Hartford bucks economic downturn with land purchase

In a time when communities around the state have been idled by poor economic numbers, the Hartford Area Development Corporation is taking a different tact in purchasing an additional 40 acre tract of land abutting its Dodge Industrial Park.

The purchase was fueled in part by the HADC’s sale of its Innovation Center building to a long-time tenant, Key Logo Inc., in December 2008. This sale freed up the necessary funds for the purchase of the 40-acre parcel in February.

According to HADC Interim Executive Director Ray Jaroch, the marketing efforts of the HADC to fill its Dodge Industrial Park have left Hartford with only a few remaining parcels for sale.

“Long range planning indicates that the area between the Dodge and Western Industrial Parks is slotted for industrial development and we can now proceed in that direction,” he says.

The HADC has been working with two or three businesses that are interested in the new property.

“We hope to be able to fulfill their specific needs and welcome them to our industrial community,” he says. “We expect 2009 to be an exciting and challenging year as we move forward with negotiations.”

The HADC also plans to purchase at least 24 additional acres later this year.

Johnson Controls collaborating on $500 million retrofit project at Empire State Building

Using the Empire State Building as a test case and model, a partnership that includes Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls has unveiled an innovative process for analyzing and retrofitting existing structures for environmental sustainability.

The program is the first comprehensive approach that integrates many steps to use energy more productively. The program is expected to reduce energy consumption by as much as 38 percent and will provide a replicable model for similar projects around the world. Work has already commenced on the project and is expected to be completed by 2013.

With an initial estimated project cost of $20 million, the project will save the Empire State Building $4.4 million in annual energy savings costs, reduce its energy consumption by close to 40 percent, repay its net extra cost in about three years and cut its overall carbon output through eight key initiatives, ranging from retrofits to upgrades.

“This project brings to bear every bit of experience, research and innovation we’ve accumulated in our 125 years in this business,” says Johnson Controls Vice President Iain Campbell. “It’s gratifying to know that just as we point to this building as one of the greatest achievements of our grandparent’s generation, so can our grandchildren point to us.”

Johnson Controls is serving as the energy services company for the program. Other partners on the project include the Clinton Climate Initiative, Rocky Mountain Institute and Jones Lang LaSalle.

MOVERS

>> The Public Policy Forum Board of Trustees has elected Philip Koutnik as a new trustee. The Public Policy Forum is an organization dedicated to nonpartisan research on public policy issues affecting Southeastern Wisconsin. Koutnik is a member of the Corporate Transactions and Business Law Group at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.’s Milwaukee office. He also works with the Emerging Companies Practice Group.

>> The board of trustees of Northwestern Mutual has elected Edward J. Zore as its seventh chairman and John E. Schlifske as the 17th president in the company’s 152-year history.

>> Attorney Paul Hoefle has joined The Schroeder Group in Waukesha. He has more than 25 years of litigation experience.

>> Mortenson Construction has added Matt Cool as a senior superintendent. Cool will be responsible for overseeing total construction efforts on Mortenson’s Aurora Medical Center project in Grafton.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

WAUKESHA: FloorCare USA has won the prestigious 2008 Decorative Concrete Project of the Year award from Concrete Construction magazine. The award is for the company’s diamond-polished floor work at Milwaukee’s Harley-Davidson Museum.

PORT WASHINGTON: Kelly Godejohn, CIC, CISR, of PIA member agency, Ansay & Associates, was named the PIA National 2009 Customer Service Representative of the Year in April. Godejohn was honored for her outstanding professionalism as a customer service representative.