Business View Magazine - November 2016

110 Business View Magazine - November 2016 to drive the global marketplace for the foreseeable fu- ture. Creativity is where software comes from; where apps come from; where business models come from. Creativity, as demonstrated through art, is a need. So, we’re looking at our downtown district and we’re think- ing, ‘How can we show Fond Du Lac’s understanding of this idea?’ We’ve got a certain area, downtown, with a magnificent arts center called the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts; it’s very near a historic, downtown property that we think has a great future. The down- town library is there; we’ve got a couple of privately- owned galleries there. It’s got all of the right pieces to create an Arts District.” Benson agrees: “The city has created an Art Board and the Art Board has also entertained this same idea, so we’re just digging into that,” she says. “We’ll start with some initiatives in 2017 and continue to build on that.” While Envision Fond du Lac has become a main driv- ing force for change in the city, Benson adds that city government often acts upon its own initiative. A main focus of her department is proactive redevelopment of various business properties. “We don’t want to wait to see if a private market is going to step in,” she states. “For example, our Brooke Street corridor is our historic manufacturing corridor. It’s the typical multi- story manufacturing plants that you often see in other, older communities. And as those become inefficient for manufacturing purposes, and as manufacturing companies are moving out to our industrial park, we did not want to wait and have a neighborhood impact- ed by those buildings. So, when a local manufacturer was expanding to the other part of town, the city, im- mediately, stepped in, looked at the property to see what we could do, and within a couple of months of the business vacating, the city took over ownership and we were able to work with a developer. And now it is a gorgeous landscaping and garden center with ad- ditional space for commercial and retail development. That was a property that wasn’t vacant very long, and is now contributing to the neighborhood.” As the city of Fond du Lac continues to re-imagine and re-invent itself, its prosperity will continue to be built upon the public and private partnerships that are so emblematic of the Envision Fond du Lac initiative. “We’re a city that is looking forward,” declares Ben- son. “We’re never content with the status quo. We’re always looking to aim higher.”