Gov. Scott Walker said he’s very interested in helping the city of Madison develop a public market as the area braces for the closure of the Oscar Mayer plant on the city’s east side.
Walker said he met last week with Madison Mayor Paul Soglin to discuss the pending closure of the Oscar Mayer plant, and it was at that meeting that Soglin raised the prospect of state help for a public market. The project has long been of interest to Soglin.
Walker told reporters he’d like to help.
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“We’d have to look at what role we could play, but we’re very interested in doing that because it fits with our food and beverage industry focus,” said Walker.
The market as envisioned by Soglin would offer retail, wholesale and food production facilities as well as restaurants and breweries. It could cost as much as $13.5 million to build.
Soglin’s request came after he was critical of the state for not contacting Oscar Mayer parent company Kraft-Heinz following its landmark merger earlier this year.
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