The following commercial real estate sales have been reported:
James T. Barry Co.

Motorola has agreed to use a sales automation tool designed by Milwaukee-based Sales Automation Support, for use with wireless phones.

The Mobile Marketer application is intended to provide mobile sales forces with on-demand document creation and fulfillment services from their wireless phones. Mobile Marketer allows sales professionals to generate and send letters, literature and samples, as well as manage individually personalized campaigns, from select Motorola iDEN mobile phones, including the i90c and i95cl models.
"Sales Automation Support’s same-day sales support fulfillment services provide mobile sales agents with accurate, timely, and highly effective business correspondence capabilities," said Peter Aloumanis, vice president and general manager, U.S. Markets Division, Motorola’s iDEN Subscriber Group. "This offering serves as a valuable productivity tool for the road warrior, regardless of industry."
To use Mobile Marketer, a mobile sales professional drafts and registers a set of personalized, pre-defined template letters. Those are generated on the user’s letterhead and can even include their photographs. The letters are signed with a reproduced signature that is virtually indistinguishable from the original, said Michelle Keshel, chief executive officer and founder of Sales Automation Support (www.salescampaigns.com).
After visiting a prospect, the salesperson can use the Mobile Marketer application to request that a specific letter and attachments be generated and sent to the contact. The system also provides full support for individually personalized sales campaigns that can consist of any number of personal correspondences.
Mobile Marketer is compatible with many customer relationship management (CRM) applications and is available at www.nextel.com/idenupdate. The download is free, and there is a nominal transaction fee each time the service is used, which covers document generation, letterhead and envelopes, postage, and mail fulfillment.

Wisconsin Leasing, a provider of commercial water heater leases, has moved from the We Energies headquarters to its own corporate headquarters at 2514 S. 102nd St. Milwaukee.
The move marks a transition to independence for Wisconsin Leasing, the former division of Wisconsin Energy Corp. Lynne Robinson and SB Partners, a private equity group in Chicago, purchased the leasing operation in June.
Robinson had been owner and president of Robinson Management Resources, a financial consulting firm based in Brookfield.
As part of its growth strategy, the company is expanding product lines, Robinson said. It has entered into an alliance with Water Doctors, a Wisconsin-based dealer of water conditioning equipment, to provide financing, marketing and sales support of its commercial line of Kinetico water-conditioning systems.
Wisconsin Leasing provides operating leases for small-ticket commercial equipment, and represents more than 3,000 corporate customers in six states, Robinson said. The firm is on the Web at www.wisconsinleasing.com.

The firms of Wipfli Ullrich Bertelson, and Sycamore Group have merged. Both firms have headquarters in this area, with Wauwatosa-based Wipfli, a CPA firm, specializing in information technology and management consulting, and Sycamore Group, a downtown Milwaukee-based management consulting firm, specializing in strategic information technology management services. With the merger, Wipfli adds 20 consultants to its information technology and business process services practice.
Bruce Barchus and Kurt Hahlbeck, principals of Sycamore, will become partners in the Wipfli organization and will manage and operate the Sycamore practice.

The Milwaukee-based firm of Wuesthoff
Wickman, marking its 30th year in business, has changed its name to Legacy Capital Partners (www.legacycapitalpartners.com), said Thomas J. Wickman, president. The firm was founded by Winfred W. Wuesthoff as WW. Wuesthoff, Inc., in 1972 as an independent, fee-only investment advisor. Wickman and Jeffry Brigman are now the firm’s principals. It has more than $100 million in client assets.

Wisconsin Lift Truck Corp. (www.wisconsinlift.com) has been appointed the metropolitan Milwaukee dealer for Gehl skid loaders and AVANTAGE compact loaders. It will also have access to skid loader attachments offered by CE Attachments. Wisconsin Lift Truck is a 40 year-old, full-service material-handling distributor employing more than 450 employees at its headquarters in Brookfield, its branches in Green Bay, Eau Claire, Janesville and Wausau, and at its sister companies Illinois Material Handling, and Wolter Hydraulics and Power Systems. The Gehl Company is based in West Bend while CE Attachments is in Cedarburg.
New Berlin Therapies marked its 20th anniversary Sept. 14. The clinic was established July 1, 1982 by physical therapist Susan Kinosian, offering physical therapy services to children and adults in community. Today NBT serves more than 600 families in New Berlin, Brookfield, West Allis, Muskego, Wauwatosa and Waukesha; offering physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, massage therapy and personal fitness services. The clinic has a staff of more than 30 therapists and a 2,000-square-foot adaptive gym for children with special needs.

Nominations are being sought for the 2003 Small Business Person of the Year awards program presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Nominees are sought in the following categories: Small Business Person of the Year, Minority Small Business Person of the Year, Entrepreneurial Success, Small Business Legal Assistance, Minority Small Business Advocate, Veteran Small Business Advocate, Home-Based Business Advocate, Small Business Exporter, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Financial Services Advocate, Women in Business Advocate, Small Business Journalist, Accountant Advocate, and Emerging Small Business Person of the Year.
Nominations should be submitted by Oct. 4. Forms can be obtained from Mary Trimmier of the SBA office in Milwaukee, at 414-297-1093; 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 400, Milwaukee 53203.
Winners will be honored at a program next June.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has launched a Spanish-language Web site, aimed at the growing Hispanic population. The site can be accessed at www.sba.gov/espanol.

The Midwest Express Center in Milwaukee will be called the Midwest Airlines Center starting Jan. 1, reflecting the name change of the sponsoring airline. The locally based airline is changing its name from Midwest Express Airlines to Midwest Airlines to better market its scope of services. "Research showed the word ‘express’ had a connotation not consistent with our mission and reputation of providing world-class service and comfort," said Carol Skornicka, vice president, secretary and legal counsel for the airline.

Water Doctors will be the exclusive provider of water treatment equipment for Bielinski Custom Homes of Waukesha, the firm announced. Water Doctors has been a distributor of Kinetico equipment since 1982. Bielinski, besides being a home-builder, operates Bielinski Realty, Bielinski Development, Bielinski Condominiums, and Bielinski Properties.

Cherf Saw & Tool Service of Milwaukee has launched an "Ultimate Referral Program" in which customers gain points toward premiums redeemable in a gift catalog, said Patrick Cherf, who runs the business founded by his parents in 1941. "Because our clients’ tools stay sharper longer, we don’t get the repeat business a lower-grade sharpening might promote," Cherf said. "At the same time, we realized there are many people who don’t know their knives and tools can be sharpened. So we started this referral program to promote the business." The firm is at 1446 S. Muskego Ave., just south of Greenfield Ave.

Quality Color Graphics of Pewaukee (www.quality-color.com) is now offering the new "Staccato screening" technology for offset printing. The new technology is a "vast improvement" over the typical halftone screening with the rosette dot structure, which has been the industry standard for 125 years, said Jeff Letellier of Quality Color Graphics. The firm gained the capability to provide the service when it installed a Creo-Scitex thermal imaging platemaker and a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD102 40-inch press in January.

Milwaukee-based Victorian Postman (www.victorianpostman.com) has been granted a patent for an improved linkage and the ability to accommodate variable hole depths for its Pit Boss post-hole digger. The shovel is based on the 19th-century, single-handle design with a pivoting, scoop-like digging blade. The Pit Boss is made and assembled in the US, said Richard Herzfeld, owner of Victorian Postman.

Stan’s – Fit for Your Feet has closed its store at 3164 S. 27th St. in Milwaukee and has opened a store at 7405 W. Layton Ave., the Layton Plaza, in Greenfield. The firm also has stores at 76th and Capitol in Milwaukee and on Bluemound Road in Brookfield.

Curt Gielow, owner and president of Gielow Associates, a Milwaukee-based executive search firm, assisted in the creation of The Taplow Group, a worldwide consortium of more than 20 independent executive search and human capital firms in Europe, the Americas and the Far East. The Taplow Group will have its headquarters in Luxembourg.

Sept. 27, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

David Fantle has joined Zigman Joseph Stephenson (ZJS) as vice president. Fantle comes to ZJS from Kohl’s Corp., where he has served as public relations manager, responsible for media relations efforts in support of the retailer’s expansion and charitable giving program. Prior to joining Kohl’s, Fantle spent 13 years in the energy industry, working as director of public and media relations for Wisconsin Gas, and manager of generation communications at Wisconsin Electric. Prior to those positions, the St. Paul, Minn. native and University of Minnesota journalism graduate held public relations posts at The Pillsbury Company, First Bank System and 3M, all in the Twin Cities. Fantle also co-owns a freelance entertainment writing business, Reel to Real, in which he has interviewed more than 200 celebrities for publications throughout the world. A Bayside resident, Fantle previously served as Bayside village trustee and president and is a past member of the Wisconsin Humanities Council. He currently serves on the boards of the Milwaukee Jewish Community Center and the Glendale Little League.
Terry R. Sutter has joined First Federal Savings Bank of Wisconsin as vice president of business banking. He is located at the bank’s main office in downtown Waukesha. Prior to joining First Federal, he was a vice president of commercial banking with Bank One Wisconsin. Sutter has served on the boards of the Waukesha Area Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Waukesha County, the Waukesha Women’s Center, and the Waukesha Chapter of Junior Achievement.
Aldrian Guszkowski, Architects and Engineers of Wauwatosa has promoted three persons to the senior associate level: architects Tracey R. Schnick and Joseph P. Silvers, and CPA Cynthia Lofy, who has been named financial manager.
Diane Ott has been named director of Child and Youth Services for Curative Care Network’s 92nd Street location. She previously served as the director of Pediatric Services and Speech Therapy Services for Cedar Haven Rehabilitation Services in Ozaukee County. She holds a master of science degree in speech pathology from UW-Milwaukee and a bachelor of science degree in communication disorders from UW-Madison.
Susan Wacha has been named controller at the Milwaukee insurance firm of Fitzgerald, Clayton, James & Kasten.
Betsy Antisdel has joined the Milwaukee public relations firm of Zeppos & Associates as office manager.
Matt Bucher has joined HNI Co. in New Berlin as marketing and business development coordinator. He had previously been an account executive with Small Business Times.
R.A. Smith & Associates in Brookfield has promoted Matt Grove to construction services transportation manager. Grove joined R.A. Smith’s construction services division in March 1998 as a construction manager. He has 10 years of Wisconsin Department of Transportation highway project management and municipal construction experience. He received his bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from UW-Madison. He is registered as a professional engineer in the state of Wisconsin.
Elizabeth L. Menzer has been named executive director of Wisconsin Forward Award, Inc., and Bundy Trinz has been promoted to program director. Founded by former Gov. Tommy Thompson in 1997, the Wisconsin Forward Award program was created to promote significant achievements in continuous improvement and performance excellence-business practices that foster the economic vitality of Wisconsin organizations and the communities they serve.
Tom Pederson has joined the Kahler Slater architectural, design and planning firm as accounting manager. Pederson has more than 12 years of professional experience in the field of accounting.
Creative Business Interiors of West Allis has promoted Kristi Feuling to the position of construction services coordinator and Mike Strangfeld to the positionof accounting manager. Feuling has been with the company for more than years, most recently serving as administrative assistant. Stragfeld has more than four years of experience in the firm’s accounting department.

The following loan guarantees have been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration during February:
Alternative Solutions, 643 Monroe St., Sheboygan Falls 53085, $35,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Area Asphalt, 24 Manor Hill Rd., Eden 53019, $30,000, National Exchange Bank & Trust;
Becman Company, 11830 W. Ripley Ave., Wauwatosa 53226, $50,000 and $75,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Brownstone Inn, 1227 N. 7th St., Sheboygan 53081, $515,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Brown Deer Service, 5125 W. Brown Deer Rd., Milwaukee 53223, $35,000, Firstar Bank;
Byte Head Software, 1137 N. 26th St., Sheboygan 53081, $100,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Chuckle’s House of Wine, 3811 Jerelin Dr., Franklin 53132, $150,000, Legacy Bank;
Cousins Subs, 240 Edwards Blvd., Lake Geneva 53147, $112,620, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Endeavor Marketing Group, 119 Silver Lake St., Oconomowoc 53066, $25,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Equine Bedding, 588 W23105 Wynn Dr., Big Bend 53103, $150,000, Citizens Bank of Mukwonago;
Erik of Norway, 1505 W. Mequon Rd., Thiensville 53092, $600,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Fibeco Corp., 425 Spruce St., Sheboygan Falls 53085, $515,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Grand Central Cheese Co., 6224 S. Business Dr., Sheboygan 53081, $45,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Terry Hamm Siding & Trim, 811 S. Teut Rd., Burlington 53105, $25,000, Bank One;
Kingman Custom Contractors, 2661 Indian Mound Rd., Oconomowoc 53066, $150,000, Layton State Bank;
La Raza LLP and Unido LLP, 925 Indiana Ave., Sheboygan 53081, $275,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Merlin Muffler & Brake, 8601 75th St., Kenosha 53142, $156,200, Amcore Bank;
Parkdale Pet Care, 615 N. Main St., West Bend 53090, $404,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
RLO Sign, 1030 Ontario Ave., Sheboygan 53081, $78,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Simple Pleasures, 635 Riverfront Dr., Sheboygan 53081, $27,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Sunny Spring Corp., 226 N. Spring St., Port Washington 53074, $65,000, Port Washington State Bank;
Tieco, N7373 Manner Hills Circle, Elkhorn 53121, $5,000, Farmers & Merchants State Bank;
Trillium Property Investments, 904 Michigan Ave., Sheboygan 53081, $118,800, Wells Fargo Bank;
Vyron Corp., 3185 Gateway Rd., Brookfield 53005, $669,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.
What’s Up, 1635 Michigan Ave., Sheboygan 53081, $110,000, Community Bank & Trust.

Redevelopment radiates from city to old-growth suburbs

Redevelopment in the city of Milwaukee is focusing on near-north side and north side neighborhoods, and city officials hope infrastructure improvements and private commercial developments can serve as catalysts for additional redevelopment in key areas of the city.
Big-box retail projects at the former Capitol Court, and at Fond du Lac Avenue and North Avenue are only the latest manifestations of a trend toward major discount retailers adapting to a more urban space.
Last year saw the appearance of a Walmart on the location of the former Southgate Mall at 27th Street and Morgan Avenue. Directly south, the Point Loomis shopping center has also been demolished. According to Max Rasansky, president of The Polacheck Company’s Retail Properties Group, a Super Kmart is planned for the site. Super K-Marts add grocery to the usual product mix found at the discount department store. Another 156,000-square-foot Super Kmart is planned for North and Fond du Lac, and for Brown Deer. That follows a trend, according to Rasansky.
"Major retailers are developing concepts for urban areas," Rasansky said. "On East Capitol, for instance, Walmart took over an existing store." The location occupied by Walmart at 401 E. Capitol Dr. had been a Builder’s Square.
Progress on the Kmart developments, however, has been clouded by the recent filing of Kmart for bankruptcy protection.

Capitol Court redevelopment under way
The reinvention of Capitol Court, at Capitol Drive and 60th Street, will marry big-box retail with small storefronts, according to city officials. The $57 million Midtown Center project will provide 606,000 square feet of rejuvenated retail space, thanks, in part, to $6.5 million in infrastructure investment from the city. Private streets will connect with public thoroughfares tying the project more intimately in with the surrounding neighborhood.
The developer, Boulder Venture, is employing a technique used in urban centers on both coasts — backing big-box retail with smaller users.
"Walmart is at the center — but the back wall of the big box will be covered with liner stores – a coffee shop, a few bookstores — smaller-format stores that line 56th Street," Department of City Development Commissioner Julie Penman said. "This approach has been primarily used with very high-end retailers."
Construction is under way, and the Walmart is slated to open later this year. Build-out of the remainder of the center is expected in four to five years.

Super K on FDL and North
Penman said big box development coming to Fond du Lac and North avenues is expected to leverage the $4.3 million reconstruction of Fond du Lac Avenue between 19th and 35th streets — and help spur satellite development elsewhere in that north-side neighborhood.
While much of the roadwork involved widening Fond du Lac Avenue. A portion in the area of North Avenue, Center Street and Burleigh Avenue saw narrowing of the roadway and widening of the sidewalk to encourage storefront development.
The arrival of Super K — a 158,000-square-foot Kmart with an in-store supermarket — would be expected to trigger 30,000-40,000 square feet of outlot development.
n the meantime, DCD officials have been administering grants to encourage existing, local businesses to invest in their facilities and recreate a thriving commercial district. Official grant announcements are expected this month. According to DCD personnel, grants will be given to businesses including Columbia Savings and Loan, 2000 W. Fond Du Lac Ave., to expand and take over its entire block — and to Legacy Bank, 2102 W. Fond Du Lac Ave., to add a drive-through. The farmers market, on the same block as Legacy Bank, is also undergoing an expansion.

Offices, Grand Avenue repositioning, pump downtown
Office occupancy rates well into the 90% range are the driving factor behind two major office developments expected to break ground this year.
Irgens Development Partners is planning an aggressive timeline for its 875 E. Wisconsin project — 14 months from start to finish.
Irgens Senior Vice President John McGregor said the fast-track construction is client-driven.
"Artisan wants to occupy the building in June of 2003," McGregor said, referring to the project’s anchor tenant — investment firm Artisan Partners, has committed to 54,790 square feet of space on floors seven and eight.
The $49.45 million, eight-story office tower would bring 206,748 square feet of leasable space, and would include a 580-stall underground parking ramp. The building, in the shadow of the Firstar tower, would be connected to its larger neighbor via a skywalk.
McGregor said the firm anticipated receiving the additional lease commitments necessary to finalize financing and begin construction in the course of the next two months.
While Irgens’ project will receive tax incremental financing for the extension of utilities, the city will be more heavily involved in an office project to the north — in what DCD officials said is an area more in need of public investment.
The law firm Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek will be the anchor tenant for the 18-story, $52 million Cathedral Place, occupying 60,000 of a projected 150,000 square feet of office space in the Van Buren Management project at the corner of Jackson and Wells streets.
The mixed-use project will be executed in cooperation with the Redevelopment Authority of the city of Milwaukee. The city will own a 940-stall parking structure next to the project on North Jackson between East Wells and East Mason streets.
The office space will be augmented by 25,000 square feet of residential space in 30 condominiums overlooking Cathedral Square Park.
"The public parking deck is really addressing the one area of downtown that has really reached its capacity as far as parking is concerned," Penman said. "This deck will fuel growth in a two- to three-block radius. It will assist in redevelopment of the Wisconsin Gas Building — which is now empty due to merger with Wisconsin Energy."

Mall opened up to street
DCD officials note the Shops of Grand Avenue (formerly the Grand Avenue Mall) is being repositioned as a more integral part of the downtown as a whole. Irgens Development also has a hand in the Grand Avenue, as it is redeveloping the Woolworth Building. The developer hopes to lure office tenants to the building’s upper four floors, each of which is 11,000 square feet and offers a total of 42,000 square feet of leasable space. And in the ASQ Center, which Irgens and partner William Orenstein redeveloped from the former Gimbel’s/Marshall Fields department store complex adjacent to the Grand Avenue, a first-floor retail tenant may be announced soon, taking up 20,000 square feet of space fronting Wisconsin Avenue.

Menomonee Valley taking shape
According to Penman, the Menomonee River Valley will remain a redevelopment hotspot. "The valley is really important to us," Penman said. "It is the center of the city; the workforce is concentrated around the valley. It has been an underutilized asset for a number of years."
According to Penman, a large tract just east of Miller Stadium owned by CMC Heartland Partners — the Milwaukee Roads Shop — represents enormous potential.
"We are in the middle of condemnation on the Milwaukee Roads Shop — more than 100 acres of property that we want cleaned up and put back into productive work," Penman said.
While private investment will drive redevelopment of the Menomonee Valley, the city will have to step up to the plate as well. The extension of Canal Street to create a complete east-west thoroughfare through the valley is a top priority, according to Penman.
"That is a bit of an issue as we redevelop the value," Penman said. "Extension of Canal Street is a major consideration. We have received $10 million in the state budget for the extension — for us that is very important not only because of the redevelopment of the valley. It will also be needed — along with the 6th Street viaduct — to mitigate traffic during the coming Marquette Interchange reconstruction.
Other public investment in the valley includes the Hank Aaron State Trail — which is being built along the Menomonee River. The trail will provide public access to the river. Work will include restoration of the riverfront. The trail will ultimately run all the way to the lakefront, Penman said.
Private investment is already coming from a number of sectors. Sigma Engineering has broken ground on its new headquarters building at Canal and 13th streets. The 30,000-square-foot office building will replace existing leased headquarters the environmental remediation firm occupies in Oak Creek.
Sigma President Dave Scherzer said the company will break ground in the first quarter of this year, and expects occupancy by October.
"We have a little more geotechnical work to be finished," Scherzer said. "The project is out on the street for bidding right now."
Geotechnical work currently under way is necessary to remediate brownfields issues at the site, according to Scherzer.
Additional private investment in the valley is coming from KPH Construction, which has purchased the former facilities of United States Leather in the 600 block of South 12th Street.
The firm has injected $5 million into the two buildings — one offering 30,000 square feet and another 20,000 square feet, after buying the property out of receivership for under $600,000.
KPH currently has offices in Milwaukee and Waukesha, which will be consolidated at the Menomonee Valley site. Even after the consolidation, approximately 2,500 square feet of space will be available for lease, according to KPH President Keith Harenda.
Atlas Development is currently in the planning and design stages on 1.5 million square feet of new commercial, residential and high-tech office space on the Reed Street Yards project. The 22-acre property is bounded by 6th Street on the west, the Burnham Canal on the north, railroad tracks and Oregon Street to the south and on the northeast by Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and Seeboth Street.
The development will consist of 50% commercial and 50% residential space, according to project architect Eric Vogel of Gastrau Feurer Vogel.
In the meantime, the Potawatomi Casino draws 3 million visitors a year to the valley, according to the DCD figures. The Forest County Potawatomi Tribe is building a casino administrative building on 13th Street and St. Paul Avenue.

Towne Park offers high value
Firms interested in sites located within the metropolitan area with minimal setbacks and maximum land usage have been drawn to the Towne Group’s Towne Corporate Park of Granville. About 30 acres are still remaining in the park, which is located in the Milwaukee at 107th Street and Brown Deer Road.
Mike Mervis of the Towne Group closed the eighth deal in the park Jan. 18 — a 3.67-acre parcel to Friedman Tobacco and Candy Co. Friedman will construct a 32,350-square-foot facility on the site. Currently under construction in the park is a 6,500-square-foot facility for Weller Parts Stores, a truckparts supplier, on 2.87 acres, according to Mervis.

Inland has irons in the fire
Inland Companies has a number of projects coming on-line in Milwaukee County.
The Stadium Business Center, a 44,000-square-foot office-warehouse building just south of Miller Stadium in the village of West Milwaukee, is recently completed and accepting new tenants, according to Scott Welsh of the Inland Companies.
"Between the start of it and completion, we have leased over 50% of the space," Welsh said. "Leasing activity has been terrific. We are seeing good, strong, local companies that want to have access to good freeways, a good workforce and a central location. The diversity of tenants we can put in there range from service industries to quasi-retail."
Remaining space is available from 4,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet — in increments of 4,000-5,000 square feet, according to Welsh.
Inland is also anticipating the first lease deal for the Park Place Tech Center — which is located just off of Bradley Road and Highway 45 — across from Park Place. Project completion was delayed, which pushed completion until after the economy cooled off, according to Welsh.
"We ran into some weather difficulties and some slowdowns in the development of this project," Welsh said. "It is coming on-line right now and is 100% vacant. We have 67,000 square feet. It is a high-tech-looking building and features 18-foot clearances and fiber optic in the street right in front of it. Generally, it is an office-warehouse building that offers that high-tech kind of image. Up on the northwest side of town, if you want to get something with a loading dock, great visibility and great access to the freeway, there isn’t much else out there. There is access to two interchanges; they recently added a full interchange at Bradley to get onto Highway 45."
While prospects look good, Welsh expressed some frustration over the fact that no leases had been signed as of yet for the development.
"We have seen a lot of bigger tenants looking — a lot of activity," Welsh said. "Park Place lends itself to some big names out there. Four of five or six very good-credit, big-name tenants have shown strong interest in the building — but we aren’t signing any leases yet. When buildings come on-line, you like to have them mostly leased out."

Franklin park cools, Northwest Mutual in the hopper
Franklin Economic Development Commission director Stan Kosmatka said activity had slowed significantly in the Franklin Business Park — encompassed in the city’s Tax Incremental Financing District #2. Only three new firms entered the park in 2001, while 12 built there in 2000.
According to Mike Fardy of Inland, the developer has also finished the last of three buildings in the Franklin Industrial Park. The properties are targeted toward office/warehouse and light manufacturing; tenants include distribution and shipping firms.
The three speculative multi-tenant buildings at Franklin Drive and Ashland Way total 225,000 square feet. The final building was completed in early 2001, and Inland is sitting on 60,000 square feet of vacant space in two of the buildings, 20,000 in one and 40,000 in another, according to Fardy.
"That park is probably one of the nicer industrial parks in southeastern Wisconsin," Fardy said. "From when we began that project, we immediately had decent activity. But between the slowing economy and the fact that — after we initiated the spec development — some other developers came in, things have harder since we have seen more competition in that park."
Elsewhere in the city, Kosmatka described talk of a Northwestern Mutual corporate campus on the site of the current Highway 41 Outdoor Theater at West Drexel Avenue and South 27th Street as premature at best. While initial reports described a timeline that included construction in the first quarter of 2002, Kosmatka said this is not likely to transpire.
"We don’t even have a site plan yet — not even a sketch," Kosmatka said, describing the plan as "embryonic."
But according to a Northwest Mutual spokesperson, the company feels it is on track to initiate construction this year.
"Actually, we are on schedule," Jean Towell said. "Last evening, our project manager did show some preliminary plans to the city of Franklin. We don’t have architectural renderings yet. But groundbreaking is scheduled by later this year and the first phase is scheduled for completion in 2003 with occupancy scheduled for 2004."
Towell said the first phase of construction on the 75-acre site "will probably accommodate about 800 people and start with a five-story building and 400,000 square feet of space. Plus, a separate data center with about 40,000 square feet of space will be attached to the main office building."
The size of the site will allow for additional expansion in future years, but Towell said predictions of how rapidly additional building would take place are premature.
In other activity in Franklin, development near the intersection of highways 100 and 45 is solidifying, according to Kosmatka. Work is under way on a 10-acre Boucher Volkswagen dealership at the intersection. Kosmatka said that project would fit in well with other auto dealerships along the commercial strip.

Redevelopment sweeps the suburbs
As available greenfields in old-growth suburbs become scarce, development professionals in the county’s early developed suburbs are turning to brownfields and rejuvenating dated or obsolete developments.
Burke Properties has started construction on a four-block redevelopment project in Cudahy. The project includes a new library, townhouses and limited commercial space.
"We started construction of the library and winter garden on Dec. 1," Burke President Paul Votto said. "And we opened a sales office for the condos the first week of the new year."
The commercial space involved will be developed in two phases, according to Votto.
"In the first phase, there will be two commercial buildings," Votto said. "Each will be about 7,000 to 8,000 square feet on the first floor — and could turn out to be two-story buildings. There is the potential for more commercial development. We will take a wait-and-see approach. Other lands are still available, including sites along Layton Avenue."
Elsewhere in Cudahy, Votto said Burke was successful in filling up the majority of a building near Mitchell International Airport to Wetzel Brothers printers. The company is occupying 58,000 square feet of space at 2401 E. Edgerton Avenue, leaving 12,000 square feet remaining to lease.
Next door in the city of South Milwaukee, the South Milwaukee Community Development Authority has completed an initial phase of redevelopment in its first tax incremental financing (TIF) district, centering around a 36-acre area at Highway 32 and Marquette Avenue. The TIF district encompassed 25 acres of privately owned residential and commercial property and 11 acres of public right-of-way.
The city created a TIF district in 2000 that encompassed the area surrounding Sunrise Plaza. The shopping center had been experiencing high vacancy rates, and TIF-sponsored improvements helped the center reach 100% occupancy. The city purchased and demolished adjacent degraded commercial space to make way for Marquette Manor, a 74-unit senior housing complex developed by Great Lakes Companies of Madison. The building was completed in December.
That month, the city also finished utility, streetscape and site improvements including ornamental lighting and road reconstruction. According to city engineer Kyle Vandercar, the development authority is currently working with a developer to construct a mixed-use building across from the post office. The building would include commercial space on the lower level and four condominiums on the upper level.
The development authority is seeking proposals for redevelopment of an additional 6.5 acres within the first district, and has also retained Vierbicher Associates, Madison, to complete an analysis of the area surrounding Midwest Tanning Co., 1200 Davis Ave.
Vandercar said the area the city is considering redeveloping is about 12 acres in size and includes the former tannery building, a plastic-bag manufacturer and other industrial uses. Currently, Midwest Tanning handles tanning operations at a facility in Sheboygan and manufactures gloves and other leather products at the South Milwaukee plant.
"There are a couple properties in there with back taxes," Vandercar said. "They have not been foreclosed on due to contamination problems, mostly from underground tanks."
An analysis of redevelopment options will be coming from the consultants in March, according to Vandercar.

North shore projects make headlines
More media attention has been given suburban redevelopment projects on the north shore, specifically those at the Bayshore Mall and the former Scott Paper building in Glendale.
Michael Petersen’s Heartland Development Group announced plans in early January to spend $15.5 million to redevelop the Scott Paper building at 4425 N. Port Washington Rd. into 180,000 square feet of leasable office space.
The rehab of the building, which has been used primarily for warehousing in recent years, will entail demolition of two single-family homes. Heartland will purchase one property, and the city of Glendale will purchase the other. Additional city assistance for the project will come in the form of tax incremental financing.
Rehab work will start immediately, and will take approximately one year to complete, according to Petersen.
Also in Glendale, the southward expansion of the Bayshore Mall, while potentially hung up in legal proceedings, aims to bring new vitality to the 48-year-old shopping mall.
In an era when regional shopping malls are facing eroding markets, plans include turning Bayshore into a multi-use development through addition of condominiums on the eastern end of the property. While the mall itself would expand to the south, portions of the existing structure would be demolished and remaining sections refurbished.
The Glendale Community Development Authority is currently involved in a battle of legal posturing with Anthony Palermo, owner of commercial properties that would be destroyed to make way for the expansion.
The village of Whitefish Bay, meanwhile, is in the early planning stages of a major upgrade of its Silver Spring retail and commercial district. Neighboring Glendale has already portions of Silver Spring in that community.

February 1, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Racine County powers through industrial slowdown

Racine County’s development scene is pockmarked by craters left behind by manufacturers who have vacated premises here. Economic development leaders scored a major coup with the arrival of Bombardier and 1,000 jobs to the 500,000-square-foot building left by the closing of Artech in Sturtevant’s Renaissance Business Park. The manufacturer of outboard motors took up residency in the building in June of 2001.
While the industrial sector has been difficult in Racine County, the office space front has been fickle as well.
"There was some pretty good leasing activity," said William Bonifas of The Polacheck Co. of the counties to the south of Milwaukee. "In reviewing the projects we handle, it is not a very deep market. You don’t see hundreds of thousands of square feet leased. Most of the projects there are smaller in nature and appeal to smaller users."
Like other geographic areas, Racine County has been hit by a wave of office consolidations.
"American Family had a fairly big operation in Racine and opted to consolidate it into Milwaukee," Bonifas said of the insurance firm’s abandonment of a 30,000-square-foot claims office formerly at 5439 Durand Ave. "New technology can hurt smaller cities. Companies decide they don’t need to be decentralized because of the Internet."

Impending hotel fight highlights action in Racine County
Waterford remains a commercial development hot spot in Racine County. Tax Incremental Financing District #2 — the 78.5-acre Waterford Centre business park, driven by the relocation from Burlington of Runzheimer International — is ready to go with infrastructure and landscaping. And in a depressed hospitality market, the fact that the village will be sprouting hotels two at once is a cause for concern.
A Runzheimer subsidiary will build a 70-unit Wellesley Inn & Suites just north of Runzheimer at highways 36 and 164.
In the meantime, a 53-room Baymont Inn & Suites will go up at the corner of Fox and Forest lanes. Both entities lay claim to having the idea first. Both acknowledge that the local market cannot likely support two hotels. Yet neither plans to stand down.
"We announced the concept that there would be a hotel in the park two years ago," Ron Arthur, managing director of Waterford Centre, Runzheimer’s development entity, said. "The Baymont Hotel was first suggested three or four months ago. Our Wellesley plan — when we assigned a specific franchise name to the hotel in our park — came about two months ago, after the Baymont had been announced."
But Jay Henrichs of Big Bend Development — long active in Waterford — claims that Big Bend Development had begun following the possibility of a hotel in the village a decade ago.
"We started thinking about a hotel on this site 10 years ago," Henrichs said. "We did a feasibility study, and that told us that we should wait until the community grew further. We did another study five years ago, and the results were that conditions were improving, but we should still hold on. In the spring of 2001, another feasibility study suggested we should go ahead."
The first discussions about the Baymont project with village board members took place in June, according to Henrichs.
Henrichs pointed out that the Baymont hotel would be built without any TIF assistance from the city while, paradoxically, Arthur insisted that the Wellesley hotel must be built, because it is essential to the solvency of the TIF district.
"We have no choice but to go ahead with this," Arthur said. "It is a linchpin of the plans that were presented to the village in the formation of the TIF district. We have billions of dollars of infrastructure under way — some of which has already been put in."
Henrichs said inclusion in a TIF district should not give Runzheimer’s project priority.
"We are in a position where we have a property that is vacant," Henrichs said. "We have been carrying debt and paying taxes on that property."
Ground was broken for the Baymont in January, according to Henrichs, and the group is looking forward to a midsummer opening.
"We can’t make them back off, and we don’t want to make them back off," Arthur said. "What they do is certainly subject to their own business judgment. All we can say is we don’t think that the market can support two hotels — at least not for long. We are going to build ours. If they build theirs, only one of them will be viable for any period of time.
"Our site is vastly superior to that site in terms of visibility, surrounding amenities, surrounding land uses. It will also benefit from business from the business park. As that business park develops over time, it is going to generate a certain number of room nights. The business park is being structured such that we expect to capture virtually all the room nights generated by the businesses in that park."
Construction wil commence this spring on the Wellesley, which will be ready for occupancy by the end of 2002, according to Arthur.
In other Waterford action, Big Bend Development also broke ground recently on a speculative commercial building on Fox Lane. It will be the third such building the group has completed, and will put another 5,000 square feet of space on the market. Big Bend is also involved in a partnership to potentially develop a 65-acre tract between Main Street, Highway 20 and Highway 36. A study is currently being completed to determine feasibility of providing utilities to the parcel.

Horsetrading could end sewer freeze
While development east of the Interstate in Racine County has been hobbled by a sewer moratorium forced by disagreement between several municipalities to agree on a cost-sharing arrangement to pay for an expansion to Racine’s wastewater treatment plant, a deal pending between the village of Sturtevant and the town of Mount Pleasant could solve the problem soon.
According to Sturtevant administrator James Henke, an agreement being considered by the two communities would entail the village dropping opposition to Mount Pleasant’s incorporation as a village. Incorporation of the town would leave Sturtevant landlocked — its boundaries would be frozen forever. In return, Sturtevant would annex 600 acres south of Highway 11 from the town as a natural extension to the Renaissance business park. The land would be developed as industrial, commercial and residential property, and the deal would include a revenue-sharing agreement with the town.
Henke said that if the deal comes to pass, the annexation would be final on the same day as Mount Pleasant is officially incorporated. The agreement would funnel $74 million from outlying communities dependent upon Racine’s wastewater services to the city of Racine.
Henke said he hoped to see the 700 acres ready for development by 2004.
The 14-acre former Ruud Lighting property, in the 9200 block of West Washington Avenue, has also been rezoned Multi-Family and Commercial. Development will occur over the next four years, according to a village memorandum, but will require stormwater improvements and roadway upgrades on 92nd Street.
Peter Schwabe of Big Bend Development is involved with the city of Racine on a two-acre redevelopment project at State and Memorial.
"Right now there are about a dozen owners, and a variety of older commercial storefront and residential uses," Schwabe said. "For the most part, some of the buildings are dilapidated and others are maintained but definitely older. The community has been requesting a grocery store for some time — at this point we are negotiating with Save-A-Lot Foods."
Schwabe said he is anticipating that a 14,000-square-foot grocery store, about 6,000 square feet of additional retail — and potentially fast food — will appear on the site.
"McDonalds has expressed interest," Schwabe said. "That would leave room for another tenant — perhaps a salon or other retail."
The timeline depends on a number of factors, according to Schwabe.
"We could begin construction as soon as next fall — but it depends on how long it takes for the city to obtain the property," Schwabe said, adding that construction would begin May of 2003 at the latest.
Space in the new development would be brokered by MLG Commercial.

In the town of Mount Pleasant, additional infill development is coming to the intersection of highways 31 and 20. According to Peter Glaser of Polacheck’s Retail Property Group, a 220,000-square-foot development including a Kohl’s Department Store and a Jewel-Osco will be located behind existing development on the northwest side of the intersection. The project will include 65,000 square feet of small tenant space for which Polacheck has already signed some leases.
"This is one of the highest-traffic intersections in southeastern Wisconsin — and the highest in Racine County," Glaser said.
Vehicle counts for the intersection top 35,000, according to Glaser.

February 1, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Walworth County action hugs the corridors

The development trend along the I-43 corridor is reaching Walworth County burgs including East Troy, Elkhorn and Genoa City. But leasable space and land are not being snapped up here as quickly as areas further to the northeast.
"In the new industrial park in East Troy, we have three buildings built and one under construction, MLG Commercial’s Barry Chavin said. "One was basically built with spec space available that has not filled yet."
Chavin said Walworth County still holds a lot of promise.
"It is a matter of the glass being half empty or half full," Bruce said. "There is available land and, to some extent, available buildings. Those are the opportunities for companies to relocate with affordable land prices and affordable buildings. As you get closer in, there are higher rents and land prices."
As residential patterns move further southwest and people commute into the Milwaukee and Waukesha areas from the hinterlands, commercial and industrial development will follow, according to Chavin.
"Many of the employees are moving further out from the metro areas for the more reasonably priced housing," Chavin said. "In some cases, the companies will follow them out. More and more, I-43 is becoming attractive for people to live and relocate their businesses. We are seeing interest in companies from New Berlin interested in the same corridor, but with more affordable buildings."
In Whitewater, two major projects in the city’s east side business park will put more than four acres under roof in a short period of time, according to city manager Gary Boden.
An initial phase of the relocation from Helenville of Universal Electric to an 11-acre site in the Whitewater park will encompass 86,917 square feet and employ 180 to 200 people.
The city still has about 175 turnkey acres available, according to Boden.
Boden said Whitewater’s downtown is also ripe for commercial activity. The city has spent several million dollars to tear down blighted properties in its downtown, replacing them with a park overlooking a millpond. A factory on Whitewater Creek has also been demolished to make way for a 42-unit housing project.
"This is generating interest in our commercial real estate," Boden said. "It will also add about $3 to $4 million to our tax base."

Elkhorn expands focus
In Elkhorn, the focus is shifting from industrial park development to pushing development wherever commercial- and industrial-zoned land is for sale.
"We started out with probably 157 acres for our business park," Elkhorn Development Corp. (EDC) director George Martin said. "We are down to about 25 or 26 acres of commercial and the same amount of industrial. We are TIFed out down there. Our focus is not on selling individual parcels in the industrial park. On a board level we have decided to work with anyone developing land in the city as a whole."
Recently annexed land to the north — brought into the city from the Town of Sugar Creek three years ago — will represent a significant opportunity for growth, Martin said. An existing business in the area — transportation contractors Mann Brothers — would help anchor future development.
"We are getting more involved in land to the north we have annexed in TIF #3," Martin said. "This is north of Highway 12 up to the Evergreen Golf Course. Part of the annexation had to be industrial property. That is where Mann Brothers, on the west side of 67, comes into play. We have been in contact with them and are starting to develop a program where we can act as a secondary salesman. What we are trying to do is work with people who already own the land."
The first parcel on the auction block consists of about 80 acres, according to Martin, and is zoned M2 industrial.
"On the south end of the annexation across Highway 67, we have a farm we annexed into the city under TIF #2 — a little better than 140 acres," Martin said. "The Immega Farm is also zoned M2. They have a very active broker — Harding Realty out of Woodstock, Ill. It looks like it is getting closer to fruition now. A national distributor of frozen foods is seriously interested."
Another parcel of land — the 100-plus acre Boegger Farm across Highway H from the city’s existing industrial park — is also up for sale, as are 47 acres owned by Buick/Chrysler dealer Jerry Horn off of Highway 67 to the west.

Lake Geneva gains tourist attractions
In Lake Geneva, major tourism and retail projects leave the tourism-related community better able to attract and serve visitors as well as residents.
George Hennerly of the Geneva Lake Development Corp. pointed to the completion of Timber Ridge — a Marcus Corp. facility on the east side of Highway 12 and Highway 50 — as a valuable new amenity.
The resort hotel, which is located next to the main entrance of Grand Geneva Resort, adds 300 hotel rooms and an indoor water park to the city’s recreation mix.
"That will be a nice boost and will appeal to a sector we have not typically been able to market to," Hennerly said.
The city also recently gained a 120,000-saquare-foot Home Depot near the same intersection. Across Highway 50, plans are under way to tear down an existing 14-year-old Walmart and replace it with a Super Walmart.
The condo hotel concept is making inroads in the Lake Geneva market, according to Hennerly. Delevan Lake Resort, a Keefe Development condo hotel, is selling off 47 units. The hotel is located west of Delavan on South Lake Shore Drive, a half mile south of Highway 50. A second condo hotel, Mill Creek, was completed at the end of the year. The hotel — with 35 units — is located one block south of Highway 50 and Center St. in Lake Geneva.
"It allows one to operate a significant property without the debt service you normally would have because you typically sell it off," Hennerly said. "From the traveling perspective, you don’t know it really isn’t what it appears to be."
Owners of each hotel room are not allowed to occupy the units for more than a small number of days per year, Hennerly said.

Corporate Ridge shoots south of the border
Further to the south, activity in Genoa City’s Corporate Ridge business park is churning along. Broker Scott Dixon of Prime Commercial, McHenry, Ill., said that things slowed down substantially in recent years, but 20 of the park’s 200 acres are sold. The development came online in 2000.
"At Corporate Ridge, we just completed a 25,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on three acres for Quality Panels of Spring Grove, Ill.," Dixon said. "Right now, we are working with a Bentonville company to move up there; we can’t say who they are yet. There is also a 150,000-square-foot start coming in spring, but I can’t divulge who that is."
The park’s proximity to the Illinois border is a key marketing device, according to Dixon.
"We are focusing on the Illinois company that is used to paying exorbitant prices for business park land and also needs inexpensive electrical power," Dixon said. "We also have a Johnson Wax subsidiary in our park. But we are right on the state line so there is easy access to the Chicago industrial market."

Februry 1, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

The AIS Group has established an affiliation with the Paul Arbinger Agency in West Bend. The AIS Group, a full-service insurance agency, has other offices in Menomonee Falls, Hartford and Beaver Dam. The Paul Arbinger Agency is at 246 S. 5th Ave. in West Bend.
The Milwaukee-based Davis & Kuelthau law firm has expanded its business and corporate practice group to its Sbeboygan office.
The expansion was made through the hiring of attorney Shawn G. Rice, who is now a shareholder in the firm. His work will complement that done by labor and litigation attorneys already at the firm’s Sheboygan, Oshkosh and Green Bay offices.
Davis & Kuelthau, with main offices at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave. in downtown Milwaukee, also has offices in Elm Grove and Madison.
The CPA firm of Piasecki, Strutz & Wojtycski, formerly located on Lincoln Avenue in West Allis, has undergone a name change to Freuck, Strutz & Wojtycski, and has moved its offices to 4811 S. 76th St. in the State Financial Bank building near Southridge Mall. Its new telephone number is 44-325-1040.
The group of companies initiated by the Kolb Lauwasser CPA firm in West Allis is now known at Kolb+Co. The companies include Kolb Lauwasser+Co. – Business Advisers/CPAs; Kolb+Co.-Financial Advisers; Kolb+Co. Medical Billing; Kolb+Co. Performance Advisers; Kolb+Co. Retirement Plan Services; and Kolb+Co. Technology Advisers.
The firms are located at 2400 S. 102nd St. Their new Web site is www.kolbco.com.
Professional Computer Solutions, Inc. has merged with SVA Consulting. PCSI was established in 1987 as a provider of Great Plains software. SVA Consulting is the information technology division of the SVA group of companies, which also includes Sub, Von Haden & Associates, a certified public accounting firm with offices in Brookfield, Madison and Rockford; and SVA Planners, Inc., Registered Investment Advisor.
Bryan K. Stutzki, CPA has created a new accounting firm named Neptune Financial and Management Services. Neptune provides three main services: income tax preparation for individuals and small businesses, year-around accounting services and consulting services for financial software and business creation. Stutzki has more than 10 years of experience in the accounting field. His previous experience has been in the real estate and investment fields and includes a recent position as a controller of a real estate development company. Neptune Financial and Management Services is located at 13105 W. Bluemound Rd., Suite 150, Brookfield.
HGA Architects & Engineers has added Jill Cody to its staff in Milwaukee, bringing lighting design to its offerings.
Chamness Consulting, Inc. (www.chamnessconsulting.com), a 13-year-old business-consulting firm, has moved into new office space. The firm now occupies three stories of a Historic Walker’s Point town house just south of downtown Milwaukee.
Owner Diane Chamness, who also lives in the 1855 cream city brick building, said the space was made available at exactly the right time. “We’ve added IT and creative services offerings to our suite of services, have acquired several new clients, and expanded our staff. A new space was part of our strategic plan to meet our vision for growth in 2002. It just worked out perfectly that we could move right next door, it’s an ideal space for us.”
Former Waukesha Freeman reporter Jenn Danko has launched a business, SparkleHouse Media, an independent, urban writing house based in downtown Milwaukee. She is providing feature and technical writing to corporations, businesses and publishing houses. Additional services include copyediting, overwriting, and proofreading.
Danko holds an honors degree in English-creative writing from Beloit College. More information can be found at www.sparklehousemedia.com.
An employee group has purchased the drugstore management division of a San Francisco company and has returned the company’s headquarters to Milwaukee, where it was founded in 1980. Ten managers were involved in the purchase of what they now call Hamacher Resource Group.
The company, formerly known as D.P. Hamacher & Associates, and more recently as the Hamacher Division of Nonstop Solutions, was originally established by David P. Hamacher, a graduate of the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy and longtime executive with the former Stein Drugs. At the time of his retirement in 2000, the company was sold to Nonstop Solutions, which focuses on the deployment of enterprise-level, demand chain management software for retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Nonstop kept the Milwaukee operation intact as a divison.
Leading the buyout were Dawn Vogelsang, who is now president of Hamacher Resource Group, and David Wendland, who is vice president. Vogelsang had been general manager of the Hamacher Division of Nonstop.
Other managers involved in the purchase include Julie Bonnell, production manager; Tom Boyer, national account manager; Steve Brester, IT manager; Kat Fronek, category research and analysis manager; Chris Hensel, client services coordinator; Gail Konrath, accounting and logistics coordinator; Cindy Lutz, manager, human resources and administration; and Craig Thompson, national account manager.
Vogelsand said Hamacher Resource Group will build on its heritage of developing and delivering merchandising, category management, marketing and productivity tools for independent and chain retail operations.
The firm operates from a 25,00-square-foot office building at 8801 W. Heather Ave. on Milwaukee’s northwest side and is on the Web at www.hamacher.com. It currently employs 45 people.
Milwaukee-based Haker-Zellmer Investment Management has changed its name to Northern Oak Capital Management, according to Mark Zellmer, company president. The name change was executed to reflect a new direction in company leadership. William Haker, who founded the company in 1986, remains as chairman. Zellmer joined the firm in 1989. All operations remain intact. It reports having more than $200 million in assets under management.
NAI MLG Commercial has launched a Madison office, in the Inacom building at 3001 W. Beltline Highway. The Brookfield-based company has been doing business in Madison for some time, but without a full-service Madison office. The firm gained a significant Madison presence last year when The Brewer Group was merged into NAI MLG Commercial.
Diversified Insurance Services of Waukesha is merging with Fringe Benefit Planning, Inc., of Milwaukee, an employee benefits firm owned by William A. Little.
According to James E. McCormack, chairman and CEO of Diversified, “The merger of the two firms will allow Bill Little and his team to remain intact, give his clients access to additional services provided by Diversified, and give us a downtown Milwaukee presence at 839 N. Jefferson on Cathedral Square.” Diversified also has an office in Oshkosh.
Little, a 40-year veteran of the insurance industry said, “This merger with Diversified is a natural progression of our company’s 25-year history of continuous service improvement for our clients. I have known Jim MeCormack for more than 25 years and am aware of his substantial investment in evolving and new services such as state-of-the-art health claims analysis, excellent employee communications tools, integrated payroll systems, human resource assistance, and a soon-to-be-announced advanced employee benefit software program.”
Towne Realty of Milwaukee has received trademark registration approval from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office for its Homes by Towne brand name, which is uses to market single-family homes throughout the country. “This registration will allow us to continue the consolidation of all of our single-family sales in the United States under a single brand name,” said Art Wigchers, president of Towne Realty.
Towne builds single-family homes in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii and Texas.
ScheerGame Sports Development of Milwaukee (www.sheergame.com) has been retained to create the development plan for a proposed bew multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in the Augusta, Ga. area. “We intend to build a roadmao that shows where and why to build a new facility, what to build, and how best to pay for it,” said ScheerGame managing director Martin J. Greenberg.
Delafield State Bank has opened a branch in Madison, called Town Bank. The branch serves as a loan production office for residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans in the Dane County market.
Delafield State Bank was founded in 1998 and now has assets of more than $100 million.
The law firm of von Briesen, Purtell & Roper and the Madison-based consulting firm of Bright Consulting have formed an alliance. Bright Consulting, ranked as one of the top 10 lobbying firms in the state, offers clients public policy advocacy, grassroots, coalition, legislative and executive communication campaigns.
St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan has partnered with the Medical College of Wisconsin to bring endocrinology services to the community. Three physicians from the college are now working with St. Nicholas to provide endocrinology care, both on site at the hospital and on a consulting basis.
Comstar (www.comstarllc.com) has expanded its office facilities, doubling its size at its current location in Waukesha. The additional space was needed to accommodate Comstar’s recent staff additions and growing business. In addition, Comstar has installed the latest in backup generator technology.
“At Comstar, we are committed to providing our clients with the best e-business services in southeastern Wisconsin,” said Jeffrey Kirk, president. “The additional space, in combination with the installation of the backup generator, further strengthens our ability to provide top quality services for all of our clients.”
CedarNet (www.cedar.net) has moved to a new, larger location in the heart of downtown Waukesha — 831 North Grand Ave. CedarNet has provided residential and business Internet services in the Milwaukee and Waukesha areas since 1994.
February 1, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Annexations, redevelopment push the needle in Washington County

Action in Washington County appears to be driven more by annexations than expansion of local business.
Developers stressed that the steady activity seen in larger metropolitan areas such as Milwaukee seemed more driven by larger national players than by local businesses in an expansion mode. Washington County, which is more dependent on local players than, say, downtown Milwaukee, is gearing up for growth, if not being inundated by it.
Slinger is bracing for a spate of new development in a 40-acre business park encompassed in its Tax Incremental Financing District #3. Roads for the park were completed in November, and the targeted commercial/light industrial development has already begun.
Uptown Motors has already constructed a Chevrolet dealership on one nine-acre parcel. According to village clerk Dean Otte, materials-handling equipment manufacturer Villico has started work on a 20,000-square-foot facility on a three-acre plot.
Utilities for another portion of TIF #3 — on the northeast corner of highways 41 and 60 — are currently in the engineering stage. Otte said the improvements should be completed by the fall of 2002, opening the land for development.

Jackson looks at annexation
According to village of Jackson administrator Del Beaver, Jackson should see increased commercial and industrial development potential due to a pending annexation.
The village is currently working toward annexation of 100 acres from the town of Polk. The property is located along Highway 41 along Sherman Road.
"It is very possible that if the development occurs that we are expecting will occur, an additional 100 acres will be annexed in the village for a distribution center," Beaver said. "And in due course of supplying that center with wastewater and water, we will open up a like amount on the east side of Highway 41. The 41 corridor remains a hot property."
Beaver said he expected the annexation to be finalized this year.
"The new area along 41 would open up a tremendous amount of acreage across Highway 45 and along Sherman Road," Beaver said. "We would open up property to the west of the distribution facility and west of the Cedar Creek Business Park. The annexation should occur before April and developments would come on line in the fall. A lot depends on how fast these entities move. The village is not going to push sewer under 45 without viable users out there."
Velocity of development has slowed little in Jackson during the current recession, according to Beaver.
"In all truthfulness, we have seen a couple of decisions delayed a couple of months, but we haven’t seen any real falloff," Beaver said. "Yes, the whole world is a little more unstable, but the low interest rates make it more attractive to undertake projects."
The village of Jackson also in November of last year issued a $1.5 million industrial revenue bond for the Rytec Corp. Rytec manufactures high-speed rolling and folding doors for the industrial, commercial and cold-storage markets. Industrial Revenue Bonds are tax-free bonds issued by the state through local governments, and the proceeds are loaned to new or expanding businesses for development projects. The company will use the money to construct and equip a 29,000-square-foot addition to its existing plant. The project will retain 67 jobs and create seven jobs over the next three years. The total project cost is $2,558,000.
Beaver said there are about 100 acres left in the village’s Northwest Business Park, and that activity looks strong into 2002.
"We have three or four deals going in the park right now," Mark Schnoll of NAI MLG Commercial said. "It is not targeting the real high-end user. It still is an industrial park. They will still allow some outdoor storage if it is screened properly. They do not require complete masonry construction."

West Bend redevelops brownfields
West Bend is seeing major redevelopment activity adjacent to its downtown. The city is now in the process of purchasing properties in a seven-acre area east of the downtown on Wisconsin Street, and has closed on three properties, according to city administrator Dennis Melvin. The properties, owned by a half dozen private entities, had been in warehouse and industrial use.
Demolition of properties should begin in the spring, and Melvin said the city is currently discussing potential mixed uses on the site with developers.
Community development planner Julie Licht said the city would send out a request for proposals to developers this spring and hopes to see construction start in 2003.
The city is currently working with Canadian National — the owners of the Wisconsin Central railroad — to relocate a rail yard from the site.
"We anticipate it will be a combination of retail and residential," Melvin said. "Perhaps it will all be residential. We already have an anchor residential development downtown in the former Inger-Kress leather property."
The city is also seeking proposals from developers for 900,000 square feet of space vacated by West Bend Co. and its new owners, Illinois Tool Works (ITW).
"We are discussing possibilities with the owners and developers," Melvin said.
According to Melvin, most of the existing structures on the 20-plus-acre site, which is east of the Milwaukee River adjacent to the downtown, would remain intact and be redeveloped through adaptive reuse.
The city is also seeing the erection of the first building — a Piggly Wiggly grocery store — in its Wingate Creek business park, which is located east of the city adjacent to the airport. The project is part of the city’s TIF #3.
"It is mostly industrial — about 16 acres of commercial of which almost six of it is sold to the people putting up the Piggly Wiggly. There is an additional 10-acre site of commercial land still available," Schnoll said.
Schnoll said interest in the property felt solid despite a slow start.
"There are three potential deals brewing," Schnoll said. "One is looking pretty imminent. We started marketing this park in earnest in the fall when they got a lot of the issues in the park resolved with the DNR and the Army Corps [of Engineering] and the airport. Even though it has been on the market a little longer with another broker, it was really not a park — the roads weren’t in."
Schnoll said he was anticipating action with light manufacturers and distributors.

February 1, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Direction of growth is northwest

Even as the last of the county’s prime greenfields disappear, Waukesha County will continue to see growth, according to The Polacheck Company’s Max Rasansky.
"The fastest growing county is Waukesha County," Rasansky said. "Growth has always gone west and northwest. So far, the biggest problem remains zoning."
It’s not surprising that Rasansky and others in the commercial real estate field identified the I-94 corridor as the hotspot, but Rasansky and Polacheck’s Peter Glaser stressed that activity keeps moving further west.
"Just when you thought development had gone as far as it could go, it goes further west," Glaser said. "Now we are seeing that it is expanding to Highway 67 — and then to Highway 83."
The two said activity in Johnson Creek, in Jefferson County, indicated that, eventually, the Milwaukee and Madison metro areas will meet in the middle. Johnson Creek has seen the development of a Menards, a Kohl’s and an outlet mall along I-94.
Polacheck is involved in numerous projects in the county, including a commercial development in New Berlin at Moorland and Janesville roads. The development will include a Kohl’s, a Jewel and a small amount of leasable space.

Mukwonago annexes to the south
While the city of Oconomowoc’s Pabst Farms development has been making headlines, the village of Mukwonago may turn out to be the real commercial development story in Waukesha County.
village administrator Bernard Kahl reports the potential for additional commercial and industrial land opening in the course of 2002. The amount of land to be opened for business use equals the amount of commercial and industrial-zoned land in the Pabst Farms development.
While Mukwonago’s existing business park — which was opened more than 18 years ago — is full, land on the south end of town across I-43 has been annexed into the village from the town of Vernon. Kahl said about 500 acres will be divided into a small commercial strip, a business park and some industrial parcels. One private entity has already purchased land from a farmer in the annexed area, and the village board could move on including the land in a tax incremental financing district as early as this spring.
"We have known for years that we were going to be a hot spot," Kahl said. "We have had some nice residential development come into the village. We are trying to take our commercial and industrial development and spread it out over a few years."

Waukesha sees 80-acre development
In the city of Waukesha, utilities and streets are being constructed for the Waukesha Corporate Center — on what could be the last plot of undeveloped appropriately-zoned land in the city.
The 80-acre business park will be located just off of Highway 59 on the south side of the city, and will be brokered by MLG Commercial, which purchased the land last year.
The city has zoned the parcel for office and light industrial use. The park will be a planned-unit development, which gives the city control over architectural and landscaping details. But according to Community Development director Steven Crandell, the city’s requirements are not overly stringent.
"We will require all masonry construction," Crandell said. "Parking areas and sites will have to be landscaped. We do allow outdoor storage amounting to 10% of the building’s size, but it has to be screened. We have three [similarly zoned] industrial parks; two are completely sold out and one has six remaining acres. The restrictions are not a hindrance to the sale of the property."

Brookfield nearly out of greenfields
While greenfield development continues in the city of Brookfield, availability of open land is getting tight. As early as 1998, the last time the city published its open land report, there were only 365 acres of buildable land left in the city. As a result, city planners are beginning to set their sights on redevelopment of old-growth commercial spaces.
"In October of 2001, the city approved the creation of a community redevelopment authority, which has not yet met," Economic Development coordinator Pat Drinan said. "The committee will identify priorities and most likely get involved in the redevelopment of the Brookfield Square shopping center and the creation of a main street mixed-use office area northwest of the existing mall. We have seen this in other communities — Glendale, Greendale — dealing with malls and shopping centers. A lot of those same concepts will be reflected here."
Development of open land along Capitol Drive will take place in well-defined nodes to prevent the sprawl and congestion seen along Bluemound Drive. Primary nodes include Capitol’s intersections with Brookfield Road and Lilly Road.
The most active of those nodes is the intersection of Capitol Drive and Brookfield Road — the site not only of VK Development’s Vincent Park Business Center, but of the Towne Center — 40-acre multi-use development anchored by a Sendik’s food store.
"The store is built in a non-traditional suburban style," director of Community Development Dan Ertl said. "It is more of an urban style with two-story buildings, main street atmosphere and design, on-street parking, underground parking and a mixture of uses within the same building."
Other businesses already located in the project include Brookfield Travel, a Cousin’s sub shop and Equitable Bank.
The plans for greenfield development along Capitol Drive and redevelopment merge at the intersection of 124th Street and Capitol.
"We envision activity to occur along 124th Street and Capitol Drive where we hope there is a reinvestment in older, tired properties," Dan Ertl said. "In the Towne Center, we are integrating mixed uses on the same site and maybe within the same building — and we are hoping to include that in the 124th and Capitol development."
Another city section targeted for redevelopment is known as the Village Area, which is located along Brookfield Road at the Canadian Pacific railroad crossing. "The original origins of our community were in that area," Ertl said. "There hasn’t been any reinvestment in that area." The city is planning to add curb, gutter and storm sewer to the area.
The intersection of Calhoun Road and Capitol Drive is also identified as in need of redevelopment, according to Drinan. The retail development on the site — Capitol Plaza — had been a Kohl’s Store, but the current tenant is a retailer of baby apparel and accessories.

Brookfield business parks successful
Ertl said careful business-park development has paid big dividends for the city. And he stressed that even in the absence of subsidies like tax incremental financing, land values are doing very well.
A case in point, according to Ertl, is Gateway West Commerce Center on the northwest side of the city at Springdale Road and Capitol Drive. The 115-acre park still has 79 acres available for development.
"Gateway West was developed without TIF or other subsidies," Ertl said. "It currently has approximately 20 buildings, equaling 60 businesses. It is capturing probably the most advantageous land sales in the city. I believe the most recent land sales are in the neighborhood of $100,000 an acre, which is pretty significant for land of that type."
Mega-developer Vincent Kuttemperoor has made his mark on Brookfield with his Vincent Park Center. In the course of 2001, VK Development completed the last two buildings in its Vincent Park Business Center at Capitol Drive and Brookfield Road.
The five Class A office buildings total approximately 135,000 square feet. Each building consists of approximately 26,000 square feet of leasable space.
According to Kuttemperoor, the last two buildings are not filling as quickly as those completed in previous years.
"We do have some vacancies in these two buildings," Kuttemperoor said. "Even office space has slowed down; but remember that one of these buildings is only three months old. In Brookfield, when the economy turns around, I am optimistic that the space will be filled. This is right on Capitol — and Capitol is the next Bluemound Road."
Kuttemperoor is interested in seeing a microbrewery pop up on property adjacent to Vincent Park. "I have one site set aside for a mircrobrewery," Kuttemperoor said. "I am looking for one. There is not yet a microbrewery in Brookfield."
For his next Brookfield project, Kuttemperoor said he is eyeing 10 acres on the corner of Capitol and Buford drives.

Pewaukee reaching maximum density
One, or possibly two office buildings could come to I-94 and Highway 164 in the city of Pewaukee once an anchor tenant is located.
William H. Bonifas of The Polacheck Co. called the 14 acres between 164 and J "one of the most highly visible sites in Waukesha County. It could be one or two buildings."
About 45,000 of 136,000 square feet in an initial building would have to be leased prior to construction.
The city of Pewaukee is almost completely built out with four square miles of industrial and commercial development, according to city administrator Harlan Clinkenbeard.
Like the village of Waterford to the south, Pewaukee has garnered interest of hotel developers. In 2001, the city sprouted two new hotels — a 300-guest room Marriott at Highway 164 and I-94 and a 100-bed Radisson at Highway J and I-94.
Even given a depressed travel market, Clinkenbeard did not seem surprised to see hotels being built.
"Obviously these people want to be in the suburbs but still be close enough to be driven by what is going on with conventions happening in the city," Clinkenbeard said. "We also have enough business, with 8,000 mostly white-collar employees in the area. And the hotels might be looking at serving that market as well."
The Boldt Group and Mega Construction President Norm Yerke, are teaming up on Parkridge II — an office development which is currently under construction. Boldt will occupy the second floor of the 22,000-square-foot building on Ridgeview Parkway in Waukesha. The remaining 11,000 square feet will be available for lease. Yerke also has 5,000 square feet for lease in the recently completed Parkridge Center I at N21 W23350 Ridgeview Pky.

Falls sees development in three parks
Meanwhile, in Menomonee Falls, the Woodland Prime business park at Good Hope Road and Highway 41 could see an additional 80,000-square-foot building break ground as early as this year. Two existing buildings owned by Weas Development of Milwaukee have been constructed since 2001. As the second building reaches 100% occupancy, Doug Weas will move on plans — which he has been sitting on for several months — for a third structure. Currently, the second building has a 20% vacancy rate, which means 40,000 square feet of Class A office space lying fallow.
"We would like to get another building off the ground in 2002," Weas said. "Unless a very large user came around, this building could be a little smaller — maybe 80,000 to 79,000 square feet."
Elsewhere in Menomonee Falls, sales in Burke Properties’ Westbrook Industrial Park’s initial phase are progressing. The development, at Highway 41/45 and 124th Street, came online in the summer of 2000. According to Burke President Paul Votto, 50 of the 71 acres are still available. A second phase at 55 acres is in the engineering phase, and parcels could be sold as early as this year, according to Votto. The addition of a new exit from 41/45 should speed development of that land, according to Votto.
The village is also rezoning land just west of the Silver Spring Corporate Park — near Good Hope and Pilgrim roads — for a technology development. The village recommended rezoning 20 acres next to the established 170-acre development from agricultural to commercial and light industrial. Roughly 30 acres of land remain in the existing park.

Oconomowoc braces for Pabst Farms activity
In the city of Oconomowoc, the 1,000-acre Pabst Farms development is beginning to bulge like a bud preparing to burst. The planned development, located at I-94 and State Highway 67, will include 200 acres of mixed use office/commercial space, 300 acres of business/industrial space, 50 acres of civic/institutional area, and 235 acres of open space in addition to acreage set aside for residential and public works purposes.
In the meantime, activity remained brisk in 2001 in the Oconomowoc Corporate Center. Corporate Center activity included:

Kevin J. Lyons has joined the Milwaukee office of Davis & Kuelthau as a shareholder in the Litigation Section. Prior to joining Davis & Kuelthau, Lyons was a shareholder at Cook & Franke, where he had served as president and managing partner for five years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin.
Bill Lydon has been appointed to the newly created position of product manager, electronic products, at WAGO Corp. in Germantown. Lydon previously held positions with Johnson Controls, and co-founded an industrial controls software company.
Barb Haag-Heitman has been named director of Women’s Health Services at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee. Haag-Heitman holds a BSN degree from Alverno College, an MS degree from UW-Milwaukee, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in human and organizational development from The Fielding Institute. She was most recently with Aurora Health Care.
Ron Becher, a former General Motors Engineering Group manager, has joined the J.P. Cullen & Sons contractor firm as manager of its new Industrial Division. Becher holds a degree in mechanical engineering from UW-Platteville, and was with GM for 18 years.
Carrie Clements has been promoted to the position of operations manager of medical billing at the Milwaukee office of SVA Consulting. In addition, Sharon Wolf has been promoted to medical billing supervisor, also at the Milwaukee office, which is in Brookfield.
Jody Jozwowski has joined Octane, Inc., as art director. She had previously worked with BVK McDonald, and Bender, Browning, Dolby & Sanderson agencies. She holds a degree in fine arts from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
Laurie Pung has been promoted to the position of senior branch office administrator at the West Allis office of the financial services firm Edward Jones. She has been with the firm for seven years.
Doug Schacht has joined J.H. Findorff & Son as business development director in its Milwaukee office. Schacht, a 1994 UW-Whitewater graduate, previously worked with Jens Construction and with Plunkett Raysich Architects.
Waukesha Electric Systems (WES), a unit of SPX Corp., announced that
Timothy J. Foley has joined the company as its new vice president of marketing and sales. Foley joined Waukesha Electric Systems from Rockwell Automation.
CedarNet, in Waukesha, has named Rob Martin as its chief technology officer. Martin brings 16 years of programming experience and a diverse background in technology to the CedarNet team. He specializes in Web application systems integration and recently designed CedarNet’s online shopping cart application for its Web site customers.
Debbie Dozer has joined Paving Mix and Construction Co. of Oak Creek as quality control manager. Dozer brings more than eight years of industry experience with her, including work for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Michael P. Mervis has been named vice president for marketing and community relations at Towne Realty, Milwaukee. In conjunction with the announcement, Mervis & Company, which has served for many years as the Towne Group’s in-house advertising agency, will change its name to Mervis, Bratz & Koziol. The name change reflects the changes in Mervis’s responsibilities and the expanded roles of Terri Bratz and David Koziol, both vice presidents of Mervis & Co. Mervis joined Towne in 1974 and formed Mervis & Co. He had earlier been with Fromstein & Associates.
American Senior Living Centers has hired Debra J. Ashby as assistant director of marketing. She had been director of social services for Colonial Manor Health & Rehabilitation, an affiliate of Beverly Healthcare. She holds a liberal arts degree from Purdue University.
Jan. 18, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Thomas Pogodzinski, of KPK Investments, Beulah Beach, Inc., has purchased a 31,469-square-foot medical office building in the Town of Brookfield. NAI MLG Commercial broker Charlotte D. Zurn represented the sellers, Ronald F. and Sandra J. Becker. The building is at 20611 Watertown Rd.
NAI MLG Commercial has also announced that Jeff Panosion, president of Waukesha Self Storage, has purchased the former Midwest Industrial Lumber property, consisting of four buildings with a total of 25,700 square feet of space on 8.5 acres at W271 S2885 Merrill Hills Rd. in the Town of Waukesha. Waukesha Self Storage will convert the property into a mini storage operation and lease out existing buildings and excess land to industrial and commercial tenants. Midwest Industrial Lumber has converted its operations to an existing facility in Darien. NAI MLG Commercial brokers Stephen Provancher and Mark Schnoll represented the buyer and the seller.
Jim Tarantino of Tarantino Co. has purchased a 130,000-square-foot vacant hospital facility at 4143 S. 13th St. in Milwaukee. NAI MLG Commercial broker Jack Jacobson represented the seller, Kindred Hospitals (formerly Vencor). Tarantino is demolishing the building and put up a new one for senior housing.

The James T. Barry Co. has announced that Tomas Rudig has purchased the 25,600-square-foot office and warehouse facility at 600-620 N. 108th Pl. in Wauwatosa from Mayfair Place, LLC. Kurt Van Dyke, a broker with the James T. Barry Co., handled the transaction. Rudig Trophy has moved into a portion of the facility, having moved from its downtown location at 118 S. 2nd St. The seller will lease a portion of the building for its architectural firm.
The Barry company has also announced that S. Duane Strobel has purchased the 35,000-square-foot industrial facility at 9041-9075 W. Heather Ave. in Milwaukee from Market Street Partners. Steve Traudt and Ben Quinette of the Barry company represented the buyer while Jack Price and Terry McMahon of the Boerke Co. represented the seller. The buyer is expanding his real estate holdings from multi-family, senior living and commercial to include multi-tenant industrial/office.
Kevin C. Barry of the Barry company represented Doral Dental USA in its purchase of a 37,000-square-foot building at 12121 N. Corporate Pkwy. In the East Mequon Corporate Center in Mequon. Irgens Development Partners represented the seller, East Mequon Business Park Limited Partnership. The facility will accommodate expansion of Doral Dental USA; the company is retaining its Port Washington Road facility, also in Mequon.
The James T. Barry Co. also announced the following sales: