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36 | I NSIGH T • F e b r u a r y 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m I N S I G H T O N E C O N O M I C DEVELOPMENT B y S e a n P. J o h n s o n A t one time, the joke might have been "don't blink, you'll miss Hobart." Not anymore. In fact, Hobart is well on its way to becoming the fastest-growing community in Wisconsin, with the Department of Administration projecting nearly 76 percent population growth by 2040, in large part fueled by more than $70 million in development occurring in the village since 2009. Making a place Hobart creates its own downtown to build new opportunities in Brown County Site preparation is under way in the Village of Hobart for Hobart Crossing, the first piece of the planned marketplace for Centennial Centre, a mixed-use development that will create a "downtown" for the village. "Five years ago, there was nothing out here but a bean field. We want to make it a place where folks will want to congregate and recreate." –A n d rew Vi c ke r s, v i l l a g e a d m i n i s t rato r, Ho b a r t But Hobart isn't content just to become a bedroom community in the Greater Green Bay area. In an effort to create a sense of place for the village's 7,600 residents, Hobart officials last month kicked off an aggressive plan that will create a downtown from scratch — a walkable mixed-use development that is part of the greater Centennial Centre at Hobart. e planned development is pegged at $250 million, but could bring in more than $400 million in investment in the next five years. "Five years ago, there was nothing out here but a bean field," says Andrew Vickers, village administrator for Hobart. "It won't be Main Street, but it will be a downtown. We want to make it a place where folks will want to congregate and recreate." Work on the latest piece of Hobart's grand vision kicked off with a groundbreaking for Hobart Crossing, a $25 million planned luxury apartment development aimed at each end of P H O T O B Y S E A N P. J O H N S O N