Business View Magazine | February 2018

252 253 94 90 39 94 94 90 90 39 39 151 30 PARK 151 PARK 151 Downtown Madison Prairie Lakes Lake Monona Lake Mendota Dane County Regional Airport American Center Business Park NORTH 130,000 SF BUILDING AVAILABLE SUMMER 2018 6 TO 20 ACRE LOTS AVAILBLE Revitalizing Communities Through Innovative Housing Partnerships Since 1984 608-835-3900 | info@gormanusa.com | www.gormanusa.com Coming Soon to Sun Prairie Carbon at Union Corners Union Corners GrandFamily East Madison Developments SUN PRAIRIE, WISCONSIN area.We’re all full up.And we created a business improvement district where all the businesses voluntarily contribute funds to help promote and engage other activities downtown.We have a good pedestrian network; adding all the residential densi- ty has reinforced that need to have that pedestrian connectivity. So, residents in apartment buildings, half a block off Main Street, can easily walk up to all the shops and restaurants.We built a pedestrian mall downtown right across from City Hall and the newest residential development in the area.A lot of festivals and events happen there in that little park area. So, downtown has probably been one of the largest successes we’ve seen.” Naturally, Sun Prairie’s accelerating economic engine has spurred the need for more housing.“The supply is simply not keeping up with the demand,” Stechschulte avers.“So,we’re seeing market rate apartments being proposed in multiple locations throughout the city. I think we have something like 600 units approved in the system and about 300 of those are already under construction, right now.”The city is also hoping to add more “workforce housing” –affordable apartment units for those making less than 60 percent of the Dane Countymedian income. As Sun Prairie continues to grow, Stechschulte admits that while the city aims to distinguish itself from nearbyMadison, it will always be tied econom- ically to the larger metropolis.“The greater Madison region is a huge economic generator for the entire state,”he says.“And when you compare what’s going on here to many other places in the state, the Madi- son area market is really robust and doing very well. The amount of state and local government located in Madison, the University of Wisconsin, those things not only drive the economy, they also help protect it against downturns. So,inmanyways,we go theway theMadison market goes.But we are trying to do our best to create our own unique opportunities over here.Andwe see a lot of that in the formof advanced manufacturing opportunities as well as specialized and localized retail –shopping and dining destinations that set us apart from the rest of the Madison area.” In the end, Stechschulte believes that Sun Prairie offers people a very appealing alternative to living in Madison,with the benefit of it being close by.“We acknowledge that we’re part of one of the fastest growing regions inWisconsin, but we don’t want people to be afraid of the growth,”he implores.“We can’t say that we’re a small town, anymore, but we have a small town feel in a lot of ways.We still have that community feel, and we take a lot of pride in our ability to main- tain that identity of who we are. For people who still want to be able to enjoy things in an urban area like Madison, but looking to have a little bit of room and more affordability,we are the best opportunity for just about everybody here in Dane County.” PREFERRED VENDORS n Bank of Sun Prairie www.bankofsunprairie.com Founded in 1897, the Bank of Sun Prairie is an independent commu- nity bank and full service financial institution. It services include per- sonal and business banking, home lending, and financial planning. n Gorman & Company www.gormanusa.com n Interstate Partners www.interstatepartners.com