— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Michael O’Connor, co-founder of Dominion Properties.
This Milwaukee-based development company recently opened its first hotel project in downtown Racine, called Hotel Verdant. It also rents out more than 400 residential and commercial units on Milwaukee’s east side.
O’Connor discusses details of the new four-story, 80-room hotel project, emphasizing the building’s sustainability features and impact on the local business district.
“We had an opportunity come up looking for properties down in Racine; we came across an abandoned building that had been abandoned since 1984 on the main square of downtown Racine,” he said. “Which is a very vibrant main street, cute little downtown with a lot of turn-of-the-century buildings.”
Construction on the historic preservation project began in early 2022, according to a release, and cost about $42 million. The 80,000-square-foot building includes ballroom space, a restaurant on the first floor, a rooftop restaurant and cocktail bar, as well as solar panels, a geothermal ground-sourced HVAC system and 10 electric vehicle charging stations.
“We’re in the process of adding 24 more … So we’re hoping to be a destination for people with electric vehicles,” he said.
O’Connor noted the downtown square hosts about 100 events every summer, acting as an anchor for the local community.
“And we thought when we saw this, ‘Gosh, it would really be a good driver for the downtown businesses in Racine, to have a hotel here,’” he said, adding the city previously had few options for people wanting to organize a business meeting or get married in the area.
“You have to send them all to Milwaukee, and that is a 45-minute drive from downtown Racine,” he said. “And we talked to the city about what we could do here, and the city got very excited. Because they know that when you have a hotel, other things follow that.”
Listen to the podcast here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisbusiness-the-podcast-with-michael-oconnor-dominion-properties/
See the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts: https://www.wisbusiness.com/category/podcast/
— The MKE 2024 Host Committee has launched a directory of businesses available for contracts related to next year’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
The group yesterday rolled out its vendor directory site, which aims to help delegates and other visitors find relevant services ahead of the convention, being held in July 2024. All companies in the directory are registered with the committee’s “Vendor Connections” portal, a release shows.
“The 2024 Republican National Convention is a fantastic opportunity for the entire city to put its best foot forward in serving as hosts to tens of thousands of guests from around the country,” Committee Chief Operating Officer Alison Prange said in a statement. “We know that Milwaukee stands ready to be a good host.”
See the directory site here: https://mke2024host.org/vendor-directory/
— Wisconsin’s unemployment rate ticked up to 3.2% in October even as the state labor force got a boost over the month and year.
The state Department of Workforce Development yesterday released the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, showing unemployment rose 0.1% from September’s rate of 3.1%.
But at the same time, the state labor force increased by 3,600 over the month and 73,600 over the year, reaching 3,142,100 in October. DWD Chief Economist Dennis Winters noted the labor force has remained largely flat since 2010.
“But the last few months, we’ve seen some nice increases in the labor force,” he said yesterday during an online briefing. “We speculate that is because, well, the population growth and more people, also more job openings and wages are up. So they are attracting people into the labor force.”
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people in the state increased by 5,400 over the month, reaching 102,000 in October. Despite the increase, Winters noted that figure remains near historic lows.
Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate remained unchanged over the month at 65.8%, which is 3.9% above the national rate of 62.7%.
See the release: https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/press/unemployment/2023/231116-october-state.pdf
— The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Madison has been awarded $111 million to help complete its East-West Bus Rapid Transit project.
The grant money is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will be used to build a 15-mile route for battery powered buses serving UW-Madison, the central business district and other areas. Both ends of the route will include park-and-ride facilities and the new route is aimed at alleviating congestion with 60-foot buses running along 9.5 miles of dedicated lanes.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement stressed the economic impact of the new route.
“USDOT is proud to help connect the people of Madison to some of the most important employers and services in the city—including the Capitol, downtown shopping, and UW-Madison—with this grant for new electric bus service,” he said.
The total cost for the project is estimated at $194.3 million.
— WEDC is allocating $500,000 in grants for entrepreneurship programs in biotechnology, personalized medicine and biohealth industries.
In a release yesterday, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. said this round of funding from its Entrepreneurship Partner Grants program is part of the agency’s commitment to the state’s “Tech Hub” effort.
Federal officials recently announced a state-based initiative led by BioForward Wisconsin in Madison has been selected for designation as a regional technology hub centered around personalized medicine.
“Now Wisconsin must build on that foundation and make smart investments in the researchers and entrepreneurs working to create the next revolutionary biohealth company,” WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the agency has also budgeted $700,000 for another round of entrepreneurship grants for groups working with entrepreneurs in any industry, the release shows. Both pools of funding will be parceled into grants ranging from $10,000 to $200,000.
Grant applications open Dec. 1 and are due Jan. 26.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisconsin-economic-development-corp-grants-support-innovation-entrepreneurs/
See more on the Tech Hub effort: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisconsin-lands-one-of-31-regional-technology-hubs/
— Underage tobacco and vape sales in Wisconsin rose to 13.6% this year from 11.9% in 2022, state health officials announced.
DHS Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson noted most people who use commercial tobacco and nicotine products start doing so as teens or young adults.
“In fact, if a person doesn’t start by age 25, they almost never will,” she said yesterday in a statement. “This data shows that we must continue the work to prevent young people from starting to use commercial tobacco and nicotine products.”
The figures announced yesterday come from an annual statewide assessment of retailer violations of underage age tobacco sales laws, called the Synar Survey. While the survey previously tracked tobacco and vape sales to minors, it now includes sales to those younger than 21 following the 2019 federal law change that raised the minimum sales age.
DHS says Wisconsin is one of only eight states that haven’t changed their laws to match the new federal minimum age of 21, leading to “confusion and enforcement challenges.”
The underage sales rate was just 5.5% in 2019, according to the DHS release. Its highest level, seen in 2021, was 14.1%. The agency notes underage tobacco and vape sales have risen 140% on average since 2019.
See the release: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/news/releases/111623.htm
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#TOP STORIES#
# Wisconsin bill would make gig drivers independent contractors, not employees
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# German manufacturer boosts investment on Menomonee Falls expansion to $30 million
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– 2024 world cheese contest to feature new classes
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=1008&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Wingspan Development Group completes apartment complex in Brookfield
– Milwaukee County breaks ground on more than $200M state crime lab
# ECONOMY
– Thanksgiving meal prices drop in WI
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=1007&yr=2023
– Wisconsin lost 2,800 private sector jobs in October
# EDUCATION
– UW-Madison, business leaders call on state Legislature to fund part of new engineering building
– Ramirez Family Foundation raising about $15M for choice school on former Cardinal Stritch campus
# LEGAL
– Former CFO of Kenosha-based Pacific Sands files shareholder lawsuit against company, seeks removal of CEO
# MANUFACTURING
– Milwaukee-area manufacturer can’t find buyer, will close 130-employee plant
– Superior Die Set moving forward with sale of Oak Creek facility
# MEDIA
– Madison chef Dan Fox shows his chops on Food Network’s ‘Chopped’
# REAL ESTATE
– With office market flat, Bucks eye ‘eatertainment’ or other uses for land north of Fiserv Forum
# REGULATION
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# SMALL BUSINESS
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– This Appleton teen started his coffee roasting business out of his basement
# SPORTS
– ‘Something I dream about’: Pat Murphy named as new manager of the Milwaukee Brewers
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# TOURISM
– RNC host committee launches directory of local vendors available for convention business
# COLUMNS
– Opinion: 7 reasons why removing I-794 would be a boon for downtown Milwaukee
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
Thrivent: Gives back to the Alzheimer’s Association on Giving Tuesday
