Forward Janesville - TheReport - First Quarter 2024

flourish, said Mark Gregory, South Central Regional President for Johnson Financial Group. Johnson Financial Group is not only a Milton Avenue corridor business tenant, with a branch on Holiday Drive adjacent to the site of the Woodman’s Center, but has clients that own a large amount of commercial property along the corridor. Since the announcement of the groundbreaking, Gregory said there has been an uptick in discussions and inquiries around acquisitions and remodeling of MiltonAvenue properties. “There’s a lot of preliminary discussions. This is a 15- to18-month project so nobody is racing, but you can tell a lot of businesses are making sure they’re in a strong capital position to be ready for the ultimate goal to cater to the new center,” Gregory said. In addition to new business prospects, several existing Milton Avenue area businesses are looking at making internal or external improvements to accommodate the increase in business slated to come, Gregory said. Benson said he’s had conversations with business owners in the Milton Avenue area who have already cited plans to expand their offerings and renovate because of the development. “Little things like that will spill over,” Benson said. Gregory explained that when a significant development is planned in an area, for example when Walmart was built on Deerfield Drive, that signals to other like-minded or complementary businesses that the area is primed for business. That’s because large-scale developers like Walmart are known for doing significant market research and data analysis before committing to a new location. The same goes for the Woodman’s Center, Gregory said. Local leaders, particularly the JACVB according to Gregory, provided a deep well of stress-tested data to support the Woodman’s Center and prove the economic impact it will have. That instills trust from existing and prospective businesses to improve or put roots down in Janesville. “It is easier for businesses to look at Janesville. It gives your current business community more optimism in investing in their footprint,” Gregory said. “New eyes and new faces will be in your community. You’re thinking to yourself, am I in the position to capture that market share? The Woodman’s Center project and supporting data gives you confidence in your return on investment.” It Takes a Village Much of the reason the Woodman’s Center is positioned to make a positive impact on the business community is because the business community was involved from the start. More than a dozen local businesses have made financial or in-kind donations to the project. One of the most substantial was Uptown Janesville’s creativity in supporting the project through its $1 sale of the land and flexibility in providing the space the project needed to best benefit all parties involved. Business and non-profit leaders stepped up to voice support, which was a fundamental step in making the project happen. Leaders like Jane Blain Gilbertson, Matt Kealy, Quint Studer, Jessica Locher, Kathy Hansen, Ladd Udy, Cheryl Peterson and others helped develop a message that the community was united in this goal across several industries and regions of the city. Active Friends group ambassadors also volunteered their time and resources through community outreach activities and facilitating public listening sessions around the project. One of the 10 | FORWARD JANESVILLE “I think it absolutely helps tell our story and allows other people to see when the Janesville community puts our minds to it, we have some credibility,” Payne said. Community Day guests playing pickleball Groundbreaking with Janesville City Manager Kevin Lahner, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (L to R) Jennifer Petruzello connecting with future users at the Woodman's Center Community Day event