Certified Sites Program Accepting New Applications
The Certified In Wisconsin® Program, offered in partnership by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and Deloitte Consulting, will accept new applications from property owners starting January 12.
The program is open to industrial properties 20 acres or larger in Wisconsin. A Certified Site designation indicates that a wide range of concerns have been considered — environmental and geological factors, transportation access, utility and infrastructure capacity, zoning, property rights — and that the site is ready for industrial development.
Certified In Wisconsin sites also benefit from WEDC’s comprehensive marketing strategy, including a dedicated webpage and print piece offering details about each individual site, and inclusion in a database that allows site selectors to quickly and easily search for sites that meet their criteria.
“Certified Site designation is a fast track for your property to get the attention of site selectors and real estate developers,” said Wade Goodsell, who manages the Certified In Wisconsin Program for WEDC. “WEDC subsidizes part of the cost for the sites that are chosen to move forward. We recognize that this process can be costly for property owners and developers, and we know that having a broad selection of Certified Sites supports the health of the Wisconsin economy.”
Wisconsin currently has 15 Certified Sites. Since the program’s launch in 2012, seven development projects have taken place on six Certified In Wisconsin sites, with a total capital investment estimated at $230 million. “These investments probably would not have occurred, or may have happened in other states, were it not for the Certified In Wisconsin Program,” said Goodsell. “This program paves the way for faster development and mitigates risk in the development process, both for the site owner and for the company making the investment.”
The 2016 application process kicks off with a free webinar on Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 1:30 p.m. Applications are due by Feb. 19, 2016. More information and application details are available at InWisconsin.com/certifiedinwisconsin.
