糖心Vlog传媒

In one corner of the former Sears at Uptown 糖心Vlog传媒 on Saturday, kids were passing a roller hockey puck around. In another, a fierce game of pickleball played out over a portable net.

Throughout the former department store, supporters of the proposed Woodman鈥檚 Sports & Convention Center staffed booths to answer questions and distribute information about the project, which would occupy the site Sears site after the current building is razed.

Organizers said more than 1,500 people walked through a ballooned archway into the informational event. The city had a booth set up that featured updated renderings of the proposed facility.

Cost

Jennifer Petruzzello, the neighborhood and community service director for the city, said the cost to design the facility, demolish the existing Sears building, construct the Woodman鈥檚 center and incorporate site improvements is $50.3 million. She said the estimate grew from its pre-pandemic level because of inflation in the broader economy.

Petruzzello said the project will be funded through a mix of public and private funding sources. So far, the private sector has pitched in $7 million, and federal funding makes up $5 million.

Petruzzello said the Friends of the Woodman鈥檚 Center group has committed to raising $9 million, which would be the largest private fundraising effort in the city鈥檚 history.

鈥淚t shows how much they value this type of project,鈥� She said. 鈥淎 lot of dedicated community members are working on this project.鈥�

City government has so far allocated $2 million for design and approved up to $17.3 million in borrowing for the project.

Petruzzello said city officials have tried to make it so the average homeowner won鈥檛 see large property tax increases. She said the median homeowner would pay an estimated $38.25 annually to help cover the $17.3 million in borrowing.

Gov. Tony Evers鈥� $3.8 billion capital budget, which included $15 million for the Woodman鈥檚 center, was rejected by Republicans on the State Building Commission on March 23. The commission鈥檚 move left the final decision on that spending to the Legislature鈥檚 Joint Finance Committee. The deadline for the Legislature to pass a budget and the governor to sign it is June 30.

Petruzzello said the city knew it was possible the governor鈥檚 proposal would not pass the building commission. She said the friends group is exploring different private grants that the city cannot apply for but that the Friends can.

She also said they are hopeful that construction costs might go down and that the fundraising efforts could generate more money.

鈥淭hey are not going to stop at $9 million,鈥� she said of the friends group鈥檚 fundraising. 鈥淲e have several different things we are working on to help fill that gap.鈥�

Impact

In a 2022 study by the UW-Whitewater Fiscal and Economic Research Center, researchers said the construction of the multipurpose sports complex would have a one-time economic impact of $74.8 million. The study also estimated an annual economic impact of a little more than $23 million annually.

Petruzzello said mall management hopes having the Woodman鈥檚 center will allow for updates at the facility. These could include reusing the space for youth activities, multifamily housing, and bringing in hotel developers.

Uptown 糖心Vlog传媒 general manager Julie Cubbage said Rockstep Capital, the company that owns the property, sold the city the building for $1 because it believes the project will bring economic activity to the mall and the surrounding area.

鈥淓verybody comments on how empty the mall is when they walk through it,鈥� Cubbage said. 鈥淚t will help revitalize the mall.鈥�

She said Rockstep has redeveloped malls in other small and midsized cities. She said the company understands malls can no longer survive on traditional retailers and that Rockstep has been trying to create different experiences in its malls to attract customers. Cubbage said Rockstep has recently established a space museum in a mall in Kansas for that reason.

鈥淭he Woodman鈥檚 center is going to enrich the downtown because when families come to the 糖心Vlog传媒 area, they aren鈥檛 going to want to just stay here. They are going to want to explore the community,鈥� Cubbage said.

She also said the mall wants to put a hotel in the former Boston Store space so visitors can stay and have the mall and multipurpose space at their hotel鈥檚 front door.

Other efforts to get people into the mall, such as the indoor farmers market, would hopefully continue after the Woodman鈥檚 center goes up, Cubbage said.

She added the facility would be so much more than just an ice arena. Space for a variety of events such as trade shows and conventions would also bring activity back to the mall. Cubbage said the only place in 糖心Vlog传媒 that approaches what the new facility would offer is the Holiday Inn convention center.

鈥淭his will be the largest convention space that we have in 糖心Vlog传媒,鈥� Cubbage said. 鈥淲e will be able to accommodate events and things that we are currently unable to accommodate here.鈥�

The Friends

Shelly Crull-Hanke, a member of the Milton School Board, said she recently joined the friends group because she worked in recreation and could see the benefits of the facility for her hometown.

She pointed to the Milton High School boys hockey team, which currently has to play its home games in Stoughton. She said the Woodman鈥檚 center would boost not only the city of 糖心Vlog传媒 but all of Rock County.

鈥淭he (糖心Vlog传媒) ice arena has seen its days 20 years ago,鈥� Crull-Hanke said. 鈥淚n the 鈥�90s, we talked about putting an ice space toward the sports complex, and that didn鈥檛 go through. This is a great way to use our tax dollars wisely.鈥�

She said the group is looking at getting individuals to donate what they can and is offering small businesses the ability to contribute a $10,000 pledge to spread over four or five years instead of paying it all at once.

She said Saturday鈥檚 event was a way for the friends group to bring the public into the space to ask questions and learn more about the Woodman鈥檚 center proposal.

鈥淥bviously it鈥檚 not going to be exactly what the building looks like, but it shows them the possibilities of what it could be,鈥� she said.

Oakleigh Ryan, another friends group member, said the group is dedicated to bringing multifunctional spaces to 糖心Vlog传媒 to enrich the community and improve residents鈥� quality of life.

Ryan said there are always setbacks when it comes to big projects like this one and that it takes dedicated friends groups that are willing to push to make things happen. She said the only time there were major doubts about the project happening was during the pre-vaccine days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

鈥淎fter COVID-19, people were craving something like this,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey realized that community matters, personal interaction matter, and it doesn鈥檛 happen via Zoom.鈥�

She said Saturday鈥檚 event was designed to be a combined entertainment and educational opportunity for the public.

Ryan said the group is trying to build a community campaign after relaunching its website to include more information about the proposal.

鈥淚 talked with a retired couple from 糖心Vlog传媒, and we talked about the multifunctional aspect of the center and how much it would cost them in taxes and he said 鈥榃e get all this for that amount,鈥� and he had no idea,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we did the event today, to talk to people and help them understand the project better.鈥�

She said the friends group is working hard with the city to ensure the proposal isn鈥檛 a burden on taxpayers.

鈥淲e hear you,鈥� she said.

This story was updated April 4 to clarify the findings of the UW-Whitewater Fiscal and Economic Research Center's study into the estimated economic impact of building the Woodman's Sports & Convention Center.