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Milwaukee Business Journal
Real estate commissions shakeup will require more agent scrutiny
The National Association of Realtors and several brokerages have struck big money deals to settle an array of class-action lawsuits around real estate commissions.<\p> It might become harder for homebuyers to figure out how to pick the right agent to work with in the wake of the settlements. That's because the settlements, which now add up to hundreds of millions of dollars, will also bring with them changes in how buying agents are paid, how homes are listed and may require more buyers to pay for an agent directly when buying a home. And if buyers potentially shell out thousands of dollars or more, they will have to do their own due diligence.<\p>
Molson Coors renews, expands Pabst Theater Group beer sponsorship
Molson Coors Beverage Co. and the Pabst Theater Group have agreed to a three-year sponsorship renewal that adds the theater operator's newer venues to the mix.<\p> The two companies, along with its Sussex-based distributor Beer Capitol Distributing, have had the sponsorship for the exclusive beer and flavored malt beverages marketing rights for the last 10 years at all of the Pabst Theater Group's concert venues. <\p>
Milwaukee nightlife veteran and partners opening The Elbow Room
When C.C.’s Elbow Room became available for sale in Brookfield, longtime Milwaukee nightlife veteran Jake Dehne moved on it as his first business outside of downtown but in an area that he calls home.<\p> The new business is expected to start its soft opening in early June as The Elbow Room, featuring a neighborhood vibe “where they know your name when you walk in,” Dehne said in a press release. He said a grand opening will be planned toward the end of June.<\p>
3rd St. Market Hall adds salad vendor as 3 concepts exit food hall
Goodland Greens plans to feature fresh salads, wraps, smoothies and juices when it opens as the newest vendor at Milwaukee’s 3rd St. Market Hall, moving into two spaces that previously housed the recently closed Greenhouse and Make Waves.<\p> In addition, another vendor, Paper Plane Pizza, announced its plans to end its lease at the hall, 275 W. Wisconsin Ave. Representatives from 3rd St. Market Hall noted when announcing the arrival of Goodland Greens that management would name another new vendor soon to take over the Paper Plane Pizza vendor space.<\p>
From Foxconn to Microsoft, coal to clean energy: Gale Klappa QA
Over the past 20 years, Gale Klappa far exceeded the job description of his sometimes-controversial role helming Wisconsin’s largest public utility company, emerging as an economic development leader, Milwaukee Bucks minority owner and media celebrity.<\p> Klappa on May 9 transitioned to an advisory role as non-executive chairman at Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group. During a wide-ranging interview at his downtown Milwaukee office, Klappa reflected on the transformation of southeast Wisconsin’s economy, why he believes massive capital spending on energy infrastructure is necessary and the likelihood his company will be a buyer rather than a seller as the industry consolidates.<\p>
What employers need to know about the crushing childcare costs
In the coming weeks, schools around the nation will be out, and many employees will find themselves scrambling for child-care options. <\p> But child-care costs are soaring, thanks to the child-care cliff, a lack of new child-care centers and workforce shortages in the industry, among other factors. <\p>
Corie Foley champions women in construction
Corie Foley is a prime example of a workforce strategy in action for the national design-build contractor ARCO/Murray. <\p> The firm's growth to dozens of U.S. offices to support thousands of projects over the last three decades has been organic, according to the company's CEO, following a strategy of hiring fresh-out-of-college engineers, training them up and providing the opportunity for them to bring the company's design-build solution back to their home market. <\p>
Behind the scenes at a 'Top Chef' Door County fish boil at Grant Park
I was fired up when I found out I would be attending a Door County-style fish boil on the shores of Lake Michigan last September.<\p> And it wasn’t any ordinary fish boil. It was Bravo’s “Top Chef” version of a fish boil elimination cook-off featuring the six remaining chefs, each with a wood burning fire and huge caldron for their chosen preparation. The episode, the season's 10th, aired May 22.<\p>
Developer buys Oconomowoc site for Dunkin' and Buffalo Wild Wings Go
Plans for a Dunkin’ coffee and donuts shop and a Buffalo Wild Wings Go location in Oconomowoc are moving forward after a developer recently bought land for the planned retail building they will occupy. <\p> An entity related to Kardo Group LLC of Oak Brook, Illinois, on Wednesday paid $1,219,840 for a 1.3-acre site in the city's Pabst Farms development, state records show. The seller was an entity tied to Pabst Farms Development Inc., the area's master developer.<\p>
Steve Richman's abrupt promotion unsettled investors
Milwaukee Tool president Steve Richman’s ascent to CEO of parent company Techtronic Industries surprised investors and analysts who considered the move an abrupt shift from high-profile CEO Joseph Galli Jr. — and Techtronic’s stock has been hammered in the aftermath.<\p> Galli, 65, was the face of the company and a colorful character who frequently appeared as a guest on the CNBC financial news network and other business news outlets. Galli in 2008 succeeded as CEO Techtronic co-founder and chairman Horst Pudwill, who The Wall Street Journal once described as “an old friend” of Galli.<\p>
Summerfest unveils new food, merch for 2024: Slideshow
Summerfest has unveiled its new food vendors and merchandise for the 2024 festival.<\p> At a preview party hosted for media and sponsors Wednesday, the new foods, beverages and apparel were on display. Of note were the new food vendors for this year which include DanDan, Fazio’s Popping Bubbles, Los Mariachis, Pina Cocina & Cantina and Wokkin’ Roll.<\p>
Hempel buys remaining office space at ASQ Center
The firm that earlier this year helped bring Enerpac Tool Group Corp.'s headquarters to downtown Milwaukee now owns all of the office space in the riverside building that will soon be called the Enerpac Center. <\p> An entity led by Hempel Real Estate on May 3 bought nearly 100,000 square feet in the southern portion of the ASQ Center at 600 N. Plankinton Ave. It paid $8.75 million to purchase the space from the American Society for Quality Inc. (ASQ), according to the deed recorded Monday.<\p>
Molson Coors workers in Fort Worth ratify contract, strike ends
Molson Coors Beverage Co. workers at the Fort Worth, Texas, brewery ended a three-month strike on Wednesday after agreeing to a new contract <\p> Members of the Molson Coors Teamsters Local 997 voted to ratify a new three-year contract. According to a press release, the contract secures wage increases, improves benefits, and restores retiree health care.<\p>
MLG Capital opens Denver-area office after $51M acquisition
MLG Capital said it has established an office in the Denver area after acquiring an apartment complex in Denver’s East Colfax neighborhood earlier this month for $51.05 million. <\p> MLG Capital said last week that its new office is located in the Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village, Colorado. It's the Brookfield-based real estate investment firm's fourth office nationwide, including the Brookfield headquarters and offices in Dallas and in Sarasota, Florida.<\p>
Anime-themed Japanese restaurant coming to Walker's Point
Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen's opening this summer in Milwaukee's Walker Point neighborhood will provide a menu of items that the restaurant's owners said are not often found in the city.<\p> "What we're going to be opening is not your typical Japanese sushi restaurant. There won't be any sushi," said Janet Boettner, who will own the restaurant with her husband, Marc Boettner, when it opens in July at 704 S. Second St. The space was previously occupied by The Noble, which closed in August of 2023.<\p>
A Covid-era option for bankruptcy filings is about to expire
Small businesses will be left without a useful Covid-era bankruptcy tool when it expires in the coming weeks — a development occurring just as bankruptcies are on the rise.<\p> The program, called Subchapter V, was created to enable businesses with less than $2.75 million in debt to go through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process in a streamlined way. In March 2020, as the pandemic took hold across the country and worldwide, Congress raised that benchmark to $7.5 million, allowing many more businesses to use the Subchapter V option. <\p>
Brookfield hotel debuts millions of dollars in renovations
Milwaukee's largest hotel outside of downtown has completed its multimillion-dollar renovations, essentially redoing its entire interior from guest rooms to ballrooms.<\p> The Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield, located at 375 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield, began construction of all 386 guest rooms in 2022, replacing all fixtures, furnishings and wall coverings. In late 2023, a second phase focused on gutting and updating the more than 20,000 square feet of meeting spaces. This included upgrading AV equipment, adding lighting systems and other aesthetic improvements. Meeting spaces range in capacities from five to 900 people.<\p>
Milwaukee-area manufacturer completes go-private transaction
Fathom Digital Manufacturing Corp., which traded on the New York Stock Exchange since December 2021, returned to privately held status in a transaction involving the Hartland-based company’s largest shareholder.<\p> Core Industrial Partners, a Chicago private equity firm, announced Tuesday completing its take-private transaction of Fathom Digital. As a result of the transaction, Fathom Class A common stock ceased trading and will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, where it traded under the ticker symbol FATH.<\p>
The 'lock-in' effect is hitting homebuyers. It may get worse.
Americans expect high mortgage rates to rise even more in the coming years, a perspective that could further dampen the housing market.<\p> The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s SCE Housing Survey found Americans expect mortgage rates to climb from just under the 7% they are now to 8.7% a year from now and 9.7% in three years — the highest recorded since the agency started asking Americans that question in 2014.<\p>
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