Milwaukee Suburban Development News

[Eriol]

Technically speaking, Wisconsin does not have townships. We have towns. The difference may be negligible, but exists nonetheless.

I grew up in the Town of Bristol, which is now the Village of Bristol. The village was established about a year and a half ago and was a section of the original town. The remainder was left as the truncated town. But last summer the town had a referendum on merging with the village and that passed, so about July 1st it all became the village and the town ceased to exist, although the official maps don't show it yet.

I did read later that a resident of the rump town was suing to stop the merger, but heard nothing more of that. I guess he didn't want to pay taxes to the village for the additional services.

[atrain5371]

For once I agree with Mike. There is huge waste in Wisconsin's overlapping levels of government.

[skylinedude]

The Franklin Common Council seems to be leaning towards an approval for the first Meijer store in Wisconsin to be located near Highway 100 and Loomis Road. It would bring in 200 to 250 new jobs. If everything goes as planned they will open in 2014.

So with Meijer looking to expand in Wisconsin, I can see other communities that would look forward to having Meijer.

In Waukesha County I could see this company looking at the Village or Town of Merton near Highway VV and Lake Five Road giving this area of nearly 12,000 residents their first major chain in a fast growing area. Probably would even think they would look into areas of western part of the county near Dousman or Summit with its growing population.

In Washington County I could see Meijer looking into the Polk, Jackson or Slinger area near US 41 or US 45. Again another steadily growing suburban corridor with Highway 60 being expanded to 4 lanes from Slinger to Jackson. Also the Village of Richfield at the US 41/45 split could be a possible good location for Meijer.

Its great to see this company finally looking to expand in Wisconsin.

[hybridy]

Originally Posted by skylinedude

The Franklin Common Council seems to be leaning towards an approval for the first Meijer store in Wisconsin to be located near Highway 100 and Loomis Road. It would bring in 200 to 250 new jobs. If everything goes as planned they will open in 2014.

So with Meijer looking to expand in Wisconsin, I can see other communities that would look forward to having Meijer.

In Waukesha County I could see this company looking at the Village or Town of Merton near Highway VV and Lake Five Road giving this area of nearly 12,000 residents their first major chain in a fast growing area. Probably would even think they would look into areas of western part of the county near Dousman or Summit with its growing population.

In Washington County I could see Meijer looking into the Polk, Jackson or Slinger area near US 41 or US 45. Again another steadily growing suburban corridor with Highway 60 being expanded to 4 lanes from Slinger to Jackson. Also the Village of Richfield at the US 41/45 split could be a possible good location for Meijer.

Its great to see this company finally looking to expand in Wisconsin.

if they play their cards right, meijer and woodman's can team up and market to their strengths and put walmart out of its misery. i'd rather have wi & mi stores capturing the market share.

[skylinedude]

Now I found out that Meijer is looking to build over on Port Washington Road south of the Home Depot and Office Max in Grafton. That is the 35 acre site at one time proposed for a Menards which never panned out back in 2006.

[Jschmuck]

Meijer is also looking for a possible warehouse site in Racine or Kenosha counties to accompany the possible WI stores;

Meijer seeks 100 acres for Wisconsin distribution center

The Business Journal by Sean Ryan, Reporter
Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 12:13pm CDT - Last Modified: Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 12:23pm CDT

Meijer Inc. is looking to buy more than 100 acres in Racine or Kenosha counties to build a distribution center that could be upwards of 1 million square feet, according to real estate sources.

The prospect of a distribution center follows The Business Journal's report of Meijer’s plans to expand into the Wisconsin market with new stores, starting with one in Franklin that may open in 2014. The company for more than a year has been exploring sites of at least 100 acres in southeast Wisconsin for the distribution center. The project would be a ground-up development, according to sources.

the rest here; http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee...wisconsin.html

[SWDetroit]

Originally Posted by hybridy

if they play their cards right, meijer and woodman's can team up and market to their strengths and put walmart out of its misery. i'd rather have wi & mi stores capturing the market share.

I see little chance that Meijer would cooperate with Woodman, as Meijer is a much larger outfit. In addition, Meijer coexists quite well with the Walmarts in Michigan. If any stores would suffer because of Meijer's presence, it definitely would be the remaining Kroger, K-Mart, and Sears stores--and Roundy's O&O groceries.

A typical Meijer store (all are open 24/7 BTW) has its own large bakery, good produce, including some exotic items, and a fair amount of bulk items, especially nuts and candies--in addition to its large discount store (about three times or more the size of its well-stocked grocery).

Although I live two miles from Canada, there are still 17 Meijer stores within 20 miles of my residence. There are no Meijers in Ontario.

Spartan Foods--also headquartered in Grand Rapids--is one of the major grocery chains in Michigan, with its numerous franchises.

[Eriol]

Woodman's already beats Walmart in price and selection. Their only negatives are nonexistant customer service, not so good meat selection and the place is just so huge it is daunting to go in for just a couple things.

If Meijer can't beat Woodman's prices they better stay clear of them.

[SWDetroit]

Originally Posted by Eriol

Woodman's already beats Walmart in price and selection. Their only negatives are nonexistant customer service, not so good meat selection and the place is just so huge it is daunting to go in for just a couple things.

If Meijer can't beat Woodman's prices they better stay clear of them.

Meijer's and Woodman's are two very different animals. Woodman's general merchandise sales could not come anywhere close to what Meijer will have. Roundy's stores will have to compete, as their stores will be targeted by Meijer's aggressive merchandizing.

And there are 38 independently owned Spartan Stores (groceries) within ten miles from here--one two blocks away, even though some 40% of my "neighborhood" is Ontario--where no Spartans exist. All in all, there are over three dozen groceries in Southwest Detroit (about 15% of the city of Detroit).

And the Menards chain is finally building its way over here.

[Jschmuck]

New office building planned for Grafton

By Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel
May 9, 2012 7:00 a.m.

A 45,000-square-foot office building proposed for Grafton has been approved by the Village Board.

Wangard Partners Inc. plans to develop the building at Cheyenne Ave. and Badger Circle, north of Highway 60, in the Grafton Business Park. The firm hasn't yet disclosed the name of the building's tenant.

The village will spend an estimated $250,000 on street work to serve the 6-acre site, said Darrell Hofland, village administrator. That money will be repaid to the village through a special assessment on Wangard Partners and an adjacent property owner, Hofland said.

The building will have a guaranteed minimum value of $5.2 million under a development agreement approved Monday by the Village Board.

[skylinedude]

3 apartment buildings proposed on Beaumont between Santa Monica and Consaul in Whitefish Bay.

http://www.biztimes.com/article/2012...RS06/120519801

[skylinedude]

Planning for Highway 60 from US 45 in the Village of Jackson to 11th Avenue in the Village of Grafton from two to four lanes and some bypasses is underway. Here is the plan info: http://www.dot.state.wi.us/projects/...n/60/index.htm

For the section of Highway 60 from US 45 to County Highway G there are a few plans for urban widening on the current alignment which I think is the wrong move. So they also have one northern bypass following Cedar Creek Road and two southern bypass options going along Sherman Road. The two I liked the most were the southern bypass options along Sherman Road. Those options has minimal relocation options. The one southern bypass option goes County Highway P, Sherman Road then along Cedar Creek to Highway 60 east of Maple Road. The other southern bypass is similar but goes more along Sherman Road and then goes northeast and connects back to Highway 60 at County Highway G.

The other bypass being planned is around the Five Corners intersection in Cedarburg. Both options would go north of the current highway, go through and close the air strip to the northeast of Five Corners and connect back west of County Highway I. All of the other sections would be widened to 4 lanes in rural and urban layout. The project is still a few years from reality but this will make Highway 60 a full 4 lane north suburban beltline highway.

[skylinedude]

I attended one of the recent DOT planning meetings for planned improvements on I-43 from Glendale to Grafton. The plan is looking to widen the freeway from 4 lanes to 6 lanes of traffic a few years after the 2014 resurfacing project. The biggest concern seems to be between Silver Spring Drive and Good Hope Road. One suggestion I gave them is to build an overhead highway from north of Silver Spring and connect back to surface level at the Good Hope interchange. If this idea happens that would free up the space below to connect a few more roads as surface streets back to Glendale. Those streets would be Brentwood Lane, Apple Tree Road and Daphne Road. Then in exchange they could close the connection to Green Tree Road over I-43. Its an idea, hope the DOT looks at this option.

[usbmfa]

Was the environmental justice league there, or are they just going wait to for the plan to get approved and funded before they file suit in Dane Co?

[Jesse276]

Originally Posted by usbmfa

Was the environmental justice league there, or are they just going wait to for the plan to get approved and funded before they file suit in Dane Co?

The only way they'll fund it is with more debt or cutting the maintenance budget further.

More of the same for the DOT, at least they're consistent.

[Nexis]

Wrong Milwaukee thread...

[mgk920]

Among other items that were on the ballot this past Tuesday, I note that a proposal to merge Lisbon Township (Waukesha County) with the Village of Sussex failed at referendum.

I guess that Sussex will then just continue to annex small chunks of Lisbon (which was also recently turned down by the state in an attempt to incorporate itself as a village) as they have in the past.

Mike

[skylinedude]

At this point both the Town of Lisbon and the Village of Sussex need to come up with a border agreement The state did say to the Town of Lisbon, when they were going to originally become a village, that all town land east of Highway 164 and south of the Highway 74 and County Highway V intersection by the railroad overpass would be better served by being annexed to the Village of Sussex. Looking at it on a map especially at the Highway 164 and County Highway K intersection the Village of Sussex has the northeast and southwest corners and the Town of Lisbon has the northwest and southeast corners. Town of Lisbon officials should follow the state recommendations to focus on the intact northern portions of the community and come up with a plan to grow that area.

[skylinedude]

Info from the Business Blog on JS Online:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/168592716.html

[brewcityfan]

While a bit late in the notation, some positive news for Milwaukee-area retail.

The news that has captured the most attention recently is that Nordstrom is FINALLY entering the Milwaukee market with its Nordstrom Rack brand, which will open in Wauwatosa at the new Mayfair Collection shopping center.

http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee...watosa-in.html

Big box chain Meijer is rapidly entering the market as well, with four locations proposed or approved already in Franklin, Grafton, Sussex and Wauwatosa. The Tosa site is right across the street from the Mayfair Collection development.

http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee...ukee-area.html

Southridge Mall is improving greatly since Macy's opened up shop in March and several new retailers and restaurants have been attracted to the new opportunities there, including Longhorn Steakhouse, Tilly's, Journey's Kidz, Crazy 8, and rumored is Ann Taylor Loft. In what perhaps is a downside, Panda Express is under construction on one of the mall outlots and Chick-fil-A is being proposed across the street in one of the new Wal-Mart outlots.