BUILD Application Process Under Way

February 09, 2007
Joanne Haas, Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823 or cell (608) 669-5606

Communities seeking to revitalize downtown business districts or transform blighted properties are encouraged to apply for planning grants under Dane County’s Better Urban Infill Development (BUILD) program. “These dollars help municipalities craft development in our region’s vital downtown districts, spurring economic development and sustainable communities,” Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said of the annual BUILD application process under way. Created in 1999 by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk utilizing county levy dollars, BUILD supports local governments to revitalize downtown districts. Since the program’s inception, 57 grants totaling approximately $895,000 have been awarded to 24 county communities. A 2001 BUILD grant for Verona helped fund a mixed-use downtown development project along Military Ridge Trail, and helped a subsequent development that created 26 residential units and 8,000 square feet of retail space. Other BUILD-funded projects completed include: Cannery Square, which added residential and commercial opportunities in downtown Sun Prairie; commercial and housing developments along Williamson Street in Madison; downtown commercial revitalization in Waunakee and the creation of a mixed-use business area in Mazomanie. “It’s exciting to see citizens working together to build a better community and to see those visions take shape,” Falk said. BUILD grants will be awarded to planning efforts that meet one of the several objectives of the planning program. Those include: make better use of existing infrastructure; locate community services, jobs and shopping in close proximity; stabilize and enhance existing neighborhoods, downtowns and other business districts; produce housing and jobs for low- to moderate-income people; avoid converting productive farmland on urban fringes and in rural areas; provide viable options to auto trips by supporting walking, biking, and transit; and, have the potential to clean up environmentally contaminated sites. Eligible applicants are local Dane County municipalities and a local match is required. The BUILD Advisory Committee reviews and ranks the applications. Application guidelines and information about the BUILD program can be obtained on the County’s Web site at: http://www.co.dane.wi.us/plandev/commdev/build.htm. Or by contacting Steve Steinhoff of Dane County Planning and Development by telephone, 608-266-4270, or by e-mail at steinhoff@co.dane.wi.us. The deadline to submit funding applications is March 30. # # #