The Village of Mukwonago has been nationally recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for the success of its Business Retention and Expansion program and the new Mukwonago Industrial Park. The Village won two Excellence in Economic Development Awards:
Gold Award in the Business Retention and Expansion category
Silver Award in the Multi- Year Economic Development Program category
IEDC's Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world's best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year's most influential leaders. Awards are judged by a diverse panel of economic and community developers from around the world, following a nomination process held earlier this year. This year, IEDC received over 500 submissions from 4 countries.
ABOUT THE WINNING PROJECT
In 2017, the Village was in the early stages of siting a new business park when a growing local business, Banker Wire, approached the Village Administrator with their plans for expansion. Banker Wire preferred to keep their facilities within the Village, but they were also exploring neighboring communities for adequately sized, shovel-ready building sites that could not be found in Mukwonago at that time.
Faced with the prospect of losing an important local business, the Village began discussions with R/M (the Village Engineer) and Banker Wire to develop an innovative solution that would significantly expedite the planning, design, and construction of the new business park, allowing Banker Wire to keep their business in the Village.
The project team successfully negotiated a development agreement that established Banker Wire as the anchor tenant in the new business park. A project of this size would normally take three to six years to complete, but to meet the needs of Banker Wire, our team had three months to complete the design and six months to complete construction.
To deliver the project on time, the design, permitting, and construction of the business park occurred at a rapid pace, often simultaneously.
Typical Industrial Park Development Timeline
Village of Mukwonago Industrial Park Timeline
The expedited timeline came with significant risks. The project necessitated $500,000 in contingencies to cover a variety of unknowns, including a pending Department of Transportation (DOT) permit that, if denied, would completely change the project design, and a $300,000 contingency plan to construct a separate sewer holding and well system in the event that our team could not obtain the necessary permits from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) time for Baker Wire’s opening. Further, the parcel’s distance from existing development, lack of access to utilities, potential wetlands, environmental hazards, and topography made the project all the more challenging, and the timeline left little room for error.
Ultimately, even though the completing the work in such a small amount of time seemed impossible, the project team’s commitment to open communication and dedication to the success of the business park allowed R/M to complete the development on time, and kept Banker Wire within the Village of Mukwonago.
BUSINESS PARK SUCCESS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
In Southeastern Wisconsin, industrial developments typically do not cash flow without the use of tax incremental financing (TIF). To pay for improvements to the area, the Village of Mukwonago created a Tax Incremental District (TID).
Before the redevelopment, the existing land was taxed at $5,000 a year and valued at less than $300,000. The new industrial land has an estimated value of $35- $36 million, and the Village is projected to receive $550,000 in property taxes in 2020. An estimated value of $68,722,146 will be created from new development and appreciation in the value of existing properties within the district, resulting in a total tax revenue increment of approximately $19,735,539 over the life of the TID. Finally, based on two independent studies, the District is projected to create 150 – 300 new full-time employees and retain more than 700 jobs.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about how R/M can help your community create opportunities for economic development, please contact one of our experts today.
