Chipotle vs Qdoba - Milton Ave Rivals

Forget McDonald's and Burger King or Taco Bell and Taco Johns - there's a new rivalry in town! With the increasing popularity of the FAST CASUAL restaurant, Milton Avenue is adding yet another to the line up. The grand opening for Chipotle Mexican Grill (Chipotle), located at 3515 Milton Ave next to the NEW Diamond Center, is slated for a June 18, 2015 OPENING.  

You may know that Chipotle is a chain of restaurants specializing in

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burritos and tacos. Its name drives from chipotle, the Nahuatl name for a smoked and dried jalapeno chili pepper. The company mission statement, Food with Integrity, highlights its efforts in using organic ingredients, and their restaurants serve more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant chain. Chipotle is said to be one of the first chains of fast casual dining establishments. 

SOLD: 1333 Excalibur Dr

This office building with a large garage space was sold today for $160,000!

SOLD: 1162 E High St

Bill Mears brokered the sale of this 5,800 SF industrial building in Milton, WI, that closed earlier today!

Roundabouts are OUT and Diverging Diamonds are IN

Janesville residents were first introduced to the "modern" roundabout in 2007, one at the intersection of Sandhill Drive and Sandstone and the other on Morse Street off of Hwy 26 at the entrance of the new Menards development. Two more roundabouts were constructed in 2013 at the Racine Street on/off ramps with I-39/90. The roundabout was such a hot topic during construction that the City of Janesville posted a "Roundabouts" selection under Department and Services tab on their website in hopes of helping drivers navigate around the central island. 

While I've never personally been in or witnessed an accident in these areas, I can't deny that the roundabout provides a safer driving environment by reducing speeds and conflict points and allowing easier decision-making for drivers. So maybe the roundabout is everything they said it would be. 

Courtesy of http://www.mikeontraffic.com/

But what is a Diverging Diamond Intersection and will the City of Janesville soon be providing us with yet another selection under the Department and Services tab? The Wisconsin Department of Transportation already has.

Thinking Outside the Box: 7 New Ways to Invest

Traditionally, real estate investment has been in each of the five main property types: retail, industrial, multifamily, office, and hospitality. Yet in the last decade or so, investors have been branching out into more specialized endeavors.

Farms

The world’s population is expected to increase to about 9 billion people by 2050, while the UN predicts a steady decline in the amount of arable land per capita from 0.218 to 0.181 hectares in that same time. In the Midwest, there has been a 128% rise in average farmland values over the last decade, shooting up from $1,270 an acre in 2003 to $2,900 in 2013 (by USDA estimates).