Program identifies shovel-ready sites for developers throughout state
MADISON, WI. MARCH 31, 2025 – Applications are now being accepted for the Certified In Wisconsin Program—which designates industrial development sites as being shovel-ready, making them attractive to developers and valuable to communities. Applications will be accepted through May 2, 2025.
Offered in partnership with the Site Selection Group (SSG), the Certified in Wisconsin Program partially subsidizes the cost to communities of obtaining site certification. The program’s goals including gauging the potential for corporate investment at the site, making recommendations for the community to consider, and gathering detailed site information to effectively market the property.
“The Certified in Wisconsin Program sends a message to site selectors and businesses that these properties and their communities are ready for new development,” said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC, the state’s lead economic development agency. “Going through the process and completing key reviews, documents, and assessments offers certainty to developers, site selectors, expanding companies, and other attraction prospects.”
For site selectors and developers, the Certified Site designation is a pre-qualification, indicating a property’s title is clear, it possesses sufficient utilities and other infrastructure for industrial use, it is properly zoned, and it has adequate transportation access for industrial use, among other criteria. The certification makes sites more attractive to developers by removing many of the ambiguities, pitfalls, and delays that can crop up during the siting and planning process.
A recorded informational webinar and other program materials can be found on the Certified Sites page.
WEDC and SSG are seeking a diverse pool of applicants with respect to regions statewide, including both rural and urban sites, as well as sites located within established industrial parks and those that are not.
To be eligible for the program, a site must consist of a minimum of 20 contiguous, developable acres that are available for sale or lease to prospective industrial buyers. Both privately and publicly owned properties are eligible, provided the community either owns the property or has an exclusive option on the property.
Applicants must submit a letter of interest with supporting documents, including a parcel map, by May 2.
For more information about the program or the application process, contact Sarah Bownds at sarah.bownds@wedc.org or 608.210.6769.
