News & Notes
Over the weekend I saw a show about an International kids magic competition. These kids have dedicated much of their childhood to becoming incredible magicians. It really amazes  me how many different things people are passionate about. If you like to do something then do it!

Have a great week!

 

Joe  

Development News for the Week of: 10/06/2012 -  10/12/2012  

Dane County's first array of commercial wind turbines will rise hundreds of feet above the rolling hills along Highway 12 northwest of Madison under plans Epic Systems of Verona hatched over the last four weeks.
-Wisconsin State Journal


Mayor Paul Soglin on Thursday named veteran government official Jim O'Keefe as Madison's next director of community development. O'Keefe was administrator for the Division of Housing and Community Development in the state Department of Commerce under former Gov. Jim Doyle, and remained with the agency under the Walker administration to assist with its transition to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., where he was hired as a policy analyst.

-Wisconsin State Journal


Members of a board that oversees the lower Wisconsin River said they need additional information before approving the first silica sand mine in southwestern Wisconsin.
-Wisconsin State Journal

DANE COUNTY CONDO MARKET STILL PLAYING CATCH-UP AS ACTIVE LISTING DROP AGAIN

Active listings dropped again in Dane County in September compared to the previous year, in a continuing good trend for the local housing market.
-Wisconsin State Journal

NEW PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN HOMELESS SHELTER

A planned daytime homeless shelter on Madison's East Side was met with great scrutiny at a neighborhood meeting Wednesday, but a Dane County supervisor revealed that the county is looking at a more likely site closer to Downtown.

COMMUNITY CONCERNS SPARK CHANGES TO APARTMENT PLAN

Developers presented an updated plan for a downtown apartment complex at a Bassett Neighborhood meeting Wednesday, including modifications that address previous community concerns about the project.
-Daily Cardinal

VETERAN CITY ADMINISTRATOR BRAD MURPHY TO RETIRE

Madison is losing a respected, veteran leader in its Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development. Brad Murphy, director of the department's bustling Planning Division since 1989 and a player in virtually all big developments and agency initiatives for two decades, will retire at the end of the year.


The Columbus City Council continues to wade through the details as it considers purchasing land for a potential business park that would help the city retain a manufacturing company.
-Wisconsin State Journal

NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS ASK JOE PARISI TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT AIRPORT NOISE

You don't have to tell me that planes coming and going at the Dane County Regional Airport make a lot of noise. I can hear them. So can thousands of other residents in the east- and north-side Madison neighborhoods surrounding the airport. Now they are asking Dane County Executive Joe Parisi to take steps to reduce airport noise.

-Cap Times 

 

PROPOSED BUS FARE INCREASE LIKELY TO IGNITE HEATED DEBATE


In Madison, you can bet that if you propose a bus fare increase you'll have a fight on your hands. "It's going to be a tough sell," says Ald. Chris Schmidt, a member of the Transit and Parking Commission. "It has an impact on people who are using the routes. It has an impact on people who are low-income."

-Cap Times 


SHOPKO USES A NEW APPROACH TO SERVE SMALLER COMMUNITIES

Shopko is going smaller to become bigger. The company's new store here sells televisions, video games, clothes for all ages, sporting goods, housewares and a multitude of other items. There's also a pharmacy and an optical center.

It looks, for the most part, like any other Shopko store. But what's missing here is space, about 60,000 square feet of it.

-Wisconsin State Journal



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Around the State and Points Elsewhere  

  

REVERSING THE SLIDE: IRON COUNTY COMMUNITIES TRY TO CURB EXODUS OF RESIDENTS

 
It's Fourth of July weekend in this Iron County community, and 19-year-old Chanel Youngs tends an empty store. Aside from the whir from the ceiling fan, and the sound of a slow-passing car down Silver Street, the Liberty Bell Chalet is quiet. "Nothing ever happens here, nothing ever changes," Youngs said.
-Wisconsin State Journal


Ground soon will be broken here for the $1.5 million Harry Houdini Plaza, a downtown gathering place for exhibits, small concerts and other events. But what's happening downtown is no trick.The plaza, named after the famed escape artist who considered Appleton his hometown, is the latest addition to College Avenue that over the past 10 years has undergone a transformation into an arts and entertainment district sandwiched between the $45 million Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and Lawrence University.
-Wisconsin State Journal

 WAUKESHA CONSIDERS ANNEXATION FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT   

The City of Waukesha is considering a request to annex nearly 100 acres of land with development potential from the Town of Waukesha. The Plan Commission is to review the request at its Wednesday meeting.
-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 
 

A plan to renovate Cathedral Square and Juneau Park, and pay for that work with a new fee on properties on downtown Milwaukee's east side, was delayed Thursday by a Common Council committee. The Community and Economic Development Committee voted 4-0 to delay acting on a proposal to create a neighborhood improvement district, a public agency, which also needs approval from the full council and Mayor Tom Barrett. That vote came after a motion to endorse the plan failed on a 1-3 vote.

-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 
 
 

A proposed extra tax on commercial property owners near the former Northridge Mall, with the money to be used for street beautification work and other improvements, was endorsed Thursday by a Common Council committee. The Community and Economic Development Committee voted 4-0 to recommend approval for creating the business improvement district, which also needs full council approval.

-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 

 

BROWN DEER SENIOR APARTMENTS TO EXPAND 

 

Deerwood Crossing, a 66-unit apartment building for seniors, will add 30 more apartments under a proposal endorsed by the Brown Deer Plan Commission.

The Village Board is to review the proposal at its Monday meeting, said Nate Piotrowski, community development director.

-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 

 

 

The Milwaukee area office market ended the third quarter 2012 with a vacancy rate of 10.8%, down from 11.1% in the second quarter, according to a new report by CoStar Group. Area office buildings absorbed 250,472 square feet during the quarter.

-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  

 

 

A Waukesha-based wholesale bakery has dropped a planned move to Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley Industrial Center.

Cybros the Sprouted Bakehouse had tentatively agreed to buy 1.89 acres in the industrial center from the city, and build an 18,000-square-foot facility there. The company now operates a 7,000-square-foot facility at 417 Barney St.

-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  



The Grafton Plan Commission has taken the unusual step of again approving a conditional use permit for a Meijer combined supermarket-discount store after nearby homeowners asked the commission to reconsider its initial decision.
-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 

AREA HOME SALES ROSE 6.7% IN SEPTEMBER, WHILE PRICES FELL 

 

More than a year of monthly sales increases still haven't translated into higher prices for homes in most of metro Milwaukee. 
-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  


 FIREHOUSE SUBS COULD OPEN UP TO 25 MILWAUKEE AREA LOCATIONS  

 

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Firehouse Subs will open a location in Ashwaubenon and plans to open 42 stores in Wisconsin and northern Illinois, including up to 25 in the Milwaukee area, according to a report this week in the Green Bay Press Gazette.    

-BizTimes 

 

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