Bonduel’s efforts to revitalize its downtown area came one step closer to reality as the village announced it was receiving a $100,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. for small business development programs.
Jesse Rankin, municipal operations director, said the funding will help business owners improve the exterior appearance of their businesses in the hopes that those who travel along state Highway 117 through Bonduel will be more encouraged to stop for a visit instead of cruising on through the village. Businesses can apply for up to $10,000 each through the village’s redevelopment authority to improve their facades.
“It was very competitive. I want to say there were around 100 applications,” Rankin said of the grant. “They selected only a handful of them.”
Bonduel was up against a lot of heavy hitters, some that received $250,000 to improve small business spaces in their community. Rankin said it looked for a while that the village would not have a successful application this year, but a couple of other Wisconsin municipalities dropped out, which helped Bonduel make the cut.
The village had previously received a grant for revitalization and used that to hire Madison-based Redevelopment Resources as a planner, according to Rankin. The funding also helped to form the redevelopment authority, he said.
“We borrowed a lot of information from Shawano,” Rankin said. “Peter Thillman from SCEPI (Shawano County Economic Progress Inc.) has been great to work with, a huge knowledge source to lean on.”
Having a basic plan on what the village wanted to do helped make Bonduel’s application very competitive, according to Rankin.
“We don’t have a finalized plan yet, but we’re already working to a plan,” he said.
One business application has already been approved. The old Rustic Shed building is expected to be transformed into The Glenn, which Rankin described as a lounge facility in the front and a bakery in the back. The money has to be allocated by the end of 2026.
“Our downtown needs help,” Rankin said. “There are a lot of vacant buildings, and we hope this facade grant will eliminate a lot of those vacancies.”
The funding is available for up to 50% of a project, Rankin said, but there are some stipulations. He noted that someone with a plan that includes interior work can use the expense of the interior as matching funds for the exterior work covered under the WEDC grant.
“It all depends on what each business asks for,” he said. “When you apply for this grant, you’ll come to the RDA, you’ll have your estimates done, pictures and what you plan on doing to the building.”
Another caveat is that the building has to stay off the village’s vacant building list, according to Rankin. In other words, the business has to stay open at least for the next two years.
“We don’t want to stick a lot of money into a building that’s going to sit vacant,” Rankin said.
Bonduel has an average of 7,000 vehicles per day traveling along Highway 117, and summer weekends result in an even higher traffic flow. Rankin said getting some of those drivers to stop, peruse the downtown and buy things would greatly improve the village’s economic status.
“We’re trying to grow Bonduel economically so that way we can thrive a little bit more,” he said. “It’s a great location, because you’re close to Green Bay and you’re close to Appleton. You can live rural but still have a job in the bigger communities.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
