V&A of Sturgeon Bay will hold an open-to-the-public groundbreaking event on Wednesday, June 9 at 10 am at Erie Street and North 6th Avenue in Sturgeon Bay, the construction site of a new 17-lot workforce housing development.
Representatives from a number of participating local and state organizations including Sturgeon Bay Mayor Thad Birmingham, Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) Executive Director Antonio Riley and Mark Richardson of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, will be on hand for the celebration.
V&A of Sturgeon Bay, a partnership between Russ Van Rite of “R” Van Rite Construction and Shawn Aalsma of Heritage Custom Homes of Green Bay, will be the developer of the subdivision at the Sunset Hill #2 site.
Once operations at the current location of WireTech Fabricators, Inc. cease and the firm has completed moving out of the existing facilities at 6th and Erie, the City will begin to prepare the Sunset Hill #2 site for housing construction. The City has already contracted for the demolition of the existing WireTech building, as well as construction of new utilities, streets and sidewalks. Costs incurred by the City to acquire and develop the subdivision’s location are covered by a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce and the tax increment financing district approved by the City Council in September 2008. Model homes will be built on the existing site this summer.
There will be a number of incentives for potential home buyers in the Sunset Hill #2 development, including down-payment assistance grants for qualified home buyers. The Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) will be the administrator for the down-payment grant program – contact DCEDC for details. Other incentive finance programs are available to qualified applicants through WHEDA and USDA Rural Development.
Door County Economic Development Corp. played a significant role in the development of the 15-years-in-the-making project to relocate WireTech Fabricators and repurpose their former location for workforce housing. WireTech will soon move into a new 65,000 square-foot facility in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park. DCEDC applied for and will continue to administer the multiple grants and other financial incentive awards that made the project a reality.
The Door County Economic Development Corp. (DCEDC) is a public/private partnership dedicated to improving the economic vitality of the county and its residents. Founded in 1989, DCEDC has been successful in helping existing businesses create and retain thousands of jobs through a myriad of programs and initiatives. Additionally, DCEDC places strong emphasis on fostering entrepreneurial instincts in county residents as well as those who vacation on the Door County Peninsula. Door County Economic Development Corporation offices are located within the small business incubator DCEDC founded in 1997 at 185 East Walnut Street in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park.
