Polka'ing Right Along; The Latest Barnyard Updates

Meet Promote Pulaski Board Member, Zach Brzeczkowski who performed at Pulaski Polka Days 2023.

Pulaski Polka Days, the largest polka fest in the United States, is held in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Shown here in the photo is Promote Pulaski Board Member, Zachary Brzeczkowski. Zach is the drummer for "Live Wire" and "The Mix" who performed during Pulaski Polka Days. The event brings together thousands of people from all over the world. We are super excited to be a part of this celebration. However, the downside of this event, along with Casimir Pulaski Days is, these two events are the only really large events that attract people from all over the world to Pulaski, Wisconsin. What is unique about the Barnyard Estates Project is that we are focusing on bringing people to Pulaski all year round by the development of businesses, community events, a cultural/heritage center, a Polish restaurant and a unique recreational area. The project when completed will be operating synchronically with these events.

Here’s just a quick Barnyard Project Update to keep you in the loop. We have a few upcoming meetings on the calendar. August 1st, we’ll be meeting with Steve Schneider (owner of the 1001 Club) who is currently working on a huge renovation project at the VIC Theater to discuss his project and pick his brain for questions about the Barnyard Estates project. This will be a great discussion.

On August 11th a scheduled tour with Fast Fiberglass in Sparta, Wisconsin is in store for us. They are excited to show us some of their larger than life-like projects. We hope to get some ideas and learn more about what they do, and how they might be able to help create a large attraction for the Barnyard Estates.

On August 15, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. we are meeting with owners Kayla and Mike from Karvana, a coffee house in Green Bay to show them the project to see if it is in alignment with their vision for a possible expansion project into Pulaski. This is the second coffee house that we will be meeting with. In the afternoon, a visit with John Reinders, Associate Dean of Business at NWTC has been added to the calendar, and we’ll discuss and brainstorm about how the Barnyard Estates could work together with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

The new steering committee members will be introduced at a zoom meeting at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 16th. The Discovery research from Keller will be presented to everyone, and a brief plan of how we will proceed moving forward with the steering committee.

There will be a special presentation on The Barnyard Estates project, August 24, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. at Keller in Kaukauna. Light snacks and refreshments will be served for those in attendance. The presentation will provide special guests information about the Barnyard Estates mission and an overview of the tentative design plans. The purpose of the presentation is to bring awareness to a select group of individuals and businesses, with the hopes of obtaining support to propel the project forward. In addition, Board members and steering committee members will be on hand for the presentation. There will be limited space at this meeting so if you have any suggestions about who we should invite to this meeting please send an email with the contact information to Tammy@dynamicdesignspulaski.com at your earliest convenience.

Finally, we are working on a brochure for the project that we can hand out at the meeting, and also a form that we can provide business at the meeting that will give us a general idea of their interest and how we can follow up with them after the presentation.

Slowly but surely we will keep the needle in motion on the Barnyard Estates. Our intentions are to bring you updates every week on how the project is progressing. Feel free to reach out to Tammy or Bruce during the day at 920-822-4450 for any questions or ideas you may have for the project. Let's keep things rolling without skipping a beat.

Join the Utterly Exciting Movement: Barnyard Estates Project Update

 

Chatty Belle, World’s Largest Talking Cow located in Wisconsin, an inspiration for the Barnyard Estates project.

This week has been utterly fun, and yes the pun is intended - you’ll see later on. On Monday, July 10, 2023,  we presented our project to Terry Handstedt, Partner of MCL Industries,  and Tonya Dittman, Director of Engagement at the Village Companies. Tonya Dittman was raised in Advance, Wisconsin. Her background with Miron Construction Co, Inc. a design-build, industrial, and general construction service in the US will be a benefit to the group as she intends on joining the steering committee. Both individuals were excited about the project and asked what the next steps would be moving forward. 

The Pulaski Area Chamber of Commerce held their monthly meeting on Wednesday morning of this week, so an update on the Barnyard Estates journey was provided. There was excitement, along with a lot of questions on how everything will work together, the logistics of it. However, it was explained to them that the project is huge and the goal is to have an estimate on the project costs by July 31, 2023, so we can move forward with our fundraising efforts. We need to have a clear understanding of the cost of the project so that we can include it into the details of the business plan. The key focus of the steering committee will be to help brainstorm a clear plan of how business and community will help not only propel the project forward, but sustain everyone in the Barnyard Estates.

On Thursday, Village Trustee, Stephanie Rodgers also agreed to assist us on the steering committee. She believes that the project will be a great asset to the community. Stephanie has a strong background in accounting and has resources available for helping non-profits that might come in handy as we move forward.

On Thursday, I met an individual from another non-profit (Strike Up A Chord) at a coffee shop in Green Bay, Karvarna, which is located on Broadway. My first impression of the Karvarna Coffee House was  “community”. The Barnyard Estates “commons area” to me would definitely be an atmosphere like the Karvarna I experienced. If you get a chance to stop out and experience it, it was definitely an inspiration. One thing I thought was really interesting is that sourcing local food is very important to Kavarna. They source foods from the local agriculture as much as possible, and they work with local producers such as Full Circle Community Farms (Seymour), Lamers Dairy (Appleton), and SLO Farmers Co-op (Wisconsin) and many more throughout the Farmer’s Markets in Green Bay. In fact, I reached out to SLO Farmers Co-Op and received a response from Heather Toman, the general manager wanting to learn more about the organization. What’s really exciting is that SLO is headquartered in Hofa Park, Wisconsin. I will be reaching out to Heather this week to set up a time to meet.

Interestingly enough, that same day, I attended the Summer Market on Military Avenue in Green Bay. Here is the website to learn more. One of the thoughts of the Barnyard Estates would be to have in-door and out-door markets. As I walked around, I had the opportunity to talk with a few vendors. Two vendors in particular were from Suring and Green Bay and may be potential targets for the shared kitchen in the Barnyard Estates. Currently, they create from scratch home baked goods in their own home. By the way, I walked away with some delicious treats and business cards that I will add to our potential vendors list in google docs.

Finally, at our last meeting, we were brainstorming, and discussion about having a large “cow” or some kind of attraction in front or near the Barnyard Estates Building. In my research this week, I came across a Wisconsin company (Sparta) called FAST Fiberglass, a manufacturer that creates larger than life animals for businesses and roadside attractions. I reached out to them for a tour and Ryan Lakowske is more than excited to accommodate us. We are working on a date to visit the company the last week in July or first week of August.

The next steps? On Thursday, July 31, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. we will meet in Kaukauna with the Keller Team to go over the Discovery Meeting, which will include plans and comps. On August 16th, an early morning zoom meeting will be scheduled to introduce the three new individuals to the Promote Pulaski Board of Directors. We’ll probably have some discussion about the presentation meeting - which is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, August 24, 2023. The plan is to hold an evening presentation “by invitation only” on-site at Keller to present the Barnyard Estates project. Our goal is to obtain as much support, and yes, financial backing before we begin the fundraising to “build the barn.” This week we will work on creating content for the invitation along with the list of potential community individuals and businesses we believe we can partner with to bring this exciting project to fruition by March 2025. If you know of anyone that should be included on the list, please forward their contact information to tammy@dynamicdesignspulaski.com. As I mentioned at the beginning of this update, it’s been utterly fun researching, meeting with like-minded people and building the momentum of the project. 

Local Business Concepts: A Look at Revolution Public Market and The Barnyard Estates

This week we finished up our discovery meeting with Keller with a trip to the Revolution Public Market located at 2160 Holmgren Way, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The concept of small businesses operating together, yet separately, in one location, under one roof, is what the Revolution Public Market is about. This type of concept from what we understood offered entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their business, or to see if their business could even be a sustainable business. Bringing new ideas to the community is a focus of the Revolution Public Market. Currently, there are only two businesses operating at this location; Bountiful Boards and Souper Day Green Bay.

The Barnyard Estates has a similar mission to the Revolution Public Market, in the fact that several small separate businesses operate individually inside or under one structure. However, despite a similar mission, there are many differences as well as similarities between the two, which I would like to discuss in an effort to gain a better understanding of what the Barnyard Estates is all about.

The Focus is Local. Between both entities the focus is around local business and community this is true. With that being said The Barnyard Estates "local focus" means within Pulaski and surrounding communities. This will be a priority. Doing business locally within the community will be a stress point with our businesses and any marketing Promote Pulaski does to help generate business and tourism in Pulaski, Wisconsin. The Revolution Public Market, which is located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with a population of over 106,000 doesn't necessarily give it that "local focus" or drive. I call it a "warm fuzzy" feeling. The Barnyard Estates, is located in a village that has around 4,000 people. It's the feel of a small town, and supporting those not only within the Barnyard Estates but also in the Village and surrounding small towns and communities will be important.

Independent & Connected - The concept of community with the Revolution Public Market is definitely on a lot smaller scale than that of The Barnyard Estates. Just by visualizing, we estimated the initial floor space at 1000-1500 square feet. There was a common area to sit and relax in the middle of the businesses, which is a concept of the Barnyard Estates. However, our first impression when we walked in was "what's going on here." There wasn't a clear definition of what kind of businesses occupied the space. The signage was confusing to us as first time visitors. In fact, without talking to the owner of Bountiful Boards, I wouldn't have really known what she did, or what type of businesses were involved. One of the challenges we discussed during our discovery meetings with Keller was what type of signage would be appropriate. The Barnyard Estates signage would need to be prominent at the entrance, with smaller or digital signage indicating other businesses were under the barnyard roof so to say. Inside The Barnyard Estates there would be clear and consistent signage for each space.

Hours of Operation - The Revolution Public Market allowed for different businesses to operate at different times, with no consistent hours. This definitely allows for flexibility for the business owners, however, confusing to the patrons entering the structure or planning on visiting the Revolution Public Market. The Barnyard Estates will have set hours for the building, and at the same time recommendations provided to the tenants on how many hours the business be open during the time the business is open to the public. In fact, we will be utilizing technology to open and close spaces automatically and systematically. Key fobs will be a necessity for all who reside within or lease spaces, and any tenants will be able to access the building at anytime. 

Building Design - This is where we learned that partnering with an organization like Keller, is a definite plus for the building design. Planning, questions and understanding the concept and what the building and spaces will be used for is extremely important initially. It's not just taking a plan and placing businesses and spaces within in it. It's knowing how many people will be in each space so we can get square footage. It's understanding the flow of the building so that it makes sense to the tenants and the visitors and people that use the space. It's even knowing what the general feel or ambience of the building. As an example the Barnyard Estates will be rustic, modern and open, utilizing wood, steel and glass. When we entered the Revolution Public Market, it didn't seem as though any of these questions were asked with the current floor plan design. In fact, it felt confusing and cold with the use of unpainted (or uncoated) cement floors and big glass door - with no separate entrance.

Occupants|Tenants - Both entities need tenants to support and maintain the building. The Revolution Public Market appears to seek out any business that is local, has new ideas and new concepts and gives them an opportunity to grow their business. The Barnyard Estates is a little different, however small business is important to The Barnyard Estates. As an example, having 3-4 anchor businesses that currently serve the community, or will be serving a specific need will be important to help sustain the concept of The Barnyard Estates. In fact, the Barnyard Estates will have outlets for food trucks that will make it convenient for these smaller operations and to be able to offer food options is important to the steering committee. The Polish Restaurant (Prince of Pierogi) and Cultural Center & Retail shop are specifically designed to bring more tourists to Pulaski, Wisconsin. The Coffee Shop/Breakfast space is a need currently in the community. The shared kitchen will serve so many. From caterers, pastry chefs, bread makers, confectioners, to cooking classes, cookie decorating, canning with the family and so much more. The community event room, another needed space that will allow individuals and businesses to rent the room for birthday parties, graduations, showers, rummage sales, farmers markets, corporate training and educational events will be available to the community. The commons area will allow residents and non-residence a place or an outlet to stop for a few minutes, eat, work, socialize and even a space to hold indoor farmers markets or musical events. Every space within The Barnyard Estates has been strategically designed for the needs of the community and small businesses. The second floor space that will house more professional type businesses, co-shared business space, conference room rentals and more.

All in all, seeing first hand and stepping into a building with a similar concept to the Barnyard Estates was a great experience for the group. It allowed us to get a feel for building design, the ambience and even the flow of the businesses within. It also helped us to understand why there are so many details and questions in an initial discovery meeting. It helped us to understand why so much time up front will save a lot of time down the road. Through this first impression, we feel that we have so much more purpose and passion for Pulaski, and for building The Barnyard Estates. Knowing that we are not just putting up a building but serving the community in a way that will bring people together. A building that will be built by the people, for the people in more ways than one.

What's in store for this coming week? We'll be meeting with a local business to share our dream of The Barnyard Estates, and hopefully gain some additional support of the project. By the end of this week we will be determining the cost of the project, and by July 31st, a new building design that is much more in-tune to our project needs. In August we plan to do a formal presentation, to an elite group of businesses and individuals that will help us propel the project forward and gain support and financial backing. If you have an interest in learning more about the Barnyard Estates and would like to be included in this August (evening) meeting which will be held at Keller in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, email: promotepulaski@gmail.com, or call Tammy at 920-655-4587.