Post Groundhog Day Predictions...For the Local Economy

Since it is that time of year where prognostictions are popular in Sun Prairie...here are five quick predictions on what will happen in 2011. I was counting on Jerry and Jimmy to help out with these, but since the snow had other plans I guess I'm on my own. So...here we go.

1) Woodman's will announce when they will begin construction.

I'm feeling pretty confident on this one. If I was a betting man, this is probably as close to a sure thing as there is. Of course, there is no such thing as a sure thing.

2) Housing market will pick up...slightly.

With the new high school coming on line, and maybe a couple of more commerical announcements I think we'll see a slight increase in the housing market. A couple of developers in the area seem to have the magic touch when it comes to finding what the market is looking for, and I think at least one new major residential project comes through.

3) A new building will get started in the business park.

Sooner or later, there is going to be a company in the Fox Cities and in Milwaukee are going to want a Dane County presence. I predict someone stumbles into us this summer and wonders why it took them so long to find this place called Sun Prairie. Sun Prairie has been getting a lot of looks from site selectors lately. Maybe 2011 will be the year one of them lands here. Maybe a manufacturing company, or a distribution center? Time will tell.

4) A major redevelopment project on Main Street will be announced.

Another case of its going to happen eventually, but the combination of great traffic exposure, high visibility, competitive real estate costs, and possible financial incentives is long overdue to generate a good project. Not sure if this will happen soon enough to get started in 2011, but it will be announced as being in the works.

5) WalMart's future in Sun Prairie will be made clear.

Again, not confident enough to say that they'll be underway with a project, but I think that sometime during 2011 WalMart will announce what they intend to do. Whether that means stay and expand, or find a new site in Sun Prairie...only the folks in Bentonville know for certain.

Think you can do better, or have something to add? E-mail me at nstechschulte[at]cityofsunprairie.com. I'll post the best ones on here the economic development news blog.