Growth on the Upper Fox

The Upper Fox River Valley - Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara counties - usually escapes notice when compared with the economic growth of larger areas to the east.

This doesn't mean that nothing's happening in the Upper Fox Valley.

The biggest changes in Ripon aren't visible changes.

Boca Grande Capital LLC has become downtown Ripon's biggest landlord by purchasing 15 buildings and several businesses in the past year, including two restaurants.

One of Boca Grande Capital's partners is James Connelly, a Ripon College alumnus and trustee, and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Milwaukee.

Ripon's downtown could be getting a new exterior look as the result of a downtown strategic plan created with city officials and Vandewalle & Associates.

The Downtown Ripon Strategic Plan mixes restoring historic buildings, renovating Ripon's Square to make it more accessible to pedestrians and other outdoor activities, improving streetscapes, creating a "civic campus" that combines city and community offices, and siting automobile-oriented businesses on Blackburn Street to complement pedestrian-oriented businesses on Watson Street. It also suggests improving the Gothic Mill Pond area east of downtown and creating a better connection between downtown and Ripon College.

"We are extremely excited for the downtown and the entire community regarding the vision and future development potential represented in the plan," Ripon's Downtown Manager Craig Tebon says. "The document includes broad economic strategies for how Ripon can leverage its assets to improve its historic center, as well as detailed recommendations for public improvements and redevelopment opportunities within the central business district."

The City of Berlin also has plans for its downtown area. Vierbicher Associates, Inc. of Reedsburg has been commissioned for a downtown study to address downtown vacancy levels and downtown revitalization, with the goal of creating a Tax Incremental Financing district downtown.

Berlin's downtown efforts will dovetail with efforts to emphasize the Fox River more.

"It's called Berlin on the Fox; we're trying to reintegrate them," Berlin Mayor Dick Schramer says. "The Fox River is kind of an undeveloped resource for us."

Two important issues with the Fox River are on either side of Berlin. Upriver, the city is working with the Lake Puckaway Association to improve the Princeton Dam, which forms Lake Puckaway. When boards are added to the dam in the spring and fall to increase Lake Puckaway's depth, the resulting slowdown of the river drops water levels .in Berlin. Schramer says the city would like the Fox's flow and water levels through the city to be more uniform.

Berlin is also working with the state Department of Natural Resources to get the Eureka Lock downriver reopened, which would reopen access from the Fox to Lake Winnebago. The project, expected to be done in 2009, will cost $85,000, Schramer says.

One expected source of business growth will be the completion of the Super Wal-Mart under construction on Berlin's west side. Wal ,-Mart has had a reputation of taking customers away from other businesses, but Schramer says the opposite may be the case in Berlin.

The new Wal-Mart alone has opened a lot of doors," he says. "It's all a matter of traffic counts, and when your traffic increases because of Wal-Mart, they drive past other businesses too."

One of the boldest moves of the past year was the Tri-County Regional Economic Development Corp. purchasing the Especially for You building in Coloma from its owners, then leasing it back to them.

Especially for You manufactures furniture, wood partitions and fixtures, and fabricates architectural metalwork. TREDC focuses on economic development efforts in Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara counties.

"The TREDC building purchase will facilitate a needed injection of working capital that will assist the business to get to the next level," TREDC's executive director Bill Wheeler says, when the deal was announced in March 2007.

"Green Lake State Bank, and in particular Stephen Diedrich, Senior Vice President, made this deal happen," Wheeler says. "Steve's creative banking ability was the key."

"This is a win-win situation for the area and the business, with minimal risk - being able to step in and assist in this project is what our economic development efforts have been all about," TREDC's president Jim Erdman says. "En' is a strong locally-owned business and we are pleased to do everything we can to assure their success."

TREDC assisted 70 projects in the three-county area in 2007, leveraging $10.42 million in private funds. It estimates that 147 jobs were created in the area in 2007.

TREDC has responsibility for economic development efforts in Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara counties.

"Business development projects will continue to be a priority and we need to duplicate the success we have had and bring it to another level," Wheeler says. "We need to continue to grow and develop as an organization by increasing the size of our board and continue to utilize the volunteers in our various committees."