Focus on Calumet
A bi-weekly update on economic development opportunities in Calumet County
and the region for businesses, entrepreneurs, and communities.
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Appleton Southpoint Commerce Park Project Uses C-PACE Financing in New Construction; Groundbreaking Held on October 26 |
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The F-Street Group will use almost $2 million in commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) to finance energy efficiency measures for the construction of their 218,240 square foot industrial building. Once complete, the property will house warehouse and distribution tenants in Appleton’s Southpoint Commerce Park. The project represents Calumet County’s first C-PACE project since adopting the C-PACE program last year.
F Street Group incorporated C-PACE financing as part of their capital stack as a low-cost financing solution compared to traditional equity. As is the case with most of their projects, they completed an equity raise with their investor group to secure the equity funds necessary to construct this project. Utilizing C-PACE for this project provided a significant boost to the equity investors.
“PACE Equity provided us with the ability to pay off the PACE loan at any point with minimal to no prepayment penalty, depending on the timing of this event. This is our first-time using PACE financing, though we’ve developed projects previously with green initiatives that have provided refunds and subsidies from the local governments,” said Scott Lurie, Principal of F Street Development. “Utilizing PACE Equity was a win-win for our project and for our investors and will help with developing the full scope of our project in the Fox Valley.”
With vacancy levels at 2.3% and pent-up demand in the Fox Valley Region for Class A Industrial product, there is a significant opportunity and the development is fulfilling a need. The first building to be constructed on the 50-acre master-planned development will be a speculative building, which broke ground on October 26, 2020.
According to Todd Romenesko, Calumet County Administrator, “ Calumet County is pleased that ground has been broken on our first successful PACE project in the county. This project is a win for the PACE program, the county, the host City of Appleton, and the development team. It will help achieve sustainability goals while also supporting a financially sound project.”
“We're looking forward to more projects with F Street and other owners/developers,” shared Griffin Peterson, Managing Director of Wisconsin, PACE Equity. |
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L to R: Jim Dallas and Nathan Laurent, Keller; Karl Wiedenman, CBRE; Scott Lurie and Josh Lurie, F Street Development; Jake Woodford, Appleton Mayor; Andy Lubinski and Justin Felix, CBRE at the October 26 groundbreaking ceremony for the new F Street building.
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Employers’ Woes: Hiring in Fox Valley gets Tough Again Amid Plummeting Unemployment |
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Brent Balken has done everything he can think of to find workers for his new Pizza Ranch near Costco. The new restaurant is ready and should have opened by now. Its bills are starting to pile up in his mailbox.
He pushed the opening back several times, from October to early November. It’s now set at November 16, but just for delivery and carryout. He hopes he can open inside dining by early December. It all depends on hiring. He needs 45 people and has just 22 so far.
That's despite offering competitive or even above-the-norm starting wages of $10 to $12 to pizza makers, $7.25 plus tips to servers and $8 plus tips to drivers who don’t have to drive their own cars.
“It’s terrible,” he said. Part of his struggle, and that of many employers, is that unemployment has dropped steadily over the past five months and the pool of available workers is slim.
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As the article goes on to note, the hiring challenge is very real in Calumet County, which currently has the lowest unemployment rate in the region, at 3.1%. |
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Latest UW Oshkosh Impact Survey: Businesses Bracing for Months of Struggles |
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Uncertainty grows for Wisconsin business leaders as they expect another 12 to 18 months of impact from the COVID-19 virus and hold little hope for further government assistance. Results of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s October COVID-19 business and economic impact survey also reveal a rekindled concern regarding long-term viability, said Jeffrey Sachse, interim director of UWO’s Center for Customized Research and Services (CCRS).
“The latest survey indicates 8.8% of responding businesses estimate viability of no more than three months,” he said. “The decrease in business confidence is again largely a function of the uncertainty that has defined economic activity under the pandemic. As the state and its communities continue to tackle the challenge of the pandemic in different ways, we should expect to continue to see similar levels of uncertainty.”
The 422 responding Wisconsin business owners (representing 19,700 employees) report the following changes in the past month: $1.4 million in income losses, $218,000 in inventory losses, $838,000 in lost wages and productivity, 1,907 lost positions, and $3.2 million in other financial gains.
The October results continue to show the renewed downward trend observed last month with some exception, Sachse said. Businesses continue to report other financial gains generally associated with future activity, suggesting that they may be exchanging current revenue for future revenue. While 42% of respondents believe that they will be dealing with the pandemic for at least the next year, another 14% suggest the impact will continue through 2022 and beyond.
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WI Fast Forward Worker Training Grants Available from DWD |
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Grant offerings have been redesigned into a single grant opportunity, "Industry Sectors Worker Training Grants” to help fund the development of innovative and collaborative customized worker training programs that target unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers.
Key features of this grant program:
- Grants are available to all industry sectors and companies of any size;
- Grant award amounts may range from $5,000 to $400,000;
- Cash or in-kind match equal to 50% of the grant award amount is required;
- Grantees must complete the training of at least 85% of the contracted number of trainees; and
- At least 65% of trainees must be placed in positions that require the skills taught in the funded training, at the placement partner(s) identified in the grant application.
For more information and to apply, please see the Grant Program Announcement summarizing program requirements. Applications are due Monday, November 30, 2020, by 3:00 pm CST.
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Veteran Business Owners Acknowledged
November 2-6
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Each year the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) celebrates, connects, and empowers service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses during National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW). This year marks the seventh annual NVSBW.
This year’s theme is #VetBiz Resources in Your Local Community which highlights the breadth of free to low-cost entrepreneurial resources that veteran and military entrepreneurs can access right in their neighborhood – from seeking business counseling services from a local SCORE chapter, to visiting the Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) in their area for help formulating a business plan.
Join SBA district offices, resource partners, and other organizations as we celebrate the veteran- and military-owned small business community.
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Calumet County Business Assistance |
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Calumet County has long promoted business assistance to existing and start-up businesses throughout the county, and that tradition continues. The following is a reminder of the extensive list of services available from Ray York, Small Business Development Center business specialist, at no cost. Ray’s goal is to provide opportunity to clients by guiding them to make informed decisions to start, expand, or transition their business. What are you waiting for, contact Ray today by using the online contact form, by phone (920-946-9379), or email.
- Provide research materials to aid in the business planning process
- Industry overview, trends & outlooks (IBISworld, Statista, SageWorks, BarnesReport)
- Competition and Sales Lists (DataAxle)
- Financial ratios (SageWorks)
- Licensing & regulation (WDFI, DOR, DATCP, Contacts to County and Local Municipalities)
- Target market data (US Census)
- Business plan examples (SBDCNet, Bplans, York Template)
- Trade association, publications, and suppliers/distributor/wholesaler lists (SBDCNet)
- Commercial real-estate data and availability (CoStar)
- Local vetted contact list (county, chambers)
- Client Paid - Secondary research (BIT, WISC)
- Develop financial documents using entrepreneur provided information and industry financial ratios
- Use professional services to verify assumptions
- Project manage clients through the entire start-up, expansion, and/or transitions process
- Consistent access to professional network at the Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in the UW System
- Access to more clients and potential future investors
- SBDC metrics are a great benchmark of entrepreneurial activity
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Target deconstructed the shopper journey to identify pain points and implement new safety procedures to put holiday shoppers at ease.
Retailers have already had to adjust the cadence of holiday promotions due to the shift of Amazon's Prime Day to October from July. Now even more operational changes are in store as retailers are challenged to soothe risk-averse shoppers by implementing new processes. Target revealed its approach to the holidays amid the overhang of COVID-19 with initiatives that can serve as a blueprint for other retailers.
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Lexington Homes Project to Advance in Harrison |
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The Village of Harrison Board approved ordinances for amendments to the comprehensive plan and zoning map, conditional use permit, and certified survey map that will allow the Lexington Homes project to proceed. The project will include a 12-building development with 144 single and multi-family residential units on Midway Road. |
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Brillion Middle School Enhancing STEM Area |
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There will soon be a renovated and upgraded STEM area inside of Brillion Middle School. The existing science, technical, engineering and mathematics area in the middle school is approximately 3,000-square feet.
“It’s basically going to be gutting that whole area, adding a lot more natural light and then we’re kind of redesigning it so there’s more workspace and a lot more storage space,” Madison said.
The new design will be better, Madison said, and will have a mezzanine area. “Similar to like the elementary (STEM Center) so that we can do some work with aerodynamics and gravity and that kind of thing,” Madison said.
Madison says that the elementary and high school STEM areas have a “certain vibe,” and they are working to create something that fits the middle school ages well.
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Jamie Wieting (left), president of the Chilton Chamber of Commerce, stopped at Schmidt's Clothing in Chilton to wish Rita a happy retirement and thank her for being a chamber member for many, many years. The longtime clothing store recently announced it will be closing because of the retirement of its owner. |
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The Chilton Chamber of Commerce has donated 70 banners to the City of Chilton. The banners were designed by Chilton High School art students and modified by the Banner Committee. Mike Gerhartz of Printing Express and Julie Hoben of JT Enterprises worked closely with Travis Boll from the City of Chilton on materials and fittings. These banners will be displayed in May and June. Above (from left), Gerhartz, Boll, and Chamber President Jamie Wieting display the banners.
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Power Sports Store Planned |
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R Braun Inc. is planning to open a second Hardware Hank & Power Sport Store location at 310 S. STH 67 in Kiel. The store, previously Ethel’s Pub & Grill on STH 67, will be a sister location to their already up and running Hardware Hank Store at 209 N. 4th Ave., St. Nazianz, and also will sell and service their full power sports line of Spartan Mowers, Intimidator UTVs and Envy crossovers. Early stages of planning have begun and a grand opening is in the works for spring 2021. |
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Export Pro Series Session 2 – Global Business Opportunities Abound for Wisconsin Companies – December 1
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Attend this no-cost webinar to learn how to:
- Obtain customized country and industry-specific market intelligence for your company
- Develop an export growth plan for your product/s in target markets
- Identify and connect with new prospective partners overseas
- Tap into grant funds to help your company grow and expand internationally
- Access Wisconsin’s export ecosystem
Join Chad Hoffman, the SBDC’s lead international trade consultant for the Go Global Initiative and Brad E. Schneider CGBP, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's Market Development Director for Americas & Australia to help you become an Export Pro!
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New North Summit – March 11, 2021, Lambeau Field |
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A scheduled welcome message from the Green Bay Packers’ Mark Murphy and presentations from four regional leaders highlight the program of the annual New North Summit, set for Thursday, March 11, 2021. Speaking at the event will be Kim Bassett of Bassett Mechanical, Dr. Imran A. Andrabi of ThedaCare, Michelle Schuler of Microsoft, and Joe Kirgues of gener8tor.
More information about this annual event will appear in future newsletters.
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Managing Offsite Employees |
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Explore the best practices and helpful tools for a productive and engaged dispersed workforce. Learn how to communicate effectively, maintain a sense of community, cultivate teamwork and develop relationships built on trust. You will also learn how to proactively spot potential problems. This seminar does not cover the technology aspect of working remotely.
November 13, 2020 | 8:00 am - 12:00 noon
Fee: $149.00
Location: D.J. Bordini Center, Appleton
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Fox Cities Operational Excellence Presents ... Virtual Lean Coffee |
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Virtual Lean Coffee is a structured, but agenda-less complimentary meeting. This virtual session will focus on the real-time interests and questions around Lean and Continuous Improvement.
December 9, 2020 | 8:30-10:00 am
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Explore Starting a Business
November 11, 2020
December 9, 2020
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Work for Yourself at 50+
November 10, 2020
December 10, 2020
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Join us virtually every Wednesday!
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Calumet County Community Economic Development contact information:
Mary Kohrell, Community Economic Development Director
Connie Leonhard, Program Assistant
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