.. and my statements are just a general blanket statement -- not just to this article and company. (And holy cow! Did NO ONE read "The Lorax?" ;)

IQ, the issue is NOT about taking unused land IN the city and turning it back into "farm land" or community gardens, more likely. Great idea. Fine. If it's not totally toxic, sure. If it's not re-buildable, such as the flood areas. The issue is: WHY would we RUIN perfectly GOOD (the best) farmland with TOXIC chemicals that could take generations to clean up? Just PAVE IT OVER!! Make some cash! A hundred years ago, they didn't know or care about soil quality, composition, or location. Now we know; we just don't CARE??? So, when we as a society finally care, it will be too late. I find this UNACCEPTABLE. THAT is the "bigger vision." We have the opportunity to skip some of the steps involved in Detroit's current process. Focus on smart-growth infill. That's all we are saying. Too bad that more people don't share that common sense vision. Our great grandparents certainly understood the "waste-not-want-not" concept. But, the once-it's-gone-it's-gone concept seems to not apply when your talking about cold, hard cash!

So taking back farmland is not an option. Got it. Anyway good luck to Northstar, and good luck to REN in any future green political endeavors. You may not want to get quite so confrontational and have a little more patience for others ideas. Have a bigger vision. Change takes guts, right?

No kidding, frogger. IQ suggests we raze old vacant properties to turn back into farmland - why not raze old vacant properties and then build new on the same site? Less cost to residents that will be on the hook for the new, shiney infrastructure. Government grant money is OUR money, and we the people need to have a say in how it is spent...

I don't want any taters that grew under GM - YUCK

Ren, I'm sorry but it is all about the money, period! When you are in charge of a company you are responsible for getting the best deal for the money you have. If given the option for a new state of the art facility exactly how you want it or retrofitting an existing facility to make it work for your operations well since money can be saved based on layout, the new buildng will most likely win every time. These people are doing nothing wrong and is perfectly legal not to mention they are bringing in 150+ higher paying jobs to Rock County so all in all its a win for Wisconsin. After all if the company doesn't turn a profit the employees are not needed or at least for very long!

and by "Rock country" I clearly mean "Rock County."

By "prime farmland," RockEnvironNet means the EARTH'S MOST FERTILE farmlands. The percentage of soils on the PLANET of the same consistency as Rock country's sections of prime farmland is like NIL. Like, what... 3 PERCENT OF THE ENTIRE PLANET or something like that? It should be against the law to pave over land like that. Has no one head of desertification? Does no one see the other countries that cannot support the growth of food, due to development and improper land and soil management? To destroy our own soils is to effectively starve ourselves out. What a stupid population, ruled by finance, we have become. I feel so proud. Don't you?

REN vs IQ discussion : REN wins by a landslide

I am aware of the consequences of urban sprawl, and of the Earth's population, I am a resident. Intelligent use and design are what it's about, in building and farming. True sustainability is sometimes better achieved by new facilities and urban farming on the unwanted sites of old. Bringing business and farming back to the local level cuts down on all types of energy consumption. New, modern, self-sufficient designs don't always fit into a shell of an old factory or warehouse, but tear down and clean up that old factory properly and corn or beans will be more than happy to grow there once more. Give the Earth and it's resiliency a little more credit. Maybe it's the farmers who sell off their land for development who need to be reached out to more than businesses who come along later. Why get down on me and Detroit? I think we really want a lot of the same things.

They're building linear accelerators/cyclotrons for high energy bombardment to create medical isotopes. A requirement was that the site needed to include access to a certain capacity and quality of energy substation, with easy access to I-90 and I-43. Beloit had a modern substation, with plenty of capacity in place, coupled with cheap land - ready to build. And friends in Madison. Result = Winner.

"Perhaps old vacant properties should be razed and turned back into farmland. See Detroit." - this makes no sense! Why would we build new on virgin soils on the outskirts of town, and convert back to farmland, contaminated properties with infrastructure in the middle of town? What a waste of natural resources! Detroit is hardly the model to follow.

Intelligent people that run businesses are also the ones that have vacated properties....it's not always about the money, sometimes we have to make choices based on the bigger picture. With over 8.3 billion people on earth by 2030, and less than 3% of the earth's surface offering inherently fertile soils, it makes sense to tear down and rebuild, or to redevelop buildings. We can't continue to gobble up the best farmland for anything other than ag. ABC Supply did a great job in Beloit with redevelopment, why not give this project the same consideration? Money can't be the only option, IQ.
http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Art...

There is state and federal money for polluted industrial sites, and the city has acquired some of it for e.g. the old Robinson's Dry Cleaning building.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/rr/rbrownfields...

REN:
I'm sure the very intelligent people it takes to run a business that receives a $4.6 million award from the National Nuclear Security Administration have very carefully weighed their options. Isn't it also the municipalities that are the ones who make new industrial sites available in order to lure new business? Fresh new building and location built to order, or previously abandoned building in the inner city? Tough one. Consider LEED certification and a truly environmental sustainable facility. The costs of bringing an existing building up to a level of sustainability, is far more than building new. Even government grant money would be better spent on new. Perhaps old vacant properties should be razed and turned back into farmland. See Detroit. Congrats to Northstar.

Wouldn't it be great if the next award was for re-development of a vacant industrial property that already is serviced with infrastructure? Bringing jobs is fabulous for Rock County, but paving over the earth's most fertile farmlands while our inner cities are awash with vacancies is not in the best interest of the global community. Hopefully Northstar will consider other options!