MONROE - Members of the World Cheese Discovery Center, Inc. gasped Thursday when Dennis Everson, their treasurer, reminded them that Monroe's Cheese Days will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2014.
That's the year, 2014, that the group's newly-released feasibility study has targeted for the opening of the multi-faceted, muti-million dollar discovery center that includes everything cheese - demonstrations, learning centers, displays, a restaurant and a culinary center.
The group has been working for years to develop and market the idea that Wisconsin needs a grand place where cheese can be the focus for tourists.
This year, with a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and a grant from the Monroe Visitor and Promotion Board, the group hired Economic Development Partners (EDP), a development and business resource experts, to do a feasibility study.
The bottom line, according to the study? The center is a "go."
The other bottom line? The groups will need to raise $1 million in private donations, about a third of its start-up costs.
Before allowing releasing them to the public on Thursday, the center's executive committee reviewed the numbers.
Sharon Riese, co-chair, said she has confidence in the study, which uses very conservative figures to arrive at its conclusions.
"It took longer than we thought to get the feasibility done," she said. "The biggest struggle was, of the four properties we were interested in, three were sold."
Riese said the group also looked at new construction.
Of the last building available for sale, "the Cheese Corp. had the most overwhelming (need for) renovations," Riese said.
The group has considered purchasing the building, which once housed the Monroe Cheese Corporation on 12th Street in downtown Monroe, for three years. They even commissioned an artist rendering of the Center in the building.
Riese agreed that it seems fate is steering the center to an historic location in downtown Monroe, surrounded by Turner Hall, the Swiss House, and Minhas Craft Brewery.
Not a bad choice at all, according to the study.
The newest trend in tourism is culinary tourism. About 85 percent of culinary tourists - those seeking unique and memorable culinary experiences of all kinds - visit breweries, 77 percent seek out restaurants serving regional specialties, and 70 percent purchase local products to take home.
The feasibility study conclusion is based on a $2.3 million of renovation to the building, partially funded with grants and other resources for historic preservation projects. The sale of the building is on hold, pending completed inspections.
Other items needed for the center are interactive displays, dairy piping for cheesemaking demonstrations, furniture and fixtures, arriving at an estimated total of $3.2 million to open. About $664,000 of that would need to be borrowed.
However, EDP calculated that sales would reach $617,700, based on a minimum of 10,000 tourists annually to Monroe, and that the center would net a profit of $81,700 for the first year. A five-year project shows profits climbing every year following the launch year.
A large part of cash flow and sustainable operations involves the cheesemaking demonstrations and the center's ability to sell that cheese - about 100 pounds per day.
The executive committee met Thursday to plan its next steps: Setting up committees, writing grants, raising money and purchasing the property.
That's the year, 2014, that the group's newly-released feasibility study has targeted for the opening of the multi-faceted, muti-million dollar discovery center that includes everything cheese - demonstrations, learning centers, displays, a restaurant and a culinary center.
The group has been working for years to develop and market the idea that Wisconsin needs a grand place where cheese can be the focus for tourists.
This year, with a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and a grant from the Monroe Visitor and Promotion Board, the group hired Economic Development Partners (EDP), a development and business resource experts, to do a feasibility study.
The bottom line, according to the study? The center is a "go."
The other bottom line? The groups will need to raise $1 million in private donations, about a third of its start-up costs.
Before allowing releasing them to the public on Thursday, the center's executive committee reviewed the numbers.
Sharon Riese, co-chair, said she has confidence in the study, which uses very conservative figures to arrive at its conclusions.
"It took longer than we thought to get the feasibility done," she said. "The biggest struggle was, of the four properties we were interested in, three were sold."
Riese said the group also looked at new construction.
Of the last building available for sale, "the Cheese Corp. had the most overwhelming (need for) renovations," Riese said.
The group has considered purchasing the building, which once housed the Monroe Cheese Corporation on 12th Street in downtown Monroe, for three years. They even commissioned an artist rendering of the Center in the building.
Riese agreed that it seems fate is steering the center to an historic location in downtown Monroe, surrounded by Turner Hall, the Swiss House, and Minhas Craft Brewery.
Not a bad choice at all, according to the study.
The newest trend in tourism is culinary tourism. About 85 percent of culinary tourists - those seeking unique and memorable culinary experiences of all kinds - visit breweries, 77 percent seek out restaurants serving regional specialties, and 70 percent purchase local products to take home.
The feasibility study conclusion is based on a $2.3 million of renovation to the building, partially funded with grants and other resources for historic preservation projects. The sale of the building is on hold, pending completed inspections.
Other items needed for the center are interactive displays, dairy piping for cheesemaking demonstrations, furniture and fixtures, arriving at an estimated total of $3.2 million to open. About $664,000 of that would need to be borrowed.
However, EDP calculated that sales would reach $617,700, based on a minimum of 10,000 tourists annually to Monroe, and that the center would net a profit of $81,700 for the first year. A five-year project shows profits climbing every year following the launch year.
A large part of cash flow and sustainable operations involves the cheesemaking demonstrations and the center's ability to sell that cheese - about 100 pounds per day.
The executive committee met Thursday to plan its next steps: Setting up committees, writing grants, raising money and purchasing the property.