Best Place in Wisconsin to Raise Your Kids 2009
According to BusinessWeek's "Best
Places to Raise Your Kids 2009", Eau Claire ranks #1
in Wisconsin ahead of Appleton and Racine. The magazine
selected towns with at least 50,000 residents and a
median family income between $40,000 and $100,000.
The list was then narrowed down using the following
weighted criteria: school performance; number of
schools; household expenditures; crime rates;
air
quality; job growth; family income; museums, parks,
theaters, and other amenities; and diversity. School
performance and safety were weighted most heavily,
amenities and affordability followed close behind. |
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Recovery Act Loans Available on June 15th
If your small business is stressed meeting expenses during these
economic times, the U.S. Small Business
Administration has a new loan program designed just for you.
SBA’s America’s Recovery Capital Loan Program can provide up to
$35,000 in short-term relief for viable small
businesses facing immediate financial hardship to
help ride out the current uncertain economic times
and return to profitability. Each small business is
limited to one ARC loan.
ARC loans will be offered
by some SBA lenders for as long as funding is
available or until September 30, 2010, whichever
comes first
SBA Participant Lender Fact Sheet
or visit the
2009 Recovery Act page |
Eau Claire Unemployment Rate Declining
The unemployment data announced on May 28th show a
sharp decline. The April unemployment rate in Eau Claire
was 7.3 percent compared with 8.2 percent in March and
7.6 percent in February. Compared to a year ago the
unemployment rate is 3.3 percent higher. Wisconsin
unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in April of 2009 and
4.2 percent the previous year.
More detailed
information
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Lowest Cost of Living in Wisconsin, again!
The ACCRA Cost of Living Index released 1st quarter
data. Once again Eau Claire was the most affordable city
in Wisconsin. Read
the details. |
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Economic Development Division Annual Report Released
The City of Eau Claire Economic Development Division published today its
2008 Annual
Report. The Annual Report describes how the Economic
Development Division works with businesses to increase
the quality of living, add well-paying jobs, and grow
tax base.
the report highlights Eau Claire's economic growth.
Downtown redevelopment recorded a year of steady growth,
industrial construction in Eau Claire was the highest in
three years, and the Eau Claire cost of living remained
well below the state's average.
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MN Wire Building Demolition
One of the first buildings acquired as part of the
West Bank Redevelopment district was demolished on April
20, 2009. Read more about the
Redevelopment
District. |
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First Quarter 2009 Residential Construction Up
Residential construction started strong in 2009.
Residential sector valuations increased 18.7% in the
first quarter of 2009 as compared to Q1 2008. Overall
building valuations were down 27.5%
View the
details or read the press
release. |
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Eau Claire Named One of the Best Places to Retire
by
U.S. News and World Report
Eau Claire's low cost of living, easy access to
high-quality healthcare, recreational opportunities and
cultural events make Eau Claire one of the Best Places
to Retire
see the details. |
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$5,000 for Best Business Plan
Downtown Eau Claire,
Inc. is again organizing the Jump-Start Downtown
Business Plan Competition. The competition is open to
any entrepreneur over the age of 18, who wants to locate
their business in the downtown area. Prizes include
$5,000 in start-up capital and $1,000 scholarship to the
Entrepreneurial Training Program. For more details visit
the
Downtown Eau Claire website. |
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New Source of Venture Capital Funding
In April, Google
announced a launch of a new venture capital fund with
$100 million in financing called
Google Ventures. According to the Google Ventures
web page, the fund will consider a broad range of
industries, including consumer Internet, software,
hardware, clean-tech, bio-tech and health care. The
company also states that they'll invest anywhere from
seed to mezzanine stage and embrace the challenge of
helping young companies grow from the garage to global
relevance. |
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2 South Barstow Progress
During a special meeting on November 19th, the Eau Claire Redevelopment Authority (RDA) has
narrowed down the possible development plans for 2 S Barstow to
the proposal of John and Sharyn Moss. The Moss's then presented
their re-worked proposal during an RDA meeting
on March 25th.
The RDA board instructed staff to continue negotiations with the Mosses to have an
agreement on or before June 1st.
Click here to view the
Request For
Proposal (pdf).
2 South Barstow is part of the North Barstow Redevelopment
district and as such developers are required to comply with the
Design Guidelines(pdf) as defined by the City. |
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Eau Claire Unemployment Rate - 4th Lowest in
Wisconsin
The Department of Workforce Development just released
January 2009 unemployment rate data.
See the
details. |
Make Mine a Million $ Business Race (M3 RACE)
is a program of Count me In for Women's Economic
Independence and Founding Sponsor American Express OPEN.
It is the only national initiative committed to the
needs of women-owned businesses to help them grow their
business to $1 million in annual revenues.
Take the challenge and win $100,000 for your business. |
Wisconsin State Economic Recovery
The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act designates spending in
over 130 different state and federal programs. Please
visit
www.recovery.wisconsin.gov for further details. You
can also
easily search for programs your business might be
eligible for. |
Eau Claire Increased Industrial Construction During 2008
Industrial construction in Eau Claire, WI increased by
327% compared to 2007. The largest industrial projects
included United Products warehouse ($3.9 million), new
facility for Central Warehouse and Storage ($3.4
million), Cascade Tissue Group expansion ($2.5 million),
and Great Lakes Educational remodeling ($2.5 million).
Click here
to see the full statistics. |
Up to 75,000 for Import-Impacted manufacturers
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a U.S. Department
of Commerce program designed for manufacturers adversely
affected by imports. This program offers 50/50 cost
sharing of projects aimed at improving a firm's
competitive position, up to a total of $150,000 in
projects with a maximum TAA cost share of $75,000. The
amount the program can cost share is dependent upon the
demand on program, funding level and company size and
sales. Funds are applied toward the cost of consultants,
engineers, or other outside professional service
providers a firm chooses to implement projects.
To qualify, a manufacturing firm must have lost some
domestic business to import, and experienced sales and
employment declines over the last two years. Details and
more information at
http://www.taacenters.org/
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Downtown Retail is Growing Fast
In 2008 downtown Eau Claire recorded a significant
growth in retail. 6 new businesses opened, bringing the
downtown retail vacancy rate to a historical low of
1.8%. This rate is significantly lower than the City's
average of 5.93%. The downtown area represents
approximately 8% of the Eau Claire market's retail area.
Read the full Press Release |
www.EauClaireDevelopment.com on WQOW
WQOW ran a story about the Economic Development
website -
click here to view |
Eau Claire Cost of Living - Lowest in Wisconsin
The
most recent results of the Cost of Living Index, as
analyzed by the Council for Community and Economic
Research, indicate that Eau Claire with 91.3 points is
well below the national average of 100 and is the city
with the lowest cost of living in Wisconsin. To compare the cost of living in Eau
Claire to other cities, please visit our
cost of living page. |
Phillips Plastics Accepted to Green Tier Program
At the end of October, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
will welcome Phillips Plastics Corporation®
Multi-Shot to the
Green Tier Program. Already an ISO 14001 certified, Multi-shot will focus
its Environmental Management System on waste reductions, energy use reductions,
and continued exploration of new recycling options.
view details |
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Eau Claire Ranks the Best in Wisconsin
The Milken Institute published the 2008 Best Performing Cities Index
and ranked Eau Claire number 56th out of 124 small metro
markets. In 2008 Eau Claire's ranking topped all other Wisconsin cities in large or small metros.
Read the
details. |
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Eau Claire is Healthy
The UW Institute for Population Health ranked Eau
Claire County 3rd in the state of 72 counties in the
most recent county health rankings report.
View the
report. |
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Phoenix Park Neighborhood Development
As of June 1st, development for the much anticipated Phoenix
Park neighborhood has entered into its first stage. The first
new building will feature retail and restaurant space together
with 33 apartments. Learn more about
living downtown.
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Luther Pharmacy - Downtown
As you drive downtown you'll notice that the
Luther Pharmacy is quickly growing at the
intersection of Madison and N. Barstow.
The pharmacy opened its doors for
public on September 1st, 2008. |
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West Bank Redevelopment
A new redevelopment district, as proposed by the
Eau Claire Redevelopment Authority, is being formed on the
west bank of the Chippewa river north of West Madison
Street along Oxford Avenue north to the railroad bridge.
Designing a redevelopment district is a public
process in which all parties are encouraged to share
their opinions. The revised plan was considered by
the
Plan Commission on June 2nd, and was approved by
City Council after all comments and amendments were
considered. |
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