In Business

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPB) announced Tuesday its world headquarters, several North American divisional operations and its technology center, in all totaling more than 500 full-time employees, have moved into a newly built and more economical and energy-efficient facility in the Discovery Springs area of Middleton. In January 2012 the company announced plans to move to the new facility before the end of 2013.

The company, which considered moving its world headquarters (relocated from Atlanta in 2010) and North American Remington(R) personal care operations to Miramar, Florida, where its Russell Hobbs home appliances subsidiary acquired in June 2010 already occupied a suitably sized building, decided to stay in the greater Madison area due to major space efficiencies and other cost savings, as well as Tax Increment Financing from the City of Middleton. The new building can accommodate as many as 675 full-time employees.

As citizens and politicians in Middleton debate a controversial Erdman Holdings development on the other side of the community, local developer and former Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Terrence Wall last week announced that he has regained control of the Bishops Bay development to the city’s north.

Wall is the man who first pitched the massive uber-development to the Middleton City Council, but he was later deposed when the T. Wall Properties Board of Directors voted to remove him from his position as president and CEO.

Last week’s announcement was somewhat convoluted, however, as Wall’s office made the news public in a press release sent to news outlets but later attempted to retract the statement.

Goodman's Jewelers is celebrating an important milestone this weekend: its 80th anniversary.   

Founded in 1933, the shop is the legacy of two brothers: Robert and Irwin Goodman.

After its founding in the middle of the Great Depression, Goodman’s grew to be a thriving and vital part of the Madison business community, renowned not just for providing excellent jewelry, but also for making generous and important donations of funding support to many community staples. 

The Goodman brothers stood apart in the community as two of the most socially proactive entrepreneurs around, having made substantial contributions in multiple parts of Dane County life.  A list of all the contributions Goodman's has made to the community would take pages, but a few highly visible organizations are the Goodman Community Center and the Robert and Irwin Goodman South Branch Library, both of which bear the family name to this day.

On Thursday, Aug. 22 and Friday, Aug. 23, more than 600 kids from around the West Madison and Middleton areas received a gift from Middleton Outreach Ministry and the community that will give them a boost of confidence on their upcoming first day of school.  In its 14th year, the School Supply program provided 630 school-aged children and teens with items that they will need to be successful in the upcoming year.

“Each child received a backpack filled with supplies that is customized for the grade that they will be entering,” said Judy Kujoth, Case Manager for Middleton Outreach Ministry.  “Our goal is to provide more than the basics so that they are truly prepared.  The program also supplies relief to families worried about the extra expense of the often costly supplies.”

It’s often said that a good compromise sends both sides home a little unhappy. If that’s the case, a recent decision by the Middleton Board of Review was a good compromise.

The board lowered the assessment for a local lumber yard in the latest development in a saga that will cost both the city and the business far more in legal fees than they could hope to recoup through the difference in taxes.

The board voted 4-1 to set the value of the land at $869,700, in agreement with city assessor Paul Musser. However, the board decided to only value improvements on the property at $100,000, a figure $200,000 lower than the one set by Musser.

Arguing on behalf of the city, attorney Matt Fleming contended Hall Lumber had failed to provide enough hard evidence to convince the board of review to overcome a legally required assumption that the assessor’s findings are correct.

Plans to expand Capital Brewery in Middleton appear to have fallen by the wayside as multiple media outlets early this week reported that the business plans to build an $11 million, 50,000 square foot production facility in Sauk City.

A Middleton-based energy consultant doesn’t think MG&E’s requested yearlong rate freeze goes far enough. He believes the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) should cut the utility’s electric rates this summer.

The National Mustard Museum is down but not out. Literally.

The Middleton Common Council voted 5-2 to provide an additional $10,000 in Tax Increment Financing for the kooky but financially troubled museum, which will soon move into the basement of the building at 7477 Hubbard Ave. where it is currently located.

Barry Levenson, owner of the National Mustard Museum, which includes both a for-profit store and a non-profit collection of memorabilia, said the money will be used for “reimbursable moving expenses.”

The city recently approached the property’s owner, Anchor Bank, in an attempt to maintain street level access for the museum. However, Levenson said the move to the basement, which currently houses a collection valued at $100,000, is not being forced upon the business.

“The bank did not in any way force us into this,” Levenson said. “It is a rational and reasonable business decision that we have made in consultation with Anchor Bank and the city.”

In some ways the scene at 3148 Deming Way Friday morning looked like any other construction site. A table saw hummed in the background. Workers sporting hardhats hoisted lumber onto their shoulders. Coffee steamed on a table nearby, alongside half-eaten boxes of donuts. 

But these weren’t seasoned construction laborers. Beneath the hardhats were roughly 30 employees at Fish & Associates. Alongside them was Theresa Persinger, a single mother who will soon have a home for her three young children.

This was a Habitat for Humanity worksite.

Habitat for Humanity of Dane County provides solid, affordable housing for those who might not otherwise become homeowners. Eligible families pay monthly mortgage installments on zero-interest loans, each contributing from 325 to 375 hours of sweat equity during construction.