Polk County Economic Development
Useful Quick Links About Polk County
Thinking About Doing Business in Polk County?
Why Polk County?
Doing business in West Central Wisconsin, and particularly Polk County, is a pleasure. Our location is within an hour of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Metro area and makes Polk County and the surrounding region an extremely enticing location for businesses and people who want to enjoy our pristine lakes, rivers, creeks, wooded areas, and the beautiful St. Croix River Valley.
Living in our region of West Central Wisconsin automatically entitles you to all of the wonderful fringe benefits our region offers. Natural beauty, culture, affordability, great career opportunities, excellent education, high quality health care, small town security, and an endless list of recreational activities are a few of the many benefits available here.
The region’s many amenities and outstanding livability give you leverage to attract and retain quality employees. They’ll love living here. And in their free time, there’s never a lack of activities any time of the year.
Hiking, biking, fishing and hunting, art museums, theaters, national sporting events, major music festivals, local wineries, or just sitting back and taking in the breathtaking scenery – they’re all a part of the amenities that come with making our area your business’s home.
Here the good life takes up permanent residency.
Doing Business in Polk County
When you live in our region of West Central Wisconsin, you’re automatically entitled to all of the wonderful fringe benefits our region offers. Natural beauty, culture, affordability, great career opportunities, excellent education, high quality health care, small town security, and an endless list of activities.
Here the good life takes up permanent residency.
The regions outstanding livability also gives you leverage to attract and retain quality employees. They’ll love living here. And when they have free time, there’s never a lack of activities any time of year.
Polk County has many tangible or hard assets to offer prospective businesses and industries. Another of the county’s strengths are the intangibles or soft assets available.
Incentive Programs
Incentive Programs
Downtown Façade Loan Program
The Downtown Facade Loan Program provides financial assistance to encourage property and business owners in core downtowns to revitalize downtown commercial buildings within towns, cities, and villages of West Central Wisconsin. Eligible activities include facade renovation, exterior lighting, doors, graphics, signage, windows, and awnings, other facade or landscape improvements. Applicants must provide acceptable facade design plans that comply with approved general design guidelines based on the National Trust or suitable design guidelines prepared and adopted by local governments.
EDA Revolving Loan Fund Program
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) Loan Fund has been managed by the RBF, Inc. since 1995. The program provides low-interest loan funds to expanding businesses that are creating jobs and making a capital investment.
Micro Loan Fund Program
The Micro Loan Fund Program provides small loans to startup, newly established, or growing small businesses. The key objective is to assist business owners, who have traditionally had difficulty assessing debt financing, by affording them another alternative to obtaining credit. Eligible activities include new working capital, inventory purchases and supplies, acquisition of equipment, machinery, furniture and fixtures, leasehold improvements, building renovation and rehabilitation, real estate acquisition, natural disaster recovery.
Technology Enterprise Fund (TEF)
Companies locating, or agreeing to locate, their primary operation to Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Polk, or St. Croix County, may be eligible for TEF Funds – a revolving loan fund that provides creative financing to new and emerging technology companies. The goal of the program is to leverage private investment dollars and enhance sustainable economic development opportunities within the region.Eligible technologies include any business engaged in the activities of research, development or manufacturing of advanced products or materials for use in factory automation, biotechnology, chemicals, computer hardware, computer software, and similar technologies.
For more information on these incentive programs, please contact Terry Hauer, Executive Director, Polk County Economic Development Corporation, director@polkcountyedc.com
Toolkit for Small Businesses
Are you looking for a complete toolkit to help you get that jump on starting your own small business? Well look no further, the webpage listed below can help you pull it all together in one shot.
For any small business matters please go to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls – Small Business Development Center’s website or contact Katherine Fossler (715)425-0620 or email at: katherine.fossler@uwrf.edu
