CRE spotlight

Development is picking up along the South 27th Street corridor, whether Oak Creek and Franklin governmental officials are ready for it or not.
Developers John Hoppe and Jeff Korpal plan to build a 6,200-square-foot professional office building at 8153 S. 27th St. in Franklin.
Hoppe owns Hoppe Woodworks in Franklin, and Korpal owns Korpal & Associates LLC, a real estate brokerage in Franklin. Korpal said they are still seeking tenants for the building.
"I’m considering being one of the tenants myself," Korpal said. "The rising population of both Franklin and Oak Creek makes that a very good area to do business. It’s got good access to the freeway, which means people can easily get to downtown, Brookfield, Racine or even Chicago if need be."
Franklin and Oak Creek have placed a moratorium on development on South 27th Street until Feb. 1, so officials can have time to create uniform zoning districts for the street, which separates the two cities. The street is now the home of Northwestern Mutual Life’s new office campus, which lights up the sky at night at the former site of the 41 Twin drive-in theater.
The Hoppe and Korpal plan was submitted before the moratorium was created.
Several other projects are on the table for the 27th Street corridor:
— Golden Corral Buffet & Grill plans to build a restaurant at 6805 S. 27th St. in Franklin. The 10,300-square-foot restaurant would be built on a vacant lot. No formal plans for the restaurant have been submitted, but city officials have reviewed a concept plan for the development, said Ashley Booth, planner for the city of Franklin.
— A 5,500-square-foot Famous Dave’s Restaurant is planned for 5077 S. 27th St. in Greenfield. The site is a vacant lot and is the former location of a Sentry grocery store.
— A Travlin’ Jo Expresso-to-Go is planned for the College Green Retail Center at South 27th Street and College Avenue in Greenfield. The specialty coffee shop will be built in a parking lot. It will include a drive-thru window.
"I think maybe 27th Street as a whole as it runs through this portion of Milwaukee County is seeing a renewed interest," said Chuck Erickson, planning director for the City of Greenfield. "I think it has picked up in the last few months."
Franklin officials expect more development in the corridor, as other businesses will want to locate near NML’s glitzy campus.
"I think there is a lot of activity that is going to start taking place there," Booth said. "(Northwestern Mutual) has a large portion to do with it."
In other area real estate development news:
Greenfield
Frauenshuh Cos. and Children’s Hospital plan to build a two-story, 40,000-square-foot medical office building south of the Surgi-Center at 3223 S. 103rd St.
Loomis Investments LLC plans to build an 8,000-square-foot office building and a 9,000-square-foot out-patient surgery center at 4125 W. Loomis Road. The office building will be the first phase of the two-phase development. Advanced Pain Management will occupy the second phase of the project. The project still needs to receive zoning and site plan approval from the city.
Glendale
A Nothing But Noodles restaurant and a Bay Shore Graphics retail printing and graphic design shop plan to lease space in a new multi-tenant retail building at 6150 N. Port Washington Road. Nothing But Noodles will occupy about 5,000 square feet of space, and Bay Shore Graphics will occupy about 1,600 square feet of space.
Paragon Printing and Graphics plans to occupy 5,000 square feet of space in a multi-tenant building at 2041-43 W. Mill Road.
Waukesha
Citizens Bank of Mukwonago plans to build a two-story, 12,665-square-foot branch on a vacant lot at the southeast corner of Center Road and Les Paul Parkway. The company plans to move its credit and loan department from its Mukwonago headquarters to the Waukesha branch, said Doug Bruins, vice president of Citizens Bank of Mukwonago. Construction is expected to begin this month and be completed during the second quarter of 2005. The building will have a 1,850 square-foot meeting room on the second floor, which business groups will be able to use for free, Bruins said.
Badger Property Management LLC plans to build a 3,835 square-foot building at the southwest corner of Moreland Boulevard and Delafield Street. The building could accommodate three retail tenants. It would be built on the site of a former gas station. A vacant gas station building on the property will be demolished if the retail building is built.
Racine
Roberto and Rosie Montaro plan to open a tire sales, repair and accessories business at 1225 Washington Ave. The business, to be called Montaro’s Tires and Plus, will occupy about 4,000 square-foot of an existing industrial building. They plan to open early this month, Rosie Montaro said.
Andrew Weiland is managing editor of Small Business Times. Send news about commercial real estate to Andrew.weiland@biztimes.com or by calling him at (414) 277-8181, ext. 120. News can also be sent to Andrew Weiland, Small Business Times, 1123 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202.
September 3, 2004, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI