Ripon Redevelopment: Too Good to be True or Too Good to Pass Up?

SOURCE: WBAY-TV
You know how they say if it's too good to be true then it probably is? That's exactly what Ripon mayor Aaron Kramer thought when developer Jim Connelly came to town.

"Only in the fiction section of the library would you find this story," Kramer said.

The Milwaukee-based developer has big plans to bring new jobs and major renovations to downtown Ripon. In fact, he's ready to commit millions of dollars himself to ensure the $30 million downtown facelift is completed.

"Could this be stopped? Yes. Is it likely? Probably not at this point," Mayor Kramer said.

About $8.6 million would come from the city through a new TIF district. The rest -- more than $20 million -- would come from Connelly himself, CEO of the Boca Grande development firm.

Connelly acknowledged, "Every real estate project I've undertaken in my entire career has carried with it some degree of risk, and this one certainly does as well."

The project includes restaurants, stores, and apartments, as well as a museum dedicated to the Republican Party since Ripon takes claim to its birth. But the largest part of the project is a roughly $15 million hotel and spa.

And Connelly says it's all keeping the style of Ripon's distinctive downtown.

All together the developer says 140 to 180 construction jobs will be created, then when the hotel, museum, and other businesses open it should create up to 100 full-time, permanent jobs.

"Does everyone support this project? No. Did I expect everyone to support this project? That would be even more fictional than the original plan itself," Mayor Kramer said.

But the opportunity, the mayor says, is too good to pass up.