Village to sell industrial park land to Belgium firm

By MICHAEL BABCOCK

Ozaukee Press staff

The Village of Fredonia approved the sale of three acres in its Southern Industrial Park to a Belgium-based metal finishing company on Thursday.

Mirror Image Metal Finishing Inc.,  which provides metal polishing and finishing services for food, pharmaceutical and architectural industries, plans to build a 12,000 square-foot facility on the property.

“Fredonia is excited to embrace Mirror Image with open arms,”
  Village President Dan Gehrke said in a press release.

The family-owned business is the sixth announced development in the yet-to-be developed park.

Mirror Image is moving to Fredonia to expand output volume and increase efficiency after experiencing eightfold growth over the last five years, Village Administrator Christophe Jenkins said.

The Southern Industrial Park is in a tax incremental district, which means all revenue generated by taxes from developments in the district is reinvested into infrastructure there.

Fredonia’s TID, set to break ground in 2024, has attracted five other businesses and is expected to add roughly $51.48 million to the village’s tax base.

Mirror Image’s facility will add $1.2 million to the village’s value and its tax revenue will be used for the expansion of utilities in the district and the creation of a new roadway.

“The Village of Fredonia has achieved tremendous success since the launch of our Southern Industrial Park,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said Mirror Image is excited by the prospect of opening a facility in Fredonia.

“It was a very quick process,” he said. “They approached and talked to our commercial realtor and then made an offer.”

“It was an easy decision to move our operations to Fredonia,” Chad Paquette, owner of Mirror Image, said.

He explained that Fredonia’s proximity to  major roads and commitment to growth made it an ideal choice for his business.

The creation of the welding, cutting and fabrication facility will create 15 to 20 jobs.

“The job opportunities provided by Mirror Image are a great asset for the community,” Gehrke said.

The village acquired 62-acres of land for the park in a $1.2 million purchase from Ronald and Christine Ansay in 2021.

Parcels have been sold to Greatland Electrical, which bought 2.04 acres; Ideal Tree Service, 2.5 acres; Jeremy Gasiorowski, 1.3 acres; RJ Fredonia, 8.6 acres; Badger Paperboard, eight acres; and Mirror Image, three acres.

The businesses gave minimum development value guarantees ranging from $150,000 to $7.5 million by 2026.

The total cost of the TID projects was estimated at $8.62 million in 2021 for land acquisition, infrastructure development, debt expenses and administration costs.

The cost is expected to be paid off in 16 years, according to a report from a consultant used by the village in 2021.