Portage attracts residents, businesses, and workers after UniverCity partnership

When it comes to community planning, Steve Sobiek, the director of business development and planning for the City of Portage, is always thinking ahead.

“What do we want Portage to look like in 10 to 20 years?” Sobiek said.

As part of a partnership between UniverCity Alliance and Columbia County from 2021-24, Sobiek worked with University of Wisconsin–Madison students, faculty members, instructors, and staff across several academic disciplines to envision the community’s future by working on economic development projects in Portage.

UniverCity connects local governments, like Columbia County and Portage, with resources at UW–Madison to move forward community priorities during a three-year partnership. Columbia County’s partnership was supported by the Alliant Energy Foundation, and Sobiek is a member of the board of directors for the Columbia County Economic Development Corporation.

During the partnership, the students developed a design for a dog park in Portage’s North Side Park, conducted a trade market analysis for the new business park and recommended strategies to create a welcoming and accessible community for residents who speak English as a second language. Since the projects were completed in 2023, Sobiek said they have already been put to use.

“It has helped us grow our community, attract businesses, attract residents, and attract a more diverse workforce successfully,” Sobiek said of the partnership.

UniverCity Alliance Managing Director Gavin Luter said these outcomes demonstrate the exciting synergy that happens when local governments are connected to university resources. It also points to the quality work that UW–Madison students can accomplish in partnership with communities.

“We are grateful for our partners in Portage and Columbia County sharing their local expertise,” Luter said. “Portage has been empowered with new information completed by our students, but our students’ educational experiences have also been improved by working with practitioners and residents.”

Dog park development

As Portage worked on these projects in collaboration with UniverCity and UW–Madison students, the city is in the midst of exciting growth. A developer is building a 100-lot subdivision, which is the first of its kind in Portage in over two decades, according to Sobiek.

Plans for the development called Rolling Prairie include a dog park and conservancy, which wasn’t scheduled for construction until phase two of the development. But the city and developer decided to move up construction of the dog park because it could help market the new homes to future residents.

“It forced us to get off the dime faster and get this dog park rolling,” Sobiek said. “The UniverCity project got us moving on the plan quicker than we ordinarily would, and as a result, that was a good thing.”

Civil and Environmental Engineering capstone students developed three potential designs for a dog park, weighing the construction cost, site work, environmental sustainability, and overall aesthetics. Now, the dog park, which will include eight acres of fenced-in dog park and 11 acres of restored prairie with walking paths, is under construction.

Welcoming new residents

Portage has a large manufacturing base that continues to grow. Businesses in Portage such as Dawns Foods, TriEnda, and Penda Corporation are looking for workers and attracting employees from Puerto Rico. In March, a developer broke ground on a $40 million transitional housing development, which Portage officials say will alleviate the city’s extreme shortage of affordable workforce housing and grow its industrial tax base.

As a population of new residents and workers that didn’t speak English as their first language grew, Sobiek realized the city should be working to create a welcoming environment.

“We were seeing our existing industry bringing this up and I said, ‘We need a plan,’” Sobiek said. “That became the emphasis for the UniverCity program to develop this plan to integrate workers learning English as a second language.”

Alan Tipple, ’24, who graduated with a double major in political science and economics and a public policy certificate, took on this project. He interviewed local elected officials, a Madison College ESL instructor and business and community leaders to better understand the community.

Tipple said the project enhanced his academic career and was a meaningful experience.

“Being able to see the real work people are doing and do a little myself enabled me to acquire another perspective that I wasn’t going to find in the classroom,” Tipple said. “Having that extra experience also helped me understand better how my learning in college would apply when moving on to work.”

His recommendations included providing resources like a community welcome group, written materials in English and Spanish, and strategies to get involved in the community and in local decision making. Sobiek said Portage has moved forward on this by creating an informal committee focused on prioritizing welcoming residents and seeking out translation resources.

Trade market analysis

To recruit more commercial, industrial, and residential developmental opportunities, Portage sought out a trade market analysis that could influence businesses to locate in the city.

Anna Joy, ’23, who graduated with a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, chose to work with Portage for her required professional project. Joy researched the city’s demographics, analyzed transportation movement in Portage, explored spending patterns, and researched retail opportunities to inform a study that has been shared with prospective businesses and developers.

“The experience I gained working with the government is unmatched. It was a privilege to work under with industry experts. I was able to experience real life consultant work with project brief, regular client meetings, project report preparation and presentation,” Joy said. “The project helped me push my limits and knowledge in this sector by collaborating with professors to devise new approaches and analysis that suits the project goal.”

Sobiek credited the trade market analysis with recruiting a Shopko Optical, Domino’s Pizza, Scooter’s Coffee, and a wedding venue to Portage. Joy presented her findings to the Planning Commission in May 2023, which were well-received.

“It is a very valuable marketing study,” Sobiek said. “It really was what we were looking for.”