Sawyer County EDC reports new board members, incubator plans and housing market study work
Summary
The Sawyer County LCO Economic Development Corporation reported new board appointments, progress toward a business hub/incubator, upcoming nontraditional lending forum and early work on a housing market study to quantify demand and inform developer engagement.
Adam Lamore, executive director of the Sawyer County LCO Economic Development Corporation, updated the committee on personnel, business-incubator plans and housing-market outreach.
Lamore said the EDC added new board members from local businesses and health care: Matt Albrecht (Woodland Development), Ashley Schroeder (Hayward Powersports), Ken Heffron (Tamarac Health) and Catherine Cadillac (Frans and Bank). He described progress on a proposed business hub and incubator at a travel plaza property: the group has an approved remodel estimate, potential funding partners and is awaiting final tribal-board approval for renovation of a middle retail section into two retail spaces and a back conference/technical-assistance area.
Lamore described grant-seeking activity to sustain an incubator beyond current Thrive grant funding and said he applied for a small-business development grant and an entrepreneurship partnership grant through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation; he also mentioned a federal "rural business development"-type grant as a possibility. He announced a nontraditional-lending forum on January 15 at Flat Creek to connect prospective business owners with lenders and alternative funding sources.
On housing, Lamore said he and county staff have met with potential developers and begun collecting employer input about housing-related hiring and retention impacts. "We tried to give as good answers as we can without knowing where the board might be on that," a county staff member said as the discussion described options ranging from land cost buy-downs to use of TIF districts. Lamore said the EDC has solicited employer surveys to identify demand, price points and whether employers would participate in risk-reduction measures for developers.
The committee heard that some initial private developer market studies exist but are not publicly usable; Lamore said the EDC may either contract for a new market study or partner with the county to commission one that quantifies housing demand to support development conversations.
There was no formal vote tied to these updates. Lamore said he will continue grant applications, incubator planning and employer outreach, and will share employer-survey results with the committee when available.
