Oak Park, Ill.-based RSC & Associates is seeking up to $30 million in bond financing through the city of Milwaukee for its long delayed development in the Park East corridor.
The tax-exempt redevelopment revenue bonds would be issued through the city’s Redevelopment Authority, providing a low interest financing source for RSC. The Redevelopment Authority will consider the request at its Nov. 19 meeting.
RSC chief executive officer Rich Curto could not be reached for comment.
According to documents filed with the city, RSC plans to build a 250,000-square-foot development with 121 apartments, five townhouses, a parking structure and 7,800 square feet of retail space on a two-acre vacant site bounded by East Lyons Street, East Ogden Street, North Jefferson Street and North Milwaukee Street. The project also includes plans for two hotels, a 128-room Hyatt Place boutique hotel and a 102-room Hyatt Summerfield Suites extended stay hotel.
RSC owns the property and the project was approved by the city, but it has been delayed since 2008 because it could not obtain financing after the financial industry meltdown.
For the apartments, 20 percent of the units would be required to be leased to individuals with families whose income is 60 percent less than the area’s median gross income. There would be ten, 560-square-foot studio apartments with rents of $975 to $1,095; 59, 750- to 765-square-foot 1-bedroom apartments with rents of $725 to $1,600; 45, 1,160- to 1,270-square-foot 2-bedroom apartments with rents of $900 to $2,300; and seven 1,510- to 1,605-square-foot 3-bedroom apartments with rents of $2,300 to $2,570.
According to information filed with the city, RSC hopes to break ground for the project in the spring and complete construction in the summer of 2011. Once completed, about 55 people would work at the development including management, maintenance, sales staff, restaurant staff, cleaning and janitorial staff.
RSC purchased the site from Milwaukee County. If the project proceeds, it would be the first Milwaukee County-owned property that has attracted development in the Park East corridor.

Gov. Jim Doyle today signed a bilateral collaborative trade agreement between Israel and Wisconsin on research and development.
The agreement, signed by Doyle and Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Ben-Eliezer, promotes collaboration and a strong working relationship between Wisconsin and Israel in research and development, Doyle said.
“Wisconsin and Israel share a strong past and a bright future in research and technology development,” Doyle said. “This agreement creates an important framework for Israel’s and Wisconsin’s scientists, engineers and researchers to embark on ground-breaking research and development in many promising fields, especially water technology.“
“Israel and Wisconsin have a strong history of working together,” Ben-Eliezer said. “We believe that there is still an outstanding potential to enhance our collaboration.”
The bilateral cooperative agreement commits to investing in research and development and sharing innovative ideas.
Successful partnerships through Badger Meter and Miltel, among many other companies, have made Wisconsin and Israel strong trade partners, Doyle said.
The agreement builds on partnerships and commits to future collaboration, Doyle said. The agreement commits to investing in partnerships in research and development (R&D) in Wisconsin and Israel’s private businesses. The agreement names several areas for collaboration including:

• Promoting private sector activities to intensify bilateral industrial R&D cooperation.
• Identifying opportunities for partnerships beyond Israel and Wisconsin that could advance their research and development efforts.
• Coordinating government resources to promote R&D opportunities.
• Establishing a framework to financially support joint R&D projects that could lead to commercialization in the global market.   

There is potential for Wisconsin and Israel to collaborate in water technology, biotechnology, advanced agriculture, renewable energy and health care research and development, Doyle said.Doyle is leading a delegation of Wisconsin business and government leaders on a trade mission to Israel this week. Later today, Doyle will address the 5th Annual International Water Technologies, Renewable Energy and Environmental Control Exhibition (WATEC) to highlight Wisconsin’s leadership in water technology research and development.

Madison-based Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc., which has suffered significant losses during the recession and financial industry crisis, announced that it will sell 11 AnchorBank branches in northwestern Wisconsin to Eau Claire-based Royal Credit Union.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of calendar 2010.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Under the terms of the agreement, Royal Credit Union will assume approximately $177 million in deposits and receive a corresponding amount in loans, real estate, and other assets.
AnchorBank CEO Chris Bauer said that the sale will shrink Anchor's assets while enhancing its capital and ability to address asset quality and other obligations. The sale will move AnchorBank closer to compliance with an Office of Thrift Supervision supervisory agreement that calls for higher capital ratios.
"This transaction with RCU allows AnchorBank to make significant progress toward our goal of increasing our capital ratios in order to continue to address the challenges we're facing in this economic climate," said Bauer. "Royal Credit Union has an outstanding legacy of service in the communities of central and western Wisconsin, and we are confident that these branch customers will be in excellent hands with this distinguished hometown institution."
The branches involved in the transaction are located in Amery, Balsam Lake, Centuria, Menomonie, Milltown, New Richmond, Osceola, River Falls, St. Croix Falls, Somerset and Star Prairie. All of the offices being sold were acquired by AnchorBank in its 2008 acquisition of S&C Banco.
"Beyond the key outcomes of shrinking assets and improving capital ratios, this sale will also allow AnchorBank to further reduce core operating expenses and to identify potential areas for additional cost savings in a streamlined branch network," said Bauer. Once the acquisition is complete, RCU will have 26 offices, 23 across central and western Wisconsin and three in the Twin Cities Metro area, serving more than 140,000 Members.
"We are excited by the opportunity to acquire these AnchorBank offices, which fit perfectly into our five year expansion plan," said RCU CEO Charlie Grossklaus. "We want to be strategic with where we expand. These are successful offices for AnchorBank and a great opportunity for RCU and our members."

Stevens Point-based Travel Guard announced today that it has been selected by Travelocity to be its providered of travel insurance and assistance services.
"Travel Guard has built its reputation by providing exceptional customer service and comprehensive travel insurance protection," said Dean Sivley, Travel Guard president and chief executive officer. "Our customer-centric approach closely aligns with Travelocity - a company that launched the industry's first service guarantee and customer bill of rights to clearly redefine the relationship between travelers and travel providers."
Travel Guard is a global leader in travel insurance and assistance services and has been providing plans to millions of leisure and corporate travelers since 1982. The travel insurance program that will be offered through Travelocity includes coverage for trip cancellation, interruption and delay; emergency medical expenses; medical evacuation; and lost, stolen and delayed baggage.
"The Travelocity Guarantee - which is our pledge to make things right if consumers book with us and encounter any problems - has been and continues to be a key differentiator for us," said Simon Bramley, vice president, flights, Travelocity. "Travel Guard clearly shares our commitment to high quality, high touch customer service. They also share our commitment to apply cutting edge technology to enhance the customer experience at every key touch point."

Madison-based Sonic Foundry Inc. announced that its previously reported one-for-ten reverse stock split of the company's common stock was completed Monday.
Trading of Sonic Foundry's common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market began on a split-adjusted basis at the open of trading today.
Sonic Foundry's shares will continue to trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "SOFO", with the letter "D" added to the end of the trading symbol for a period of 20 trading days to indicate the reverse stock split has occurred. The company's symbol will revert back to its original symbol "SOFO" on Dec. 15.
As a result of the reverse stock split, every ten shares of Sonic Foundry's common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time were combined into one share of common stock, subject to the payment of 55 cents for each pre-split common share, which would otherwise be converted into a post-split fractional common share.
The number of shares of Sonic Foundry common stock issued and outstanding have been reduced from approximately 36,069,000 shares to approximately 3,606,900 shares post-split, without accounting for the payout on the fractional shares.

According to current federal guidelines, Roth IRA conversions are only available to taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of less than $100,000. That limit is being repealed in January, for most Americans, but Wisconsin residents will miss out on the opportunity for now. Read more in this week’s edition of BizTimes Money Weekly.

Tim Sheehy, the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce provided an update on the economic health of the southeastern Wisconsin region at the MMAC’s all-member meeting at the Bradley Center. Read the full text of his remarks in today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog.

Officials involved in trying to resolve the financial fallout from the failed Menasha Utilities steam plant say a plan put forward a week ago offers the best solution. Officials said at a public meeting Monday that the sale-and-lease back agreement with WPPI Energy is a good deal. Read more in BizTimes Milwaukee's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

After a strong start to the week, stocks slid backward this morning. The BizTimes Stock Index gained 2.77 points to close at 122.69 Monday, but most local stocks lost ground in early morning trading today. The biggest local decliners were Joy Global Inc. (down $2.81 to $56.03) and Bucyrus International Inc. (down $1.14 to $53.35). The biggest local gainers this morning were Johnson Outdoors Inc. (up 43 cents to $9.89) and Badger Meter Inc. (up 30 cents to $38.61).