JANESVILLE —
Four firms interested in being hired as the redevelopment consultant for the GM/JATCO property will sit for in-person public interviews on Monday and Tuesday in Janesville.
The four firms — AECOM of Middleton, Stantec of Cottage Grove, RINKA of Milwaukee and Sigma of Milwaukee — will be interviewed over two days by the city’s GM/JATCO Redevelopment Advisory Board.
RINKA and SIGMA will be interviewed by the advisory board at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, in the conference room of Fire Station #1, 303 Milton Ave. Stantec and AECOM will be interviewed in the same fire station conference room at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Both meetings are open to the public.
The four firms were chosen from a field of 10 that responded to a request for qualifications from the city. The aim is to hire a firm to guide the advisory board through the redevelopment process for the 250-acre brownfield former GM/JATCO site and a series of small adjacent properties, all of which the city has now acquired through eminent domain.
Firms with experience in brownfield redevelopment, industrial site reuse, environmental remediation and public engagement were sought.
A final recommendation will be forwarded to the Janesville City Council following the interviews.
In meeting documents for the planned Monday and Tuesday sessions, interview questions are shared. Among the topics the firms will be interviewed on: their project understanding and technical expertise, project team and management and public engagement strategy.
Among the specific questions they’ll all be asked:
- How do you integrate known and potential environmental constraints into land-use planning in a way that still results in an implementable and marketable redevelopment plan?
This site has a long and sensitive history in Janesville.
- How would you structure public engagement to build trust, manage expectations, and move the conversation toward a forward-looking vision?
- What are the most critical milestones you see in the first six months of this project, and how do they set the foundation for later phases?
- Why is your firm the right partner for the City on this project?
In lengthy documents submitted to the city as part of the selection process that resulted in them being named finalists, the four firms laid out their expertise and case for why they’d be best to hire, and shared about their project teams and past work.
The scope of the GM/JATCO redevelopment project, the inherent challenges and the positive impact for Janesville if it’s successful, appeared understood, their responses show.
“We recognize that this 250-acre brownfield is not simply a redevelopment opportunity—it is a chance to reshape the future of Janesville in a way that honors its legacy while positioning the community for long-term prosperity,” RINKA wrote. “The community’s connection to the GM legacy — and the impact of its closure — requires an engagement approach anchored in trust, clarity, and shared aspiration.”
Its public engagement plan, RINKA noted, could include online surveys, public open houses and workshops, event pop-up booths, listening sessions, focus groups and a project website.
“We understand that the GM/JATCO redevelopment is a generational project for the City of Janesville’s South Side,” AECOM wrote. “While the project could bring significant revenue for site remediation and unlock some portions of the site for other land uses, residents and neighbors seem equally aware of potential concerns.”
AECOM went on to lay out a series of steps that it would take “to successfully navigate this nuanced conversation and build community trust in our conclusions.”
