City of Milwaukee officials are working to establish a 150- to 200-acre bank of land to attract water-related businesses, Department of City Development Commissioner Richard "Rocky" Marcoux announced today.
Speaking at the sixth annual BizTimes Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference in Milwaukee, Marcoux said business, government and academic leaders in the metropolitan Milwaukee area intend to establish the region as a major hub for water-related businesses.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is working to create a School of Freshwater Sciences, which will be the first such school in the nation. In addition, there are already 120 businesses in southeastern Wisconsin that deal with water technology and water services, a larger water industry cluster than in any other city in the United States, according to Franz Hoffmann, president of Procorp Enterprises LLC in Milwaukee and chair of the Milwaukee 7 Water Council.
The region, of course, is strategically located along Lake Michigan, part of the Great Lakes, which comprises about 20 percent of the world's fresh water, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The city intends to provide locations for water-related businesses that want to move to the Milwaukee region and be part of the water industry cluster, Marcoux said.
"We can be and we will be the water capital of the world," he said.
City officials are working to assemble the land bank, which would be located near the lake and the city's rivers. The land bank would be comprised of scattered sites close to water, Marcoux said. There is not enough available land in the city to create a water industry land bank all in a single location, he said.
Marcoux declined to name specific sites that the city is trying to acquire for the water business land bank.
The theme for this morning's conference was "Milwaukee's Fresh Coast Advantage."

Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit development company, plans to build a three-story, 38,000-square-foot mixed-use building on a mostly vacant site at 2721-33 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee.
The building, called King Commons III, will have 2,000 square feet of ground floor commercial or community space and 24 low income apartments. The ground floor space will be occupied by a fresh foods market operated by Will Allen, the executive director for Growing Power Inc.
The $5.5 million project will be financed in part by federal housing tax credits recently allocated to the project by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).
Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp. plans to purchase three vacant lots for the project from the city of Milwaukee.
The nonprofit corporation previously developed the first two phases of King Commons. King Commons I, completed in 2005, is a mixed-use building at 2774 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, with 18 apartments and 6,500 square feet of ground floor commercial space. King Commons II included a mixed-use building with nine apartments at 2767 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. and 15 scattered home sites along North Fourth Street, North Second Street and West Hadley Street.
The project will be reviewed Tuesday by the city's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee.

In the wake of reports that Wisconsin's budget shortfall for the coming biennium could exceed $5 billion, the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF) and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) today released an inventory of options for reforming the state's tax system and finding a balanced approach for filling the deficit.
"A Catalog of Tax Reform Options" presents a range of alternatives for enhancing state revenue. The options include: changes in the sales tax, such as eliminating some of the current exemptions; business tax changes, such as closing "loopholes" that allow multi-state corporations to evade taxes by shifting profits on paper to subsidiaries based elsewhere; individual income tax hikes for residents earning the most money; and various other reforms, including reinstating the estate tax.
"People in Wisconsin understand that we all share responsibility for keeping our state strong and competitive," said IWF executive director Karen Royster. "It’s that spirit of collaboration and support for our neighbors and communities that makes this a great place to live, work, do business, grow up and grow old. Our solutions to the budget challenges we face must be consistent with those values."
"Given the magnitude of the challenge before us, it’s crucial that we take a balanced approach that considers the revenue side of the equation in addition to controlling spending,” said WCCF executive director Charity Eleson. "Everything should be on the table. Strategies that focus solely on spending cuts could undermine the very things Wisconsin residents care about most, like good schools, a skilled workforce, a well-maintained infrastructure, and supports for vulnerable families."
"For years, elected officials have been loathe to discuss taxes. It's considered political poison," said IWF research director Jack Norman, one of the authors of the catalog. "We can no longer afford to hamstring ourselves by ignoring half of the potential solutions."
"The question is not how much we have to slash from the budget, but what kind of state we want to live in," said catalog co-author Jon Peacock, research director at the WCCF. "State budgets are about priorities, and it’s clear that preserving our strong public systems is a high priority for the people of Wisconsin."
The catalog is available online at www.wisconsinsfuture.org.

The stock market this morning spiked the momentary gains from Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which went on a 900-point mood swing before closing up 552.59 points Thursday, promptly fell by more than 300 points this morning. The market reacted to more negative news from the technology and retail sectors today. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. warned of lower earnings, and Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's Corp. reported Thursday at its third quarter net income sank to $160.2 million, or 52 cents per share, from $194.0 million, or 61 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The BizTimes Stock Index partook in Thursday's rally, gaining 7.17 points to close at 92.01. However, most local stocks also gave back those gains today. The largest local decliners this morning were Harley-Davidson Inc. (down $2.06 to $16.12), Brady Corp. (down $1.81 to $25.06) and Strattec Security Corp. (down $1.77 to $17.34). The largest local gainers this morning were Waterstone Financial Inc. (up 14 cents to $6.74) and Orion Energy Systems Inc. (up 7 cents to $3.26).

Milwaukee-based Manpower Inc. has had only three chief executive officers in its history, and the three of them will ring The Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange later today.
The Manpower CEOs will be celebrating the company's 60th anniversary today.
Manpower achieved the milestone under the direction of co-founder Elmer Winter, Mitchell Fromstein and Jeff Joerres, who has been CEO since 1999 and chairman since 2001. They have steered Manpower to its current position as a $21 billion global employment services corporation.
"The workplace has unequivocally changed over the years since we opened our doors in 1948, but our mission has always remained the same," Joerres said. "Connecting people with meaningful work, while helping organizations find the talent they need is what we do. Manpower's ability to navigate the constant shifts in the world of work gives us the agility required to be a resilient and reliable partner for our clients and candidates."

Modine Manufacturing Co., a Racine-based provider of thermal management technology and solutions, announced the opening of its manufacturing operations in Chennai, India.
The Chennai facility supports Modine's global expansion objectives and will serve India's rapidly growing engine, commercial vehicle, and off highway markets.
The 80,000 square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing site, located in the southeastern section of India, will provide Modine-developed thermal management solutions to that nation's domestic engine, commercial vehicle and off-highway markets as demand grows.
With an 75 initial employees, Modine's Chennai facility will serve as a base from which the company can expand its extensive engine and powertrain cooling product lines to new markets.
"We are pleased to be in our facility and continue the preparations for production launch activities scheduled for December 2009," said Jerry Kapoor, managing director of Modine India. "The smooth startup reflects Modine's commitment to the region, the excellent cooperation of our local and global employees and our determination to be a major player in this important market. With our manufacturing operations starting shortly, we have begun work on several product launches for key customers. These programs should position us well to serve major Indian engine and commercial vehicle makers and play a significant role in India's growing industrial economy."
Modine launched its three-year, $14 million investment to build the greenfield Indian facility in December 2006 as part of its strategic plan to meet global product demand and increase its presence in the expanding Asian market.

The Milwaukee Brewers are offering fans the opportunity to purchase Holiday 4-Packs of tickets, which went on sale this morning.
Fans are able to choose from five different 4-Packs. When ordered before Wednesday, Dec. 19, holiday shoppers can rest assured that their tickets will be delivered in time for Christmas in special holiday carriers.
"We sold out of the Holiday 4-Packs in each of the last two seasons, and with the popularity of the package, we expect to exhaust our inventory again this year," said Brewers executive vice president of business operations Rick Schlesinger. "The 4-Pack is the first opportunity for fans to secure great locations for many of our best games in 2009, and it comes complete with a special gift at an affordable price."
Holiday 4-Packs range in price from $56 to $152. For additional information, visit www.brewers.com.

Canadian Sand and Proppant, which is planning a controversial sand mine in the Chippewa County town of Howard, no longer thinks it needs the town's permission for the project. Outraged residents blame the county administrator. The controversy now appears headed for court. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

In talking to Chinese policy makers, it is clear that they question why we in the West are bailing out the institutions and mangers that failed us, in the name of liquidity. They wonder how this is going to help people pay their mortgages, car loans, credit cards and make purchases, especially after they have lost their jobs. Indeed, the Chinese will be watching how President-elect Barack Obama handles the U.S. economy. Read more in this week's edition of BizTimes Milwaukee correspondent Einar Tangen's Dispatches From China.

Today's "Small Business School" webcast features a video about Fort Worth, Texas, which recently was identified as one of the top markets for small businesses in the country. "Small Business School" is a webcast version of episodes from the long-running PBS television program of the same title. The daily webcast is produced by Hattie Bryant, who interviews successful American entrepreneurs about their best business practices.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) of Greater Milwaukee recently conducted its 30th annual Partners in Philanthropy Luncheon at the Midwest Airlines Center. The recipients of the awards at the program were Judy Jorgenson, the Todd Wehr Volunteer Award; Joseph Zilber, the Evan P. Helfaer Donor Award; West Bend Mutual Insurance Co., the Wisconsin Organizational Philanthropy Award; Marianne Epstein, the Leave a Legacy Award; and James Clark, the Scott Cutlip Professional Fundraising Award. BizTimes Milwaukee was the premier sponsor for the program. To view a photographic slideshow of the event, visit the latest edition of BizTimes Around Town.

More than 400 people attended a launch party to celebrate the transformation of Small Business Times into BizTimes Milwaukee this week at the Pritzlaff Building in downtown Milwaukee. To view a photographic slideshow of the event, visit the latest BizTimes Around Town.

Busy readers of the BizTimes Daily can get a jumpstart on the weekend ahead by reading the OnMilwaukee.com Weekend Preview. OnMilwaukee.com is a media partner of BizTimes Milwaukee.

Do you believe the federal government's bailout of the financial services industry was needed? Cast your vote and see the results in today's Biz Poll at www.biztimes.com. In Thursday's poll, 57 percent of the voters said that because of the economy, they will be cutting back on their charitable giving in 2009, while 43 percent said they will not cut back.

A barrage of irrepressible forces propelled Democrat Barack Obama's historic presidential victory over Republican John McCain, and BizTimes Milwaukee executive editor Steve Jagler, with the help of conservative campaign consultant Craig Peterson, break down the reasons behind the results in today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.