Racine outpaces state with construction and development

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New construction has been booming in Racine County as Microsoft has been pouring money into the former Foxconn site in Mount Pleasant, driving new investments in the surrounding area.

The county has seen nearly $1.3 billion in new net construction this year, growing property values on average by 4.83%, data from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue showed. That’s almost two whole percentage points higher than Adams County, which saw the second highest growth rate. That’s also more net new construction than Milwaukee County, which has seen about $1.1 billion this year, but less than Dane County, which has seen $2.6 billion.

The village of Mount Pleasant, home of the former Foxconn Technology Group development site, led the Racine valuation with just $3 million shy of $1 billion in new construction.

Microsoft’s decision to build on the former Foxconn site is driving that investment, and that’s leading to even more investment in the county, including more housing, said Laura Million, deputy director of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation.

“So, our developers are continuing to come forward with that investment to be able to meet that need,” Million said. “Most of the new housing development has been multifamily. I would like to see some more single family. We’re starting to see some of that. But just like everybody else, the cost for developers to make sense of that is a bit of a challenge.”

The $1 billion Microsoft poured into the community is just the start though, with the company recently announcing it’s going to spend more than $7 billion altogether to build two data centers.

But John Mulherin, vice president of Hull Property Group, whose company is redeveloping the Regency Mall in Racine, said there’s more to the story than just Microsoft’s investment.

“Business likes to co-locate with other business,” Mulherin added.

The mall constitutes a $125 million redevelopment project complete with 280 market-rate apartments, a five-acre Woodman’s and multiple new restaurants, he said. Hull bought the property back in 2016, long before Microsoft’s announcements to take over the Foxconn site in 2023. That was also before former Gov. Scott Walker in 2017 signed a bill to provide $3 billion in incentives to attract Foxconn.

“I don’t know how folks in Wisconsin feel about Foxconn, it went bust, but all of the activity that took place around it to support it has put Racine County in the driver’s seat,” Mulherin said. “Because you’ve got better infrastructure than anybody in the state, you’ve got access to water, you’ve got a strong, strong industrial base.”He also praised the “good city leadership” in Racine.

“It’s not surprising that we’re seeing some successes, and we’re fortunate to be in Racine and Racine County,” he added.

But buying the mall even before the billions in investments is a key part of Hull’s business plan, Mulherin said. Because the company is privately owned, it can buy properties with cash, make needed investments to spruce them up and wait for the right business to come along to truly improve the property, and one that’s going to stay for a while.

“And because we’re privately held, we’re not run by Wall Street or some investment banker who has some unrealistic, third-quarter earnings expectation that we have to meet,” he said. “If you’re under those guidelines, you may fill it full of the wrong type of tenant just to get the income up.”