Talk to us about the new Opportunity Zone tool for attracting revitalization investment!

Opportunity Zones are a new economic tool for the development and revitalization of urban spaces. These designated areas are intended to bring attention and investment to cities and neighborhoods often overlooked by traditional investors by offering new, attractive tax benefits on capital gains. 

Yet Opportunity Zones will not create positive impact by themselves. It will require strategic planning and some hustle.

We can help you do that and make the most of this new tool for your community. Deeply involved with impactful project development and implementation–and already having created successful Opportunity Zone applications in several states–Vandewalle and Associates is uniquely qualified to provide the analysis, prioritization, and catalytic project planning that will attract investors and spur economic development in your designated Opportunity Zones. Whether you are a municipality, redevelopment organization, developer, or investor groups, we can help you make the most of Opportunity Zones. Email Scott Harrington or call him at (414) 988-8632 or (608)-255-3988.

Other resources

Federal List of Designated Opportunity Zones

IRS Opportunity Zone Frequently Asked Questions

WHEDA information on Wisconsin Opportunity Zones

Brew City Match awards first round of financial, planning assistance to Milwaukee businesses

MILWAUKEE, WISC. (With excerpts from www.biztimes.com): The first cohort of Milwaukee businesses were selected as winners in the JPMorgan Chase-backed Brew City Match program, which supports entrepreneurship in Milwaukee’s historic commercial corridors. The program is focused on the Cesar Chavez Drive, Historic King Drive and North Avenue/Fond du Lac commercial corridors. Vandewalle & Associates worked with the City of Milwaukee and LISC to provide the market analysis for the Fond du Lac and North and Clarke Square areas. 

JMorgan Chase awarded a $3.5 million PRO Neighborhoods grant to the program, which is led by Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), in partnership with the city of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development, Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Savings & Loan, MEDC, Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation and MKE United.

Among the winners, 92% are run by entrepreneurs of color and 80% of the winners are women-owned businesses. Click here for more details and the full list of businesses awarded financial and planning assistance to date.

City of Monona dedicates new riverfront public space

MONONA, WISC. On Oct. 6, the City of Monona held a dedication ceremony for its unique new riverfront park adjacent to the new development, The Current. City officials past and present were on hand to welcome Monona’s residents to the riverfront with live music on an outdoor stage. Visitors had a chance to try out the seating areas in the plaza and along the river, and to explore the new boat docks,  piers and waterfront walkways via land and by water. Buck & Honey’s restaurant opened its lower level to the public space activities and offered refreshments to the crowd. 

Gateway to The Driftless awarded state tourism grant

CROSS PLAINS/BLACK EARTH/MAZOMANIE, WISC. Working with the assistance of Vandewalle & Associates, the Gateway to The Driftless organization wrote a successful application for a state tourism “joint area marketing” grant. Gateway to The Driftless is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable business growth and tourism efforts in the Cross plains, Black Earth, and Mazomanie areas. 

V&A drone services offer imagery, analysis, visualization and more

V&A has been utilizing drone technology for a number of aerial imaging and analysis needs–and more uses keep coming. From site evaluation to documenting project progress, drone photography has become another highly effective tool in many areas of our work.

Consider drone capabilities for these and more:

• Marketing videos or photography for a community or corridor 
• Documenting project progress 
• Vertical Viewshed Analysis for potential developments
• Zoning Compliance
• Parking studies (documenting parking utilization at various times of day)
• Capturing updated aerial imagery for use in design schematics, such as:
  • Including for identifying unmapped ponds/wetlands 
  • Flooding and flood zone evaluation

Plan to catch Warhola Cats’ new track on the airwaves, streaming online

MILWAUKEE, WIS — On Thursday Oct. 24, the Milwaukee-based indie band the Warhola Cats (whose members include V&A’s own Jackie Mich on keyboards, vocals and the occasional french horn) are premiering a track from their forthcoming album on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee’s MKE Premiere.  The song will play four times throughout the day: 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. Or you can stream it online.

Their poetic harmonies explore longing and heartfelt themes that become, in their own words, a “toast to Milwaukee’s mundane — inviting reverence for this time and place, musical renderings to capture the moment as it passes.”

After tomorrow, the song will be available to stream on the band’s Bandcamp page, and shortly after that, available wherever else you stream things (Spotify, etc.) Check it out now, then stay tuned for the full album release in November…

V&A begins redevelopment study for Hartford’s former Kmart property

HARTFORD (with excerpts from gmtoday.com) — Since Kmart closed its Hartford Plaza location along Highway 60 in the city, the site has had very little activity. Within the last few months the city applied for and received grant money from the state’s Brownfield Grants Program, which is coordinated by Washington County.

“The grant was for about $24,000 and other remaining  costs are to be paid by Equitable Bank, who has taken over the property,” said Hartford Area Development Corp. Executive Director Tom Hostad. “We are all hoping a site redevelopment study can show other possible uses for the land so a developer can be enticed into redeveloping the location.”

Vandewalle and Associates, who has done previous work for the city successfully, was awarded the contract for the study.

“We want to determine the best way to move forward to market this property and we feel this study should be able to make the correct decision,” said Mayor Tim Michalak. “The bank has been helpful in stepping forward and working with us on this. The bank currently has a company working to sell the property.”

Michalak said those involved want to see what is the property’s best use.

“We certainly have had thoughts about we feel that property could sustain for the betterment of the entire community, but you have to have a developer that’s willing to step up with you and partner with you on that,” Michalak said. “I’m very optimistic. It is a prime location. Conducting the study is showing that the community is willing to marshal its resources to work with a developer that has the imagination to move forward with something the city believes is something profitable for a developer and a real benefit to the city.”

Michalak said Hartford is not the only community that’s been dealing with what some are calling “big box blight” when they leave the community.

“We don’t want to get someone in there for just for the sake of filling it for the short term; we want to have a plan that will be a long-term solution that we won’t have to worry about the property for a long time,” Michalak said.

You can read the full article here.

Initiatives tagged for enhancing Carrolton Square and community

CARROLLTON (excerpts from myjournalcourier.com)— Six key strategies will guide a plan to revitalize the city’s downtown square. The strategies were presented during a special joint meeting of Carrollton City Council and Greene County Board on Tuesday.

The Wisconsin-based planning and design firm Vandewalle & Associates conducted an opportunity analysis of key assets and created and a vision graphic highlighting opportunities in the downtown area.

Vandewalle team members Jeff Maloney and Marta Purdy presented their work and key strategies. “We try to make the strategies achievable but visionary,” Purdy said. 

The full article includes details on those key strategies. You can read it here.

Carrollton council advances TIF district creation

CARROLLTON, ILLINOIS (EXCERPTS FROM MYJOURNALCOURIER.COM): The Carrollton City Council is moving forward to establish a downtown TIF district, voting on a handful of resolutions necessary for district creation.

Pat Pinkston, adviser to the Carrollton Square Initiative — an initiative to spur economic growth in the city’s downtown — supports developing the district. The group plans to roll out in late September proposed economic strategies based on discussions with business owners and analysis from design firm Vandewalle & Associates Inc. and will work on developing a plan for improving the downtown area. The revenue raised from a TIF district would help them implement their plan, Pinkston said.

“TIFs are one of the mechanisms to fund the development plan,” Pinkston said. “It’s a funding mechanism that can make economic developments stable.”

Sturgeon Bay weighs impact of high water mark ruling at West Waterfront

STURGEON BAY, WISC. (EXCERPTS FROM DOORCOUNTYPULSE.COM): Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Gill dismissed an appeal of Sturgeon Bay property owners who aimed to challenge the DNR’s Jan. 3 ruling for a new “high water mark” affecting the west-side waterfront project plans (prepared for the City by Vandewalle & Associates). No private development can go on land waterward of that mark, greatly diminishing the developable portion of the property.

Mayor David Ward said after the ruling that it’s time for the city to move forward on the west waterfront. 

“If the group that appealed decides they’re not going to appeal again, I would say the next step for the city is to get the injunction lifted and live with the high water mark ruling,” he said. “My take on it is we’ve got to move forward. It’s time to move on and put some of this behind us. We have over $400,000 in grants from [Wisconsin] Coastal Management for the waterfront promenade that could go away. We need to get that promenade done and take this a piece at a time.”

The promenade is part of the Ad Hoc West Waterfront Planning Committee’s recommendations, which were released in July. Ward said the recent Tall Ships Festival gave a glimpse of what is possible on the city’s waterfront. 

“It really illustrated just how attractive that area is on both sides of the bay,” he said.  

Lake Geneva approves study for golf course property options

LAKE GENEVA, WISC. (EXCERPTS FROM LAKEGENEVANEWS.NET): Lake Geneva City Council has agreed to order a new study on future redevelopment options for the former Hillmoor Golf Course property.

The city council voted 6-2 on Sept. 9 to authorize planners to create a possible blueprint for the 200-acre site, which has been at the center of heated debate in recent years over whether it should be developed or left alone.

Brian Munson, representative for Vandewalle & Associates, said the concept plan will give the city an opportunity to tell White River Holdings the types of development the city wants to see.

“Instead of a proposal to come and be reactionary, it is an opportunity for the city to be proactive,” Munson said.

The concept plan will cost the city about $29,500 and will take about two months to complete. Planners will be directed to to present three potential development concepts for the old golf course site, and the city then will lead public discussions on the topic.

The final concept plan is set to be completed by early November and will be available for public review for 30 days, then discussed during a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 9.