Center cities--the next frontier for Johnson Controls

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has run a two part series on Milwaukee-based Fortune 500 Company Johnson Controls and their plans for "making money by doing good" in the inner cities.

This article started the series, "Corporate catalyst for stricken cities: Johnson Controls has a blueprint to revive urban centers across the country while expanding its business." From the article:

Hurricane Katrina took one of the nation's poorest cities and transformed much of it into an uninhabitable wasteland. And for Johnson Controls Inc., a Fortune 100 engineering firm, the storm unexpectedly turned New Orleans into a proving ground for a corporate expansion strategy that appears to be without precedent. The $32 billion-a-year conglomerate, which Wall Street honors with a high-flying stock price, believes it can boost its balance sheet further by rebuilding the dormant economies of inner cities across the country.

"It's a growth opportunity, it's a new market that we're not in, and it's big numbers," said Eric A. Reisner, a vice president for strategic programs at Johnson Controls.

To make the plan work, engineers and senior managers will become urban advocates, networked into some of the nation's toughest neighborhoods, including those in Milwaukee. The company plans to champion projects meant to revive blighted urban centers - creating new schools, affordable housing, community centers and clinics - by coordinating new development projects, raising funds and working with faith-based groups and civic leaders. And in the process, the company intends to fill its order books as each project gets under way.

Interesting, though there's nothing on the Johnson Controls website about this project. No press release, nothing.

Photo: Gary Porter, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Arts and job training complement each other perfectly, feeding both mind and soul, according to Jay Weigel, artistic director of the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, who plans to turn this empty warehouse in the center into a facility for training workers. Johnson Controls is helping as part of its broader MetroMarkets initiative.

MetroMarkets Strategy At A Glance

-- Assign an executive to coordinate efforts in each city, working with local investors, civic leaders, faith-based groups and developers.
-- Focus on one neighborhood at a time, roughly 10 square blocks.
-- Select projects for each area, including rebuilding schools, housing, clinics and commercial spaces.
-- Start a special job skills training program in each city, customizing skills training to the needs of leading local employers and merging it with a music and arts academy.
-- Take equity stakes in local minority firms, share contracts with them and help them grow.
-- Raise funds for projects by using Johnson Controls' corporate clout and connections to pay for development.

Index Keywords: urban-revitalization