Ariens Company working on trio of projects

May 8, 2020

By David Nordby

The Brillion News

BRILLION – Ariens Company, like it often does, is thinking big with its latest corporate projects.

A trio of developments – Stone Prairie Pavilions on Center Road in Brillion, upgrades to the Ariens Museum and a new structure on Round Lake – fall under the new Ariens Hospitality Group the company has created.

Ariens Company President and CEO Dan Ariens hopes to continue to make Brillion a destination spot with developments like these.

“That’s one of the larger purposes of these structures, including the purpose of Brillion Works, is I would love to see Brillion become a destination for those around the region,” Ariens said. “I think we can draw from as far away as Milwaukee and Madison, I really do. That will be limited but I think we’ll be able to draw people to the community to see some interesting, unique, rural, very rural, back to nature kinds of things.”

Ann Stilp, Executive Program Manager; Elise Ariens, Dan’s daughter; and Monica Ariens, Dan’s daughter-in-law, are spearheading the hospitality projects.

“They’re both very creative working with Ann and we’re going to build a hospitality group,” Dan Ariens said.

Ariens says people from large metropolitan areas can come see how early, small communities have not only originated, but have sustained.

“I really do think around the United States, small communities are actually going to be more and more significant and important,” Ariens said. Ariens says the COVID-19 pandemic “accentuates that point.”

“We’re safe communities. We’re socially distanced just by our nature. We’re not on top of each other in 30-story high rises. We’re spread out just by the nature of the size of our communities,” Ariens said.

Ariens says part of the community expansion is growth management.

“I know maybe people will think that we’re trying to do too much and overdo it, but I don’t think we’re there by any means. I think we’re actually putting in some infrastructure that gives people a reason to put Brillion on their map,” Ariens said.

Ariens says the company’s projects are like Brillion Works’ redevelopment, and that as the city grows, housing options will need to, too.

“We just have no housing here. As a company here, whether its myself or PPI (Professional Plating) or the Endries group, we’re looking for employees and the closer we can have employees to our locations, the better off we are,” Ariens said.

Ariens says that additional housing would expand the city’s tax base.

“That will help the city get back on its feet financially,” Ariens said.

This all will bring people into Brillion, too, he says.

“Part of the larger purpose here is to create Brillion as a purposeful destination,” Ariens said.

Stone Prairie Pavilions

On Center Road, the Stone Prairie Pavilions are being built, the project that helped create the idea of the hospitality group. Stone Prairie will be an outdoor event site for the company near its trail system between Plants 1 and 2.

Please see the complete story with additional details on the three projects in the May 7, 2020 print edition of The Brillion News.