's chairman of the company he founded in 1949, announced the following promotions: Art Wigchers, vice chairman and senior advisor; Jim Borris, president/chief executive officer; John Kersey, executive vice president; Bob Braun, executive vice president/chief financial officer, and Bill Wigchers, vice president...

Milwaukee - Feb. 26, 2009 - One of downtown Milwaukee's largest office towers is in financial trouble, and is now controlled by a court-appointed receiver. The owners of 250 Plaza, a 20-story building at 250 E. Wisconsin Ave., owe more than $13 million in principal on the building, which has an assessed value of $15 million, according to a filing in Milwaukee County Circuit Court...

Milwaukee area - Feb. 27, 2009 - The Milwaukee area is among the regions that saw a large increase in residential development within its urban core since the mid-'90s, according to a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

Milwaukee - Mar. 4, 2009 - Two people who agreed to buy condominiums in Milwaukee's Park Lafayette high-rise are suing the project's developer, seeking return of their earnest money down payments. The separate suits, filed by Milwaukeeans Jon Gnacinski and Matthew Johnson, both make the same argument: developer Renaissant Lafayette LLC started construction on the project's second tower before it reached the proper level of condo sales...

Milwaukee - March 5, 2009 - Madison-based Raymond Management Co. wants to build a 143-room Hilton Garden Inn and a 130-room Hampton Inn & Suites on 14 acres at 5880 S. Howell Ave., according to a plan filed with the Department of City Development. The proposed site is east of Howell Ave., and north of College Ave. It is the site of St. Stephen Catholic Church, which is moving to a new building under construction in Oak Creek....

Milwaukee - Mar. 4, 2009 - The Department of City Development is beginning to create a plan for Milwaukee's southwest side, and is seeking input from the neighborhood's residents. The department is staging an "image preference survey," a planning technique that helps planning officials understand how people would like their neighborhood to look and feel in the future. It involves showing about 75 neighborhood images, and rating people's reactions based on their design preferences....

Waukesha County - Mar. 3, 2009 - Despite growing interest from civic leaders - and partly because of it - plans for redeveloping the 60-year-old Lied's Nursery property in Waukesha County could be falling apart. Officials in Menomonee Falls, Sussex and Lisbon all have taken an interest in a development group's plans for the commercial site south of Highway 74...

- March 03, 2009 - A city of La Crosse panel on Monday resisted or rejected outright Riverside Center developer Don Weber's newest requests in an already $4.75 million deal. Weber and the city have arranged a $4 million development agreement $5.1 million when interest is included as incentive to construct a seven-story building at his downtown campus. Weber intends to build on the Cargill East site he'll purchase from the city for $1...

Milwaukee - 3/04/2009 - Milwaukee-based Mandel Group Inc. will break ground on March 15 for its Corcoran Lofts apartment development in the Historic Third Ward, according to chief operating officer Robert Monnat. Milwaukee-based Jansen Construction Inc. will be the general contractor for the project. The six-story Corcoran Lofts building will have 76 apartments and 3,400 square feet of retail space...

MILWAUKEE AREA - Feb. 28, 2009 - As Schwarz Pharma Inc. grew, Daniel Lawton envisioned a day when the company might be sold and he'd have to leave Milwaukee. That day came in late 2006, and to Lawton's surprise, he didn't go anywhere. Instead, he and two partners who had helped build a formidable...

Milwaukee - Feb. 25, 2009 - Plans are in progress for a foreclosure mediation program to help Milwaukee residents keep their homes, Mayor Tom Barrett announced Wednesday. In his "state of the city" address, Barrett pledged $100,000 of city money toward setting up the program, which he estimates will cost a total of $300,000 or $400,000...

Ken Notes: I missed this last week. Not a bad idea though...

New Berlin - Mar. 3, 2009 - New Berlin Now, a sister publication, reports that a brew pub is being proposed for that city. It would be the first brew pub in New Berlin...

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.

The focus for WDN is to create a positive view of economic development for the Greater Madison Region. The publication will also feature news from around the state, nation, and world that offers insight to policy, trends, and projects that may be of interest to the reader.

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Ken

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