The Town of Suamico is at a critical point in its history. The area is being "discovered" by new residents as a quality rural residential haven – with a small town feel, but also easily accessible to the economic activity of the greater-Green Bay area. The original downtown settlement area, along the Suamico River and CTH HS, is in a prime condition for redevelopment. New developers are approaching the Town with an interest in establishing new businesses and residential areas.

The Town of Suamico is utilizing this Town Center Plan as a tool to define and direct growth within the Town Center area. It is imperative that the Town pursue market measures of success that can be used to shape and evaluate programs. It is suggested these measures include:

Accurately measuring these objectives over time will require coordination with the local business community.

This section of the Town Center Plan provides market considerations for development within the Town Center. This is not a formal market study. Rather, this section provides a general overview of the market area the Town Center will serve. The Town may pursue a detailed market study at a future date for one or all of the concept areas within the Town Center. A formal market study would provide detailed, specific information about business-sector needs. It would also likely update the data available from the 2000 U.S. Census, with respect to income characteristics and employment characteristics within the customer base.

The Town Center offers a limited supply of shopping, eating and entertainment choices. As a result, Suamico residents travel to Howard and other nearby communities for needed goods and services. Likewise, motorists passing through the area on USH 41/141 choose to exit at other locations, where more services are available to meet their needs.

The Town of Suamico is less than 20 minutes from Green Bay. As a result, many motorists will simply wait to exit until they arrive at Green Bay where additional choices are available. The Town has an opportunity to provide additional choices and market itself as a less-crowded alternative for motorist services than the exits in Green Bay. The Town does not want to see other exits in the immediate vicinity capitalize on this opportunity.

Issue 3: Highway Visibility

Though the highway bisects through the Town Center, not all areas of the Town Center are visible from the highway. In some areas, this is a blessing. For example, the residential development along Veterans Avenue is more appealing without distracting highway views and noises. However, other areas within the Town Center benefit from the potential customers the highway can bring to the area.

Obviously, the area in the immediate vicinity of the CTH B/USH 41/141 exit benefits from highway frontage. This exposure puts a great deal of pressure on the properties in this area to cater to the needs of passing motorists. The challenge for the Town is to ensure that development in this area also serves the needs of local residents. Furthermore, development in this area should not have a negative impact on adjacent residential areas (i.e. noise, odors, traffic) and said development should be attractive (i.e. attractive signage and lighting) to make a positive impact on first-time visitors.

Areas along CTH HS and the Suamico River would also benefit from highway exposure as an opportunity to bring motorists into the area. Some features (i.e. water tower) are visible year-round. During the winter months, when the leaves are off the trees, the Vickery Village area is also visible. However, given its setback from the highway and dense tree cover, this area does not enjoy year-round highway visibility. Without this highway frontage, the following actions must be pursued to promote the historic downtown area:

1) Marketing must occur along the highway (i.e. signage) to advertise the historic downtown area along CTH HS and the Suamico River

2) Development visible from Velp Avenue should have a similar character as the historic areas along CTH HS and the Suamico River. This will help to welcome people to the area.

3) The Town should provide directional signage for motorists who exit from US 41/141 searching for the historic "downtown" area.

The USH 41/141 and CTH B exit in the Suamico Town Center is approximately:

Source: 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census

The median age of a resident in the TMA is slightly higher than the other areas compared in the table. Again, this reflects the significant share of the population between the ages of 25 and 44.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

Table 3 takes a look at the gender of the population in the area. In some communities a more significant share of the total population in one gender or another can be important for determining the success of certain types of businesses. All areas examined have a relatively equal share of males and females. Therefore, businesses targeting particular genders (i.e. health clubs, beauty saloons, barber shops) will not have a significant competitive advantage over other communities.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

Table 4 examines the different races represented in Census Tract 202, the Town of Suamico, Village of Howard and Brown County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census data, the vast majority of all residents are white. This information is quite comparable to previous census data collected in past decades. Of some interest is the fact that the TMA is less diverse, from a racial perspective, than the county as a whole. However, the county population figures include the City of Green Bay, which is home to a more varied mix of different races and cultures.

Table 5 examines the household types in the TMA. By far, the majority of households in the TMA are family households (85.9%) compared to non-family households (14.1%). The number of family households in the TMA is significantly higher than the number of family households in the Village of Howard and Brown County.

Of the family households, nearly half include children. Female headed households with children area not a significant share of family households in the TMA. Most of the family households (78.1%) were married couples.

It is important to note that new residential development in the Town Center will include apartments (i.e. Snowshoe Estates). Generally speaking, apartments are home to more non-family households than other types of residential development. As a result, the TMA may see the total share of non-family households increase over the next few years. However, single-family residential development is also expected to continue in the TMA. As a result, any modest gains in non-family households will likely be offset by additional gains in families in other areas.

In accordance with having more family households (vs. non-family individual households), and more children, the average household and family size is significantly higher in the TMA than in the Village of Howard, City of Green Bay and Brown County.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

Somewhat related to Table 5, Table 6 provides a breakdown of residents by marital status. In the TMA, the vast majority of residents are married. The figures are significantly higher than the comparable marriage rates in the Village of Howard, Green Bay, and Brown County. Likewise, the TMA divorced population is about half the size of the divorced populations in Howard, Green Bay and Brown County. This information again reflects the family character of the TMA.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census Note: Figures above are for population age 15 and over

Education is another way to determine the socio-economic status of an area. Because income increases with advancing educational attainment, many retailers focus on income level rather than education. According to the information in Table 7, residents from the TMA have a very similar level of education as residents from the Village of Howard and Brown County. In general, TMA residents have a high level of education attainment. A high rate of high school graduates and college graduates reflects an educated population that has a higher earnings and spending potential.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census NOTE: Figures above are for population age 25 and over

The number of homeowners in an area is an important factor for numerous retailers. Home ownership directly correlates with expenditures for home furnishings and home equipment. Home improvement, furniture, appliances, hardware, paint/wallpaper, floor covering, garden centers and other home products all prosper in active housing markets.

By far, most residents in the TMA are living in homes they are purchasing as opposed to rental properties. This balance is not expected to changes significantly in the future. This trend reflects the family character of the area and the local demand for quality housing choices to raise a family.

Not surprisingly, the average owner-occupied household size is higher than the comparable household size figures for rental households. This again, reflects the tendency of families to locate in owner-occupied environments versus rental communities. However, in the TMA, the size of the rental household is significantly larger than the comparable rental household size in Howard, Green Bay, and Brown County. This reflects the number of married couple households in the community, as well as the fact that a significant share of the rental housing available is rental single-family homes, as compared to apartments.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

After the 1990 U.S. Census was complete, the Wisconsin Department of Administration completed population projections for every community in the State of Wisconsin through 2015. The TMA, Town of Suamico, Village of Howard and Brown County have all grown at rates far exceeding the projections. In fact, for all areas, the 2000 U.S. Census populations were in excess of the projected 2015 population. Table 9 provides updated projections. These figures were created by projecting the county population through 2015 (based on the new census data) and maintaining a constant portion of the total county population for the other areas through 2015. The population growth in the City of Green Bay has tracked well against the projections done by the State. Therefore, the same projections are used.

Source: Wisconsin Department of Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, Graphic Projection Technique

These projections clearly indicate that the population of all areas is expected to increase in the future.

This section provides an overview of the TMA’s economic base. Included in this section are key economic indicators.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

NOTE: Figures above are specific to the Population over the Age of 16

Many retailers use the concentration of white or blue-collar workers as a gauge of a market’s taste preferences. For example:

Most residents from the TMA are employed in management, professional and related occupations, followed closely by sales and office occupations (white collar positions). These categories reflect the areas high level of education attainment. The occupation breakdown within the TMA is very similar to the breakdowns for the Village of Howard, Green Bay, and Brown County.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

NOTE: Figures above are specific only to Workers Age 16 and Over Employed in the Civilian Labor Force (Census Tract 202 =5,510 , Town of Suamico = 5,062, Village of Howard = 7,733, Green Bay = 52,778 and Brown County = 120,530)

Table 11 indicates in what type of occupations residents are employed. Table 12, provides a description of local employment industry sectors. Again, the data for Census Tract 202 are very similar to the data for the Village of Howard and Brown County. The only industry sector that is significantly behind the Village of Howard, City of Green Bay and Brown County is the "arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodations and food services." sector. This lag seems to suggest that additional industries in this sector may be needed and do well in the TMA.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

Table 13 provides information about the largest employers in the county. This information is important because most residents from the TMA commute elsewhere to work (See Table 15). The list of the largest employers in the county is quite diversified and is considered a strength for the Brown County Area. As changes occur in the national and international economies, often one sector is affected more than others. The diversification provides some protection against a large decline in employment.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

The overall average wage for Brown County was 105.3 percent of the state’s average annual wage during 2001. The average annual wage in Brown County is above the state average wage in six of the ten industry sectors.

* Mining excluded from table to maintain confidentiality

Source: WI DWD, 2002

Most residents within the TMA commute to work. For businesses catering to local residents to be successful, they will need to have extended evening and weekend hours. However, businesses at the interchange, serving the needs of passing motorists, need to be accessible during the daytime hours as well.

In terms of the time it takes a person from Census Tract 202 to travel to work (one way):

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

There are many different breakdowns of income:

Income is the primary indicator of spending power of residents. Household and family income correlate with retail expenditures in many product categories. Retailers may consider the median or average household income in a trade area or seek a minimum number of households with a certain income range. For example, discount stores avoid high or low-income areas. Traditional department stores focus on markets with incomes over $35,000, while some specialty fashion stores target incomes above $75,000. A few store categories, including auto parts, are more commonly found in areas with lower household incomes. Using income as the sole measure of a market’s taste preference, however, can be deceptive. Therefore, these figures are presented as part of a series of data about the TMA population.

Table 16 provides a detailed breakdown of the per capita, median household and median family incomes for residents in 1990 and 2000. In all categories, the TMA has the highest income breakdown. This is a strong indicator of the spending power of residents of the TMA.

Source: 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census

Poverty status information is also an important characteristic realtors will consider when deciding to locate in an area. A high incidence of poverty will discourage retail development. Not surprisingly, based on the income information presented in the previous table, the TMA has a very low poverty rate. In fact all areas profiled in the table have a low poverty rate. Of special interest is that between 1990 and 2000, only the Village of Howard saw an increase in the total number of individuals living below the poverty rate.