Janesville City Council Approves $50,000 Grant for Southside Grocery Store

Additionally, the council on Monday night voted unanimously to declare November “Homeless Awareness Month” and recognized its longest-serving poll workers in the final lead-up to the Nov. 5 election.

Santa Maria Supermarket

Santa Maria Supermarket, a family-owned operation that has a Madison location, closed in late September on its purchase of a building at 1820 Center Avenue.

It plans to open a grocery store with a bakery, butcher, taqueria, ice cream and general groceries, with about 10,000 square feet of retail space, similar in size to an existing ALDI store in Janesville, council members said. It would have another 2,000-square feet of storage and non-retail-floor space.

The building, that is just north of a planned Kwik Trip at 1900 Center Avenue, has another 16,000-square-feet of space the family plans to lease out to other businesses.

The $50,000 comes out of about $11.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the city received from the federal government in 2021.

The owners of Santa Maria Supermarket, who were present at Monday night’s meeting, have estimated it will cost about $500,000 to renovate the building. That doesn’t include purchasing furniture or fixtures or the cost of stocking the store.

City Finance Director Dave Godek said some of the projects that the city originally envisioned using its ARPA funds for back in 2021 didn’t fully materialize, so some money remains that’s available to reallocate.

In addition to the $50,000 for Santa Maria Supermarket, the council voted to reallocate $401,500 of its ARPA funds for affordable housing projects.

Godek also said that in the ensuing 3 years, the city has reexamined its priorities and affordable housing is clearly a critical need.

Under federal guidelines for ARPA funds, the city must have a plan for using the dollars by the end of December, and must spend those dollars by 2026.

In response to council member questions, Godek said the rest of the $11.6 million is spent or otherwise earmarked.

Godek called the current shortage of affordable housing in Janesville “a challenge across the city.”

Jimsi Kuborn, the city of Janesville’s economic development director, said the store’s opening “would bring a much-needed asset to our southside corridor.”

Council member Richard Neeno called the store a “great opportunity,” that is “badly needed,” and said its planned ethnic foods offerings are good for the city.

“Anything we can do to expand the cultural offerings to the community, is an improvement,” Neeno said.

GM/JATCO site

The council also voted unanimously Monday night to apply for two federal Environmental Protection Agency grants — the first for $500,000 and the second for $19.2 million.

The $500,000 grant would help the city proceed with site assessments of 7 properties — the GM and JATCO sites and 5 smaller adjoining properties — that collectively total about 250 acres, as it works to codemn, buy and redevelop those properties.

The $19.2 million grant would fund the first three years of an envisioned 20-year “Green Print: Janesville,” plan, which is the city’s long-term vision for the overall site.

The funding would jumpstart clean-up and redevelopment of a portion of the JATCO site as envisioned to be a mix of single family and multi-family housing, public green space, walking paths and a community center. Infrastructure, solar, and stormwater improvements would be part of the project. City officials said homes would be priced in line with what would sell in the surrounding southside area.

Some of the home construction is envisioned to be done through a collaboration between Blackhawk Technical College, the South-Central Wisconsin Builders Association, the School District of Janesville and UW-Whitewater, with students doing some of the building.

Neeno called moving forward with the grant applications “a great first step” toward re-envisioning the GM and JATCO sites and adjacent properties, which together cover about 250 acres.

“This is a great step forward,” City Council President Dave Marshick agreed.

Homeless Awareness Month

The council also on Monday night voted to declare November “Homeless Awareness Month.”

The proposed action follows significant discussion in Janesville in recent months regarding where homeless people can legally park their vehicles overnight. It also follows the death in early October of two homeless people in a makeshift encampment along the Rock River off N. Washington St. and ongoing discussion about the need for more housing in Janesville at various price points, including for people of very low income.

Two representatives of GIFTS Men’s Shelter, Executive Director MaryAnn Raash and Director of Community Development Tracy Schroeder, accepted the proclamation.

“This year has been very tough in the world of unsheltered men,” Raash said, with its spaces often at full capacity.

“Our resources are limited as well as our staffing,” Raash said. “The resources are not always available to help everyone.”

Having to turn people away who have waited in line, when space runs out “is really hard,” Raash added.

“We will continue to do the work that God has called us to do, and we thank you for the recognition,” Raash said.

Poll workers

Finally, the city council recognized longtime poll workers.

City Clerk-Treasurer Laurie Stottler called out the names of nearly a dozen workers, who have given at least 20 years.

“Many of you are my chief inspectors,” Stottler said. Poll workers are not doing this for the pay, she said, which is minimal. “You do this because you believe in it,” Stottler said.

“I know it’s not easy out there,” council member Heather Miller said. “Thank you for what you do.”

“It’s a long and thankless job,” council member Paul Williams said. “And it’s going to be a lot longer come this election.”

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