Insight on Business

April 2014

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10 | I nsIgh t • A p r i l 2 0 14 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m UP FRONT R e g i o n a l R o u n d u p » 1 1 F a c e T i m e » 1 5 C o n n e c t i o n s » 1 8 "We've seen a cultural shift in the country, and not just in big cities. It has been termed the new urbanism. I think the market is larger than most people realize." " – Greg Flisram, director of economic development for Green Bay WIsconsIn's agIng cIty centers face some common problems — it's easier and cheaper for developers to build new construction than it is to adapt a factory, bank or old church for a new use. Re-use oen requires extensive, and expensive cleanup or asbestos removal, and available parking space is oen limited in the middle of a city. at's why almost all inner-city projects require some grants and other types of assistance. on the positive side, cities are now attracting people who want to live downtown. as auto manufacturers have seen to their dismay, the percentage of young people who have driver's licenses is lower than it has been in decades. a youth cohort has found car ownership less attractive and would rather live in a city where they don't need to drive. at the same time, many retired baby boomers are happy to hang up their rakes and snow shovels and move into apartments or condominiums where they can walk to restaurants and cafes. "We've seen a cultural shi in the country, and not just in big cities," says greg Flisram, director of economic development for green Bay. "It has been termed the new urbanism. I think the market is larger than most people realize." Like several other cities in Wisconsin, green Bay is working to B y To m G r o e n f e l d t Cultural shi to 'new urbanism' State gives boost to downtown developers with increase in Historic Tax Credits revive its core. Flisram says his department oen deals with fragmented property ownership when it tries to raze or renovate old buildings to create a site that will attract a developer. "We try to put two to four pieces together for a larger redevelopment site. and we do the predevelopment work no one likes to do — getting the titles cleaned up and the environmental reports done so we understand what we are dealing with. In some cases we pay for remediation such as removing asbestos." e state recently doubled the state income tax credit on rehabilitation costs for historic buildings to 20 percent, while the Federal historic Preservation credit returned 20 percent of the cost of rehabilitating qualified historic buildings as a reduction of federal income taxes. In green Bay, Franz hobart of cedar Rapids, Iowa, is leading the development of the northland hotel, which had been empty for years. It will become an independent boutique hotel through a $30 to $35 million renovation. For glass nickel Pizza on Dousman street, the city assembled three parcels, did some cleanup and gave the owners a building for $1. e first franchise operation of the Madison-based pizza company then invested $800,000. "We made it worth the time and effort to do it," Flisram says. "e lesson for municipalities is that if you want these deals to happen, you have to subsidize them directly or indirectly, acquiring and writing down land costs, leveraging money from the state or EPa for cleanup and putting them into a tIF (tax increment financing district, which uses increases in tax revenues from a defined district to pay down the debt of the improvements). a lot won't happen without direct government intervention." green Bay is also working on housing developments, including 200 luxury mid-rise units on the east side of the river. "We need to have more housing downtown, more housing types at more price points to get downtown to come alive 24-7." he expects it to appeal to urban professionals, such as those working at associated Bank or schreiber Foods, and empty nesters. e city is using an Iowa development firm because most local developers aren't interested in historic rehab or infill projects, he says. "Louie Lange in Fond du Lac is about the only guy I can think of in this region who does historic renovations." Lange, president and founder of e commonwealth companies, says there's a good reason not many

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