THE JOURNALTIMES.COM: Drafted by Madison-based planning firm Vandewalle & Associates, working with the City and a Project Management Team, the 41-page Racine Uptown Neighborhood Strategic Development Plan calls for change as well as for capitalizing on the area’s assets: its vacant buildings, existing businesses and residents and the nearly 5,000 employees who work within the plan’s study area. Instead of targeting outside investment, the plan focuses heavily on those businesses; concentrating on what they and their workers want and what they can bring to the table. Business owners in Uptown — from small merchants to major corporate employers like SC Johnson and Twin Disc — have signed on to help with the new plan aimed at revitalizing the business district. The Junction Avenue Triangle is just one of the priority projects in the Uptown Neighborhood Strategic Development Plan.
