City Approves Expansion of TID #9 (City of Sun Prairie)

On August 20th, the City of Sun Prairie City Council approved a project plan amendment that included a boundary expansion for Tax Increment Finance District #9 in Sun Prairie's Westside Neighborhood.   On August 28th, the Joint Review Board also approved the amdended District.  This mixed-use district was estblished in 2007 to help with land acquisition and infrastructure costs associated with the establishment of the St. Mary's Emergency Center.  The City retains three lots for sale in the original TIF District, but has not been able to come to an agreement with any prospective buyers to date.   The amended proejct plan allows the City to potentially participate in the attraction of significant users to the new area through direct incentives and to cover costs of additional new infrastructure.  It also injects a new revenue stream into the District to allow for the payment of current debt owned on the improvements already done with the former District boundary. This is critical, as the District has been decreasing in value since its creation. 

City Director of Economic Development Neil Stechschulte said "We are confident that this expansion of TID #9 positions the City to attract some special and unique businesses to our Westside Neighborhood Area.  We look forward to working with the developer to get some major projects approved and in the ground as soon as we can."

The District still needs to be certified by the Wisconsin Department to Revenue.  Additional questions can be sent to Neil Stechschulte at (608) 825-1107 or nstechschulte@cityofsunprairie.com.

St. Mary's Hospital parent firm plans to acquire Dean Health System (Madison.com)

Dean Clinic's board of directors recommended Monday that Madison-based Dean Health System be acquired by SSM Health Care, the St. Louis-based health system that owns St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison.  Dean’s shareholders will vote on the recommendation next month, Dean spokeswoman Kim Sveum said Tuesday. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and other regulators also must approve the deal. Dean, which is mostly doctor-owned, and St. Mary's have collaborated for decades. They started talking more than a year ago about a merger or acquisition, in part because of health care reform.  Their agreement to merge could be finalized as soon as this summer, Dean and SSM said in a news release. The terms will not be disclosed, they said.

Read the full article at:  http://host.madison.com/news/local/health_med_fit/st-mary-s-hospital-parent-firm-plans-to-acquire-dean/article_b7d15f76-a6a2-11e2-8002-0019bb2963f4.html

Blogger's Note: This may clear the way for additional improvements in Sun Prairie at St. Mary's Emergency Center campus.  Watch for more news on this in the coming months.

SSM Healthcare to Break Ground on Sun Prairie ER August 28th (Wisconsin State Journal, Sun Prairie Star)

SSM Healthcare will host a groundbreaking celebration on Thursday August 28th at Highway 151 and Reiner Road in Sun Prairie. The $6 million, 13,500-square-foot emergency center facility will be about half the size of St. Mary's emergency room in Madison and is scheduled to open in March of 2009. SSM last year bought 17 acres from the City of Sun Prairie for $4.2 million and said it eventually plans a "health-care campus" at the site that could include an inpatient hospital within a decade.

Click here for the article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

UPDATE: For coverage of the groundbreaking, click here to read the full article from the Sun Prairie Star.