A report on economic opportunity occurring in Sheboygan County and what it means for the local economy
Economic Progress and Opportunity Update
February 17, 2020
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Nontraditional Finance | Site Selection 
Workforce Development | Entrepreneurship
New fish market coming to Plymouth
County brownfield grants on track to assist with $125 Million in Development
Sheboygan County - Sheboygan County working with their consultant, Stantec, has secured ~$1 million US Environmental Protection Agency Assessment Grants in three rounds 2014, 2017, and 2019. 

The assessment grants are able to complete the environmental due diligence activities typically associated with brownfields. Those activities can include Phase I/II assessments, site sampling, and materials management plans among a few other items. Each of the below projects had one or more of the due diligence activities funded and/or is currently being funded through the 2019 funds.

  • Badger State Lofts a $30+ million redevelopment of former tannery into 118-unit affordable multifamily building in Sheboygan.
  • The Tannery is a $13 million, 71 unit, market rate apartment building in downtown Sheboygan Falls.
  • The Oscar is a $45 million, ~240 unit apartment complex set to break ground in Spring 2020. Units will be aimed to be affordable to the "missing middle" housing without tenant income restrictions.
  • Kingsbury Village is a $4 million, 33 town home luxury apartment community near downtown Sheboygan.
  • Rivers Edge condos and new Dulmes Decor's location is an $8 million addition of new condominium units and redevelopment of the former Richardson Lumber site.
  • Lakeshore Technical College's new Sheboygan campus is a redevelopment of the former Boat Doctors building.

The current grant is currently funding the work on the JP Marine site on the Sheboygan River and a section of the Union Pacific Rail Line that will continue bike paths through the heart of the City of Sheboygan.

Previous grants did the due diligence work on the Koepsell site and surrounding parcels that are slated for the FreshTech Innovation District.

Thank you to Sheboygan County who has in many ways worked proactively to clean brownfield sites across the area.
Sheboygan County named a top place where US manufacturing is thriving
Advisor Smith - Manufacturing has served an important role in the United States economy, and the industry continues to play a critical role today. From industrial products to consumer goods, and from automobiles to aircraft, the U.S. manufacturing sector is diverse and continues to develop and evolve. In this deep dive into manufacturing-centric areas in the U.S., we examined the question: where are the top cities in the United States where manufacturing is thriving?

AdvisorSmith conducted a study on 318 U.S. cities to determine the top cities where U.S. manufacturing is thriving. We based our rankings on four key economic factors: manufacturing output growth rate, manufacturing output per capita, manufacturing location quotient, and manufacturing employment growth rate.

Top cities where manufacturing is thriving:
  1. Elkhart, IN
  2. Columbus, IN
  3. Rocky Mount, NC
  4. Kokoomo, IN
  5. Sheboygan, WI
  6. San Jose, CA
  7. Reno, NV
  8. Lake Charles, LA
  9. Mount Vernon, WA
  10. Dalton, GA

Sheboygan County's manufacturing employment and output has increased over the past several years. It is humbling to see Sheboygan County on a list stating it is a top place for US manufacturing.
Werner Homes Sheboygan development would add 173 units of single-family homes, condos
Sheboygan Press - A rendering for a big new subdivision — the first in a decade, according to the developer — surfaced at a recent public meeting.

Bob Werner, president of Werner Homes, said there will be 173 units made up of single-family homes, condos and duplexes between Moenning Road and South Business Drive. The rendering also shows one park, two ponds and a commercial parcel.

The homes will vary in size and cost, with a proposed price range of $250,000 to $450,000, Werner said, to help fill housing needs. The first phase of development will include 22 duplexes and 35 single-family homes. 

This is the City of Sheboygan's first new subdivision since the recession.
Sheboygan's Marina Garners “Elite Fleet” Boaters' Choice Award
WHBL - Sheboygan’s Harbor Centre Marina has been awarded the “Boaters’ Choice Elite Fleet” designation by Marinas.com. Marina General Manager Matt Bauer made the announcement at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Marina, Parks & Forestry.  

According to the Marinas.com website, the award recognizes the marinas that consistently provided an excellent home for the boating community throughout the year. Sheboygan shares its status with such ports as Kennebunkport, Maine, Mystic, Connecticut and Key West, Florida.  

The marina is a true gem and unique asset for the area.
Construction underway on the New Nourish Commercial Demonstration Kitchen
Nourish - Ground has broken! Quasius Construction is building the new Nourish commercial demonstration kitchen, connected to our new home at the historic Miley Barn in Sheboygan Falls. 

And we couldn’t be more excited about building a good-food destination for Sheboygan County students, families and community members. Our new space and property will be the new Nourish Good Food Education Center!

Quasius Construction and Nourish staff and board members broke ground in mid-December. The 3,500 square-feet of new commercial demonstration kitchen will utilize natural, sustainable materials and systems to create a contemporary barn-like structure with a double-gabled roof, structurally-insulated wall and roof panels (SIPS), and exposed timber trusses. 

Many thanks go out to the dozens of individuals, families and businesses who got Nourish to this point, by donating $1.4 million so far to our Nourish capital campaign. We’re $175,000 shy of our goal. So, we’re asking community members who believe in our good-food values and mission of improving the health of our communities, to consider supporting our campaign.

Nourish is a great local non-profit dedicated to educating the area on good nutrition. It will be good to see this new center used by those seeking to learn as well as a handful of ambitious entrepreneurs.
Discover Wisconsin: Walkable downtown Plymouth
Discover Wisconsin - Wisconsin has a deep history, and there are so many cities that have put a lot of work in preserving the story of their community. Mariah tours the downtowns of Burlington, Plymouth, Ashland and Waukesha to learn how each continues to keep their past alive and remind us why that is so important.

Check out Plymouth's downtown murals that explain the history of the community.
Biggby Coffee locates its first location in Sheboygan County, fourth in the state (franchise locally owned)
Sheboygan Press - Sheboygan's caffeine habit is only going to get stronger.

A franchise location of Biggby Coffee is expected to open at 2523 S. Business Drive in early March, according to owner and operator Laura Anderson. This will be the first location of the Michigan-based company in Sheboygan County and only the fourth in the state.

Biggby offers a variety of hot, iced and frozen coffee and tea-based drinks. One featured latte listed on Biggby's website is the golden honey oat milk latte. The golden aspect comes from the tumeric and cinnamon added to the drink.

Great to see another Sheboygan County entrepreneur. Best of luck!
ROOTS helps Sheboygan To Plant Over 2,000 Trees
ROOTS - The U.S. Forest Service is awarding $200,000 in grant funding to mitigating the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer with Restoration Of Our Trees Sheboygan, the local program known as ROOTS. The project will focus primarily on tree planting to replace the loss of ash trees and restore function to the Sheboygan River watershed and the Lake Michigan basin. The grant will fund the planting of approximately 2,000 trees at sites on county-owned land including the Broughton Sheboygan County Marsh, Gerber Lake, Esslingen, Roy Sebald, and Taylor Parks. 

This project is one of only 21 projects selected for funding through this highly competitive federal grant program. This project builds on complementary projects that ROOTS is actively engaged in and established relationships with local government, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), and nonprofit partners that are part of the local EAB mitigation effort. ROOTS was formed as a partnership between the Sheboygan Rotary Club and Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership in response to the devastating loss of ash trees and is working to combat that loss and restore the tree canopy through public-private collaboration in Sheboygan County.  

Thank you to ROOTS for securing a large grant on behalf of the community. This grant only replaces an estimated 23% of lost trees due to the Emerald Ash Borer. More work is needed, but what a fantastic start. Thank you!
City of Plymouth Receives $2,000 Grant to plant trees in public spaces 
City of Plymouth - The City of Plymouth recently received a $2,000 grant from American Transmission Co.’s Community Planting Program to help replace trees damaged by emerald ash borer infestation. Trees purchased from this grant will be planted in parks and other public spaces throughout the city.

“In the past few years, we’ve had to remove roughly 100 damaged trees, said Matthew Magle, Street Superintendent, City of Plymouth. “With this grant from ATC, we’re able to replace many of those trees, diversify our tree population, and provide additional shade and natural beauty to our community.”

Plymouth works on the same challenge of replacing Ash Trees. Thank you to ATC for helping replace lost trees.
Local non-profit provides K-12 STEM kits to the Philippines
Gearbox Labs - Gearbox Labs, Inc. is announcing an exclusive representation agreement with Felta Multi Media of Quezon City, Philippines. Felicito and Teresita Abiva established First in Educational Learning Trends Always (FELTA) in 1966, with the aim of providing instructional materials that answers the needs of the times.

For over Five decades, FELTA has been assisting in upgrading the quality of education in the country through its multi-educational line that serves the educational requirements of both private and public schools. FELTA is a leading education resource and service provider in Philippines with recognition from the national government for its efforts.

It is amazing to think that a small Sheboygan County non-profit is helping students across the world learn STEM concepts.
Kohler Credit Union to enter Manitowoc market
Plymouth Review - Kohler Credit Union, currenlty building a new headquarters in the Town of Sheboygan is opening a new branch in the City of Manitowoc and is the credit union's first location in the community.

The new branch will be located within the Meijer store set to open this spring.

Congrats Kohler Credit Union!
NE Wisconsin: Demand continues to grow for manufacturing space
Insight Magazine - With a vacancy rate of 2 to 3 percent, the availability of Northeast Wisconsin industrial real estate remains tight. At the same time, the demand for this kind of space remains high.

When clients reach out to NAI Pfefferle seeking industrial space, the company typically doesn’t have a lot of available options to present, says Manny Vasquez, Pfefferle’s vice president of business development.

“There’s a real need for that kind of product,” Vasquez says. “From an economic development standpoint, our concern is that local and outside companies aren’t able to find existing space to expand into or locate into to continue to grow their business.”

Sheboygan County also has a very low industrial vacancy rate.
Toward One Wisconsin 2020 Conference
Toward One Wisconsin- We will bring together individuals and organizations from multiple sectors across Wisconsin to address the most persistent barriers to inclusion, what is working, and what is promising on the horizon.

2020 CONFERENCE TRACKS: 
Track I: Increasing Opportunities for Inclusion in Wisconsin’s Workforce
Track II: Creating Inclusive Communities
Track III: Cultivating Equity in Education
Track IV: Building Health Equity in Wisconsin

April 28-29, 2020
Radisson Hotel and Conference Center
2040 Airport Drive
Green Bay, WI 54313

This is a great conference to learn about strategies to increase inclusiveness in our firms and communities.
Upcoming Events

Score SE Wisconsin Small Business Workshops in Sheboygan
Feb. 26: What you need to know to start a business
Mar. 4: Social media for business

Wisconsin IoT Quarterly Symposium
Date: Tuesday, March 3rd (Madison)
Time: 8:00 AM - Noon
More Info: WisconsinIot.org

Entrepreneurial Training Program (ETP) - Start your own business class
Date: April 1 thru May 20
Time: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM (every Wednesday)
OR

SCEDC team contact information: 

Dr. Joseph Sheehan, Executive Director
C: 920-946-3767

Dane Checolinski, Director 
C: 920-946-9378

Mary Motiska, Special Project Assistant
C: 920-980-0177

Ray York, Entrepreneurial Development Specialist
C: 920-946-9379

Nick O'Brien, Director of Innovation & Engagement
FreshTech Innovation Programming - District
C: 920-452-2350
Nick@FreshTechInnovation.com