Wisconsin Builder | City Lights | Down the road in southwest Wisconsin

Down the road in southwest Wisconsin

Beloit

City leaders and private investors recently won $725,000 in brownfields redevelopment grants from the state Department of Commerce.

Water Tower Industrial Properties, Beloit, won a $625,000 grant as part of its ongoing renovation of the former Beloit Corp. headquarters in the city's interior.

The brownfields grant will help pay to reconstruct numerous buildings on the 24-acre campus. In all, the developer expects to add 750,000 square feet of offices, foundries and manufacturing and storage areas.

The city also won $100,000 to buy land and build a bike path along the Rock River, potentially attracting neighborhood redevelopment projects.

In addition, the owners of the Beloit Inn, itself a recently completed revitalization project, are anticipating an addition to the building. A timeline for that project has not been specified, said Tom Clippert, director of Beloit's Main Street program.

Columbus

The city's Main Street program, through its nonprofit company, recently bought an old building on the corner of the city's main intersection. The city plans to refit the building and make it into a new store.

Work already started by removing a shed awning to give an idea of "what we had," said Judy Goodson, director of Columbus' Main Street program. Goodson said her organization has already started talks on the rehabilitation project with builders.

The Main Street program also plans to renovate an old storefront on one of the city's main drags in order to house Columbus' civic treasure: a vintage popcorn wagon.

De Forest

Keller Development, Madison, will likely exercise its option to build another phase - comprising two buildings-of its mixed-use development in the village's downtown.

Meanwhile, Park Towne Corp., Madison, has three residential projects on the books, including two buildings housing six apartments and a duplex, said Amy Tweeten, director of economic development and planning in De Forest.

Milton

McGuire Lasse, a Milton-based developer, won a $275,000 state brownfields grant to renovate the old Burdick Corp. facility in the city's downtown. When finished, the project is expected to include seven buildings totaling 107,000 square feet.

Waunakee

The village won a $625,000 brownfields grant to redevelop a 14-acre blighted facility in the downtown area. Preliminary plans include demolishing the existing structure to make way for a 90-apartment senior housing complex.

Madison

Construction on the Overture Center for the Arts will attract so many people to the city's downtown that city leaders are in the planning stages for a new parking ramp along State Street. This comes in addition to an $11 million plan to completely renovate the commercial thoroughfare, including construction of new bus shelters, sidewalks and street lamps.

Edgerton

A city panel recently purchased an old tobacco warehouse downtown. City leaders are looking for a private developer to come in, renovate the building and turn into a retail space that would anchor more development downtown, said Ramona Flanigan, Edgerton's city administrator.

Mineral Point

Isthmus Architecture Inc., Madison, is set to oversee work starting this summer on a restoration of a historic theater on the city's main street.

- By Jeremy Harrell

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