County Executive Falk Submits Application for Grant for Waunakee Senior / Community Center
July 21, 2003
Sharyn Wisniewski (608) 267-8823
County Executive
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk today announced that, on behalf of the Village of Waunakee, she has submitted an application for a $500,000 federal grant to support renewing the former Stokely USA canning factory site and constructing a senior / community center.
If the Brownfield Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) grant is approved by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Dane County would also guarantee a $1.5 million Section 108 HUD loan for the project. The guarantee would come through Dane County’s Community Development Block Grant funds.
“Keeping our communities vital is what this is all about,” said Falk. “This project restores part of the downtown area. At the same time it will give seniors a place to remain active and involved, and to access nutrition and other services that allow them to remain in their own homes as long as possible.”
The BEDI grant application for $500,000 is to support infrastructure improvements, construction of a senior / community center and job-creation. The $1.5 million in Section 108 loan funds would be used along with public and private financing for construction of the senior center facility, extension of a roadway (Madison Street) to provide efficient and safe access for seniors and emergency vehicles, construction of a storm water detention basin, and development of community floral and vegetable gardens for the elderly.
The project involves a partnership between the Village of Waunakee, Dane County, Cannery Row, LLC, the Madison engineering firm of Ayres Associates, and the University of Wisconsin Landscape Architecture Dept.
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Note: A photo of the Stokely USA canning factory site before the recent demolition of the factory, and an architectural rendering of the proposed community / senior center are available at www.co.dane.wi.us. Click on “Press Releases.”
