Milwaukee-based New Land Enterprises LLP will unveil plans at a neighborhood meeting tonight for a new condominium tower development, that would be built next to the historic Goll Mansion at 1550 N. Prospect Ave. on Milwaukee's east side.
Tim Gokhman, director of sales and marketing, for New Land, declined to provide details about the project.
However, a report by WISN-TV Channel 12 says that the building will be 27 stories tall, with one to two condo units per floor. The price of the units will start at about $1 million.
Gokhman did confirm that New Land, which owns the mansion property, is planning a condo tower for the site. He also said that the $60 million project will include a $1 million restoration of the 100-year-old, 10,000-square-foot Goll Mansion, which will be used as a community gathering and banquet facility.
The condo development is necessary to make the restoration project for the mansion feasible, Gokhman said.
"It's the right thing to do to save the mansion," he said. "It's not just a development. It's a development and a restoration of the mansion."
Gokhman said New Land has been meeting with national, state and local historic preservation officials to make sure that the design of the condo tower is appropriate and will compliment the historic mansion building.
A group of residents who live near the mansion have organized an effort to oppose development of a condo tower on the property. Some residents have complained that a condo tower on the property would block some of their view of Lake Michigan.
More details about the project will be unveiled at the neighborhood meeting tonight, which will be held at 6 p.m. at the Wisconsin Conservancy of Music building, 1584 N. Prospect Ave.

The Brewery Works Inc. has determined that it is not feasible to redevelop the historic former North Powerhouse building, located just south of the new Manpower Inc. corporate headquarters building in downtown Milwaukee, and has begun demolition work on the five-story red brick structure.
"We're tearing it down," said Sam Denny, executive vice president and general manager of The Brewery Works. "We couldn't make (the redevelopment plans) work."
The Brewery Works, which owns the building and the Schlitz Park office complex, is owned by Milwaukee developers Gary Grunau and Scott Sampson.
Grunau and Sampson also developed the new Manpower headquarters, a four-story, 280,000-square-foot building that was completed last year. Originally that project was to include renovations of the North Powerhouse building into about 55,000 square feet of office space. The Brewery Works agreed to redevelop the North Powerhouse as a condition for Manpower agreeing to move from Glendale to the new downtown Milwaukee building
Grunau and Sampson received $25.3 million in tax incremental financing from the city for the Manpower headquarters building project.
In September Grunau said the North Powerhouse redevelopment would start later in the fall, but it was later determined that the renovation project wasn't feasible, Denny said. The building is just a shell, with no floors on the inside and it has no other useful infrastructure, he said. It would be cost prohibitive to transform the structure into an office building, he said.
When Harley-Davidson was planning to put its museum at Schlitz Park, the building was considered for a hotel and restaurant, Denny said.
The building is believed to have been constructed during the late 1920s and once housed a boiler for the city's steam system, Denny said.
After the structure is demolished the site will be used for green space, not parking, and will be a "great site" for future development, Denny said.

Milwaukee-based MGIC Investment Corp. today reported a net loss for the quarter that ended June 30, of $97.9 million, compared with net income of $76.7 million for the same quarter a year ago. Diluted loss per share was 79 cents for the quarter, compared to diluted earnings per share of 93 cents for the same quarter a year ago.
The company's net loss for the first six months the year was $132.3 million, compared with net income of $169.1 million for the first half of last year.
However, total revenues for the second quarter were $424.5 million, up 15 percent from $369.0 million in the second quarter of 2007. The increase in revenues resulted primarily from a 14.3 percent increase in net premiums earned to $350.3 million, the company said. Net premiums written for the quarter were $371.8 million, compared with $321.0 million in the second quarter last year, an increase of 15.8 percent.
Curt S. Culver, chairman and CEO of MGIC, said that delinquencies and foreclosures remain at elevated levels resulting from lower home values and a softening economy and as a result continue to impact the company's financial results.

Hurt by the slumping economy and high gas prices, Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. said today that its second quarter earnings were $222.8 million, or 95 cents per share, down 23 percent from earnings of $290.5 million, or $1.14 per share, for last year's second quarter.
For the quarter, the company's revenue dropped about three percent to $1.57 billion, down from $1.62 billion for last year's second quarter.
During the second quarter the company shipped 80,326 motorcycles to its dealers and distributors.
"While this result exceeds our guidance range of 76,000 to 80,000 units for the quarter, it is a decrease of 15.6 percent from the year-ago period," said Jim Ziemer, chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. "This decrease reflects the impact of the shipment reduction we announced April 17th in response to ongoing weakness in the U.S. economy."
In response to the slumping economy, and rising gas prices, in April the company also announced plans to idle plants and change production schedules, resulting in the loss of 370 union jobs.
"We expect U.S. economic conditions and ongoing consumer concerns to continue to create challenges at least through the end of the year," Ziemer said. "We believe the actions we took to reduce shipments to our U.S. dealers and our related workforce reduction position us appropriately for the current economic environment. I am confident about our future as we continue to manage and reinvest in the business for the long-term."
The company expects to ship between 74,000 and 78,000 motorcycles during the third quarter of 2008. For the full year of 2008, the company plans to ship between 303,500 and 307,500 units.
The company is taking other steps to grow and meet the challenges of the slumping economy, Ziemer said.
"Last week, we announced our planned acquisition of the MV Agusta Group and celebrated the grand opening of the Harley-Davidson Museum," Ziemer said. "Next Tuesday, we introduce our exciting new 2009 motorcycles. A month from today, we kick off our 105th Anniversary Celebration with the launch of the first of 105 motorcycle rides to Milwaukee from around the U.S. These are just some of the ways we are positioning the company for the future, strengthening bonds with current customers and reaching out to new customers."

Glendale-based Johnson Controls, Inc. today reported quarterly net income of $439 million, compared to $396 million for the quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share were 73 cents, up 11 percent from 66 cents last year.
Sales for the quarter increased to $9.9 billion, up 11 percent from $8.9 billion for the quarter last year.
"Johnson Controls achieved record results despite the difficult conditions in the domestic automotive and residential construction markets which affect approximately 20 percent of our revenues," said Stephen A. Roell, chairman and CEO. "We continue to grow due to our unique ability to help customers improve their competitiveness, especially in the areas of energy efficiency and sustainability. We also continue to benefit from our strong presence in emerging growth markets and our increasing shares in the large markets for buildings and batteries."
The company's building efficiency sales were $3.7 billion, up 13 percent compared with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion. Building efficiency segment income increased 10 percent to $301 million from $274 million.
Automotive experience sales were $4.8 billion, up 3 percent from $4.6 billion in 2007. North American sales decreased 15 percent. The total automotive segment income was $199 million, up 11 percent from $180 million last year.
Power solutions sales increased 36 percent to $1.4 billion, up from $1 billion last year mainly. Power solutions income totaled $145 million, up 22 percent compared with the 2007 third-quarter's $119 million.

Milwaukee-based A. O. Smith Corp. today announced that second quarter earnings increased 18 percent, compared to second quarter 2007 results, to $31.9 million.
Earnings per share increased 22 percent to $1.06.
Sales for the quarter were $622.2 million, up slightly compared to second quarter 2007 sales of $611.5 million.
"Our operating units are performing well in the most difficult economy in recent memory," said Paul W. Jones, chairman and CEO of A.O. Smith. "We remain confident in our ability to manage the challenges associated with the weak housing market and relentlessly high raw material and energy prices."
For the first six months of 2008, A. O. Smith earned $53.8 million or $1.78 per share on sales of $1.19 billion. For the same period in 2007, the company earned $46.5 million or $1.50 per share on similar sales volume.
"Our operating units are performing well in a very difficult environment, facing soft markets and record raw material costs," Jones said. "The performance during the first half of this year is a reflection of our ability to operate our plants efficiently, focus on cost containment, and recover increased raw material costs from our customers. However, we expect to experience the full impact of sharply elevated steel costs during the second half of the year. That, combined with protracted weakness in the housing market, and the likelihood of weaker commercial construction, will make the next six months particularly challenging".

Richmond, British Columbia-based Nature's Path Foods Inc. has acquired the former Kraft Tombstone Pizza facility in Sussex and plans to convert it to an organic cereal manufacturing facility. The company will invest about $25 million in the facility during the next year and a half.
Kraft closed the plant, located at W227 N6088 Sussex Road, last year.
"We are thrilled to become a part of the Sussex community and bring the spirit of our family-run business to the families that live and work here," said Arran Stephens, Nature's Path founder and CEO. "Building our plant in Sussex is not only about making cereal, it is about doing business in a socially responsible and more environmentally sustainable way. This new plant will help us to better serve the U.S. market east of the Rockies as we save precious resources and limit the miles our products need to travel."
The company will receive a $250,000 training grant from the state of Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Wednesday. The company will train at least 100 employees on new equipment and processes. The plant will create a minimum of 159 new jobs during the next year, Doyle said.

Plymouth-based Orion Energy Systems Inc. announced today that its board of directors has approved a share repurchase program, authorizing the company to repurchase up to $20 million of its outstanding common stock.
The announcement comes one day after company announced that its first quarter revenues would be lower than expected, in the range of $16.1 million to $16.3 million. The company attributed its lower revenues to its focus on building its sales organization.
Total revenue for fiscal 2009 are now forecasted by the company to be between $101 million and $103 million.
Orion is a provider of energy management systems to the commercial and industrial sectors.

Daniel W. Johnson has been named the next president of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Wauwatosa.
Johnson is an administrator of Arizona Lutheran Academy in Phoenix.
Johnson is the third full-time president of Wisconsin Lutheran College in its 35-year history, succeeding Dr. Timothy Kriewall who retired June 30.
"I am humbled and excited to join Wisconsin Lutheran College in its mission to prepare students for lives of servant leadership," said Johnson. "It is a God-given privilege to ready students with not only academic excellence, but with the values, know-how and desire to serve and be difference makers in their workplaces, communities and the world."
"First and foremost, Dan is a dedicated man of God," said Todd Witte, chairman of the college's Board of Regents. "Throughout his varied leadership roles he has exemplified the type of unique servant leadership that is underlined by the WLC mission."

Record-high gas prices are driving up interest in Hybridfest, which will be held this weekend in Madison. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy must intervene in the Brett Favre saga and insist that the organization make a decision, so everyone involved can move on, says Steve Jagler, executive editor of Small Business Times and author of today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.

The BizTimes Stock Index gained 3.30 points, recovering from a 52-week low, to close at 136.81 Monday. Local stocks continued to rebound in early morning trading today. The largest local gainers this morning were Harley-Davidson Inc. (up $1.82 to $38.00), Rockwell Automation Inc. (up $1.76 to $44.49), Manpower Inc. (up $1.73 to $54.24), Bucyrus International Inc. (up $1.68 to $66.00), MGIC Investment Corp. (up $1.65 to $5.75) and A.O. Smith Corp. (up $1.06 to $36.09). The largest local decliners this morning were Weyco Group Inc. (down $1.27 to $28.64) and Johnson Controls Inc. (down 87 cents to $28.74). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.