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Madison – The redevelopment of the downtown Central Library, scheduled to begin in February, has been delayed due to a threatened lawsuit that is causing the city to rebid the project, Mayor Paul Soglin said Tuesday.
J.P. Cullen of Janesville had submitted the low bid but was disqualified because it failed to meet the city’s goal of having 20 percent of the subcontractors be either small or disadvantaged businesses. The city had set parameters for bids according to the federal DBE program — short for “disadvantaged business enterprise,” which encompasses women- and minority-owned businesses.
Two other bidders were also disqualified for not meeting the requirements.
The project was eventually awarded to Madison-based J.H. Findorff, which submitted a bid for just under $18.9 million, lower than the $21.2 million the city had estimated. Findorff did meet…
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Ken Notes: Couldn’t the city pass an ordinance that “aligned” their bid process with that of the federal government? I feel bad that this will delay the project, but can see both sides here. If construction was to begin in February, my guess is that Findorff has already invested quite a bit in this project and has ordered materials…
Madison – 12/22/2011 Madison Mayor Paul Soglin on Friday pronounced the Edgewater hotel project dead for this year, and probably forever, because of a dispute with the developer over what documentation must be given to the city and how large a tax subsidy the city should deliver.
Developer Robert Dunn, who has been seeking $16 million in tax increment financing for more than two years, said he hasn’t decided whether to take the city to court, but he repeatedly used the language of lawsuits in responding to Soglin.
“That’s a breach of a contract that was signed,” Dunn said. “Our damages would be extraordinary …
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Madison – Since the late 1800s, a two-block stretch along East Washington Avenue was home to Gisholt Machine Co., one of the city’s largest manufacturers.
When it closed in 1971, about 875 people lost their jobs. In later years, the Gisholt space hosted a number of small businesses and for a time, 450 employees of Marquip, which closed in 2000.
They owned homes, shopped in the area and, after a long day of factory work, would trek two blocks to the south for a cool one at Coughlin’s Tavern at the corner of South Baldwin…
Read more: http://host.madison.com/wsj
Ken Notes: A great fit and perfect retro fit from a leading market sector. Welcome! This also leaves some prime beltline property available for the next Shop Bop.
KEN HARWOOD The Future Wisconsin Project and Wisconsin
Development News P.O. Box 930234 Verona, WI 53593-0234
Phone (608) 334-2174
In this up and down commercial real estate market, we are seeing the resurgence of the Percentage Lease. Most often it is in the retail and hospitality sector. 
In this type of lease, the rent is based upon a percentage of sales volume that the business makes at that location. Often times there is a minimum (and sometimes a maximum) rent base as well. For example, a restaurant has calculated that they can afford paying five percent of their gross sales as rent. If the sales volume for the month is $50,000 they would pay the landlord $2500 for that month as base rent. Now usually this is on a projected annual basis and then adjusted after the first year to compensate for seasonal swings. In this case, there may be a minimum of $1800 er month and a maximum of $3200. We have seen more than the usual number of these types of leases coming through the commercial pipeline than in normal market conditions.
What has been your experience with Percentage Leases? Do they work out for both parties involved? Have you experienced any quirks of some sort?
Let us know your thoughts on this since they seem to be more prevalent.
