Eau Claire is a regional center of West Central Wisconsin.
Advantageously located on Interstate 94 between Minneapolis/St. Paul
and Chicago and home to the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport it
is an ideal location for regional and global businesses alike. Living in Eau Claire means that you have a great community
to work in, raise your family or grow your business.
The City of Eau Claire has allocated a total Infill Development loan pool of $200,000 to be available for down-payment assistance loans for the purchase of privately owned infill lots within the City for the construction of new homes. The money may also be used to purchase dilapidated properties in older neighborhoods where the intent is to remove the existing structures on the properties and build new homes.
The City has a small inventory of infill lots that may be declared to be excess properties. These lots may be offered for sale for infill development through a bid process. Under this Infill Development Program the purchaser of a city-owned infill lot may defer payment of the purchase price under the terms stated below.
Economic Development Division Annual Report Released
The City of Eau Claire Economic Development Division published today its
2009 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.
6th Lowest Crime Rate in the Nation
In the
U.S. Crime Rate Ranking in annual publication from CQ
Press, Eau Claire, WI MSA ranks #6 in the list
for lowest crime rate ranking among the 332 U.S.
metropolitan areas that are ranked. Read the full report
Eau Claire's Healthcare
ranked #1 in Wisconsin
UW Institute for Population Health ranked Eau Claire
County #1 in access and quality of Healthcare in
Wisconsin. Overall Eau Claire ranked #6 in Health
Outcomes out of all 73 Wisconsin counties. Review the
detailed report
Winter 2009 Newsletter
Our latest newsletter is full of statistics, business
news and even a chance for your business to win an
achievement award.
Click here to read it.
2009 - a record breaking year
In November the total new
building valuations exceeded $190 million, breaking the
city's record from 2000, when the total valuations were
$175 million. This is due to a very active commercial
sector, which alone exceeded the total building
valuations of 2008.
Lowest unemployment rate in 2009
The newly released
October unemployment data show a .4% decline in the City
of Eau Claire unemployment rate bringing it down to
6.2%, well below the national unemployment rate of 9.5%
and that of Wisconsin 7.6%. It is also the lowest
rate for Eau Claire since the beginning of 2009.
Compared to other Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical
Areas, the Eau Claire MSA is the third lowest with 6%
following only Madison (5.5%) and La Crosse (5.9%). The
data is reported by the
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Eau Claire Ranks the Best in Wisconsin
The Milken Institute published the 2009 Best
Performing Cities Index and ranked Eau Claire 58th out of 124 small metro
markets. In 2009 Eau Claire's ranking topped all other Wisconsin cities in large or small metros.
New Financing Options Announced
An informational session will
be held on October 29 at noon in the North
Conference Room of the Eau Claire City Hall, 203 S.
Farwell St. Regarding the new Regional Business Fund
programs.
Each programs targets a different need of local
businesses. Downtown property owners will be able
access to the Downtown Façade Loan Program.
This unique program provides financial assistance to
encourage property and business owners in core
downtowns to revitalize downtown commercial
buildings. The loan size can range from $5,000 to
$30,000. Repayment terms are up to 15 years at 0% fixed interest rate.
The funds can be used for façade renovation;
exterior lighting, doors, and graphics; signage,
windows, and awnings; other façade or landscape
improvements.
The Micro Loan Fund Program provides small loans to start-up, newly establish,
or growing small businesses. Loans size can range
from $5,000 to $25,000 at a 4% fixed interest rate
with repayment terms of up to ten years, with the
exception of working capital loans which have a
maximum term of three years.
The Revolving Loan Fund Program is a flexible source of loan funds for commercial
and industrial projects. Loan size is higher than
$25,000 at a 4% fixed interest rate
with repayment terms of up to five years for working
capital, seven to ten years for machinery and
equipment, and ten years for real estate.
The Technology Enterprise Fund (TEF)
is a “quasi-equity”, or a patient debt, revolving
loan fund that provides creative financing to new
and emerging technology companies. Loan size can
range from $100,000 to $250,000 and loans are priced
at an adjustable rate indexed to Prime, plus or
minus an interest rate margin that is dependent on
risk.
As of August the City of Eau Claire has issued
permits for new construction worth $143.7 million. This
already represents the second highest year in the
history of Eau Claire. The new buildings include a $104
million expansion of Luther Midelfort, $4.9 million
dollar addition to Hobbs Ice Arena, $1.6 million new
mixed-use Phoenix Neighborhood building and $1 million
Midelfort Clinic Radiology remodeling.
Eau Claire is the 5th Fastest Growing City in Wisconsin
According to the DOA population estimates 2009 as
published in August 2009. Following Madison, Milwaukee,
Kenosha, and Sun Prairie. Eau Claire gained 356 housing
units between 2000 and 2007.
UW Eau Claire ranks No.6 in the Midwest
The 2009 edition of "America's
Best Colleges" ranks
UW-Eau Claire No. 6 among the
top regional public universities in the Midwest and 29th
among all private and public institutions in the
Midwest. The U.S. News and World Report has ranked UW-Eau Claire among
the top public institutions in the Midwest every year
since 1995.
Rank details
Genesis 10 Ribbon Cutting
On Tuesday, August 11, 2009, Genesis 10 officially
opened the door of their Eau Claire office. The ceremony
was well attended by local dignitaries as well as the
newest local employees.
40 New Jobs Announced for Eau Claire
The City of Eau Claire Economic Development Director
announced today that
Genesis10,
one of the nation's largest privately held business and
technology firms, opened a new operation in Eau Claire
that will add at least 40 jobs to the local economy.
Read the full
press release.
New Employer in Eau Claire
RAI Stone Group announced their decision to locate
in Eau Claire. This provider of custom financial
consulting solutions for small and medium sized
businesses chose Eau Claire because of its stable
workforce, initiatives that support business innovation
and start-up, sustainable economy, proximity to
institutions of higher education and strong technology
infrastructure.
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.
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.
The unemployment data announced on July 22 show a
slight increase. The June unemployment rate in Eau Claire
was 7.8 percent compared with 7.2 percent in May and
7.4 percent in April. Compared to a year ago the
unemployment rate is 3.4 percent higher. Wisconsin
unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in June of 2009 and
4.7 percent the previous year.
More detailed
information
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.
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.
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.
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.
Eau Claire Unemployment Rate - 4th Lowest in
Wisconsin
The Department of Workforce Development just released
January 2009 unemployment rate data.
See the
details.
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.
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/
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.
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.