In yet another sign of how urban sprawl from Chicago is changing Kenosha County, Kenosha-based United Hospital System plans to double the size of St. Catherine’s Medical Center in Pleasant Prairie.
The project would add about 240,000 square feet of space to the 227,000-square-foot hospital at 9555 76th St. A third and fourth floor will be built on the top of the current two-story building, and an addition will be added to the building’s first floor.
Once fully built out, the expansion project will create about 480 new jobs at the hospital, bringing total employment there to 1,065, according to Peter J. Molter, vice president of United Hospital System. Including the cost of new equipment, the expansion project will cost about $80 million.
Construction is expected to begin soon and be complete in 2011 said Linda Wohlgemuth, vice president and chief operating officer of United Hospital System. The first floor addition will provide space to expand the hospital’s surgery and emergency room departments. The new third floor will be shell space for future expansion. “We’re analyzing now what services should be put there,” Wohlgemuth said.
Obstetric services and offices will be moved from United Hospital System’s Kenosha Medical Center in downtown Kenosha to the fourth floor of the expanded St. Catherine’s Medical Center. That will move the system’s childbirth services to the west side of town, closer to the newer subdivisions in Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie, where many of the county’s younger families live.
“It makes sense to have it more centrally located for them,” Wohlgemuth said.
The current obstetric service space at the Kenosha Medical Center will be switched to private surgical beds, she said.
The population growth of Kenosha County has increased the need for more medical facilities there, Wohlgemuth said.
However, St. Catherine’s is also serving an increasing number of customers from Illinois, Wohlgemuth said. In a dispute over billing rates, Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill. ended its PPO contract with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois, the largest health insurer in that state. As a result, many patients with Blue Cross & Blue Shield insurance coverage are coming to St. Catherine’s, Wohlgemuth said.
In addition, for many patients in Northern Illinois it is easier to get to St. Catherine’s, than Chicago area hospitals because of increasing traffic problems south of the state line. Illinois customers can take I-94 to Highway 50 to quickly get to the Pleasant Prairie hospital.
“It’s very easy to get here,” Wohlgemuth said.
Glendale
Johnson Controls Inc. plans to lease about 30,000 square feet of office space and Sheboygan-based HSA Bank, which specializes in health savings accounts, plans to lease 18,000 square feet of office space in a 250,000-square-foot building at 5055 N. Lydell Ave., owned by Milwaukee-based Mallory Properties. Manpower Inc. leased about 125,000 square feet of office space in the building, before moving its headquarters to downtown Milwaukee last year. There is about 65,000 to 70,000 square feet of vacant space still available in the building.
Milwaukee
Design Specialists Inc., which currently leases space at 7664 N. 81st St., Milwaukee, plans to move to a 40,000-square-foot industrial building that it will build at 11100 W. Heather Ave. on the far northwest side of Milwaukee, in the Towne Corporate Park of Granville. The firm makes glass doors for fireplaces, which it sells to specialty hearth retailers. About 25 to 30 people work for the company full time and another 25 to 30 work on a seasonal basis between September and April.
Sheboygan
Jesse Ortega plans to open a Little Caesars Pizza restaurant in the Northgate Shopping Center at 2825 N. 15th St. Detroit-based Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. operates and franchises more than 2,300 carry-out pizza restaurants, including 10 in Wisconsin.
Delafield
Tara Dall plans to open a medical clinic, called Advanced Lipidology S.C., at 524 Milwaukee St. in downtown Delafield. The building is owned by Ace Delafield Properties LLC, a subsidiary of Cudahy-based Steinergroup Inc.
BadgerlandByOwner.com LLC, 2.4 Realty LLC and Tarantino Financial Group LLC plan to open a real estate, mortgage and insurance agency at 2410 Milwaukee St.
Lake Geneva
Downers Grove, Ill.-based Heartland Midwest LLC plans to tear down the former Burger King building at 100 N. Well St. and build a new Burger King restaurant in its place. The existing building on the property has been vacant for more than a year.
Grafton
Endeavor Development plans to demolish a 20,000 to 25,000-square-foot portion of an industrial building at 1964 Wisconsin Ave., so the building can be converted into about 35,000 square feet of multi-tenant retail space.
Cedar Grove
The village of Cedar Grove, located in southern Sheboygan County, recently received a $450,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce to clean up the former J.M. Bruce Foundry property, at 617 S. Main St., which is a contaminated brownfield site. The complex of four buildings has been vacant, or used for storage, since 2000. The village will use the grant for demolition and clean-up work costs. After the site is cleaned up, the village plans to make it available for commercial development. Milwaukee-based Kapur & Associates, an engineering firm, assisted the village with its submittal for the state grant.
Wauwatosa
John Picciurro plans to open a cocktail lounge called Baby Grand at 11302 W. Bluemound Road. The two-story, 2,700-square-foot building was previously occupied by an Indian restaurant. Baby Grand will feature performances by piano players, and will serve appetizers in addition to alcoholic beverages.
Brookfield
Racine-based Johnson Bank recently opened an office in Brookfield at 14000 W. North Ave., in a new 11,500-square-foot building. The bank has 25 employees in the Brookfield office. Along with full service banking including wealth advisory services, trust, investments and leasing, Johnson Insurance Services will also have a presence at the new location. The building, developed by Waukesha-based MRED-Cummings and designed by Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects, includes several environmentally-friendly “green” features and is being considered for LEED certification, the bank said. “We’re committed to building strong relationships in our communities, and think a building of this architectural and environmental stature demonstrates that commitment,” said Brad Quade, president of Johnson Bank.
Commercial real estate transactions
Leases
Dickman Company
PCI Inc. leased 4,385 square feet of industrial space at 700B Swan Dr., Mukwonago, from Bassett Holding Group Inc.
Applus Autologic Inc. leased 12,667 square feet of industrial and office space at N56 W24701 N. Corporate Circle, Sussex, from Contractors Investments LLC.
Mid-America Real Estate
Little Caesar’s leased 2,000 square feet of retail space at Northgate Center, 2825 N. 15th St., Sheboygan, from Inland Commercial Property Management, Inc.
Quiznos Subs leased 1,680 square feet of retail space at Village Market of Hales Corners, 5750 – 5800 S. 108th St., Hales Corners, from The Mid America Management Corp.
PetSmart, Inc. leased 18,496 square feet of retail space at Prairie Ridge in Pleasant Prairie from GB-MA Pleasant Prairie LLC.
NAI MLG Commercial
Edward D. Jones & Co. leased 1,200 square feet of retail space at 1201-85 E. Sumner Dr., Hartford, from Hartford Plaza LLC.
Blueberry’s LLC leased 1,396 square feet of retail space at 5311 S. 108th St., Hales Corners, from Hales Corners LLC.
Siegel-Gallagher
Aurora Behavioral Health Services leased 3,345 square feet of office space at 6980 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale, from Adelman Properties LLC.
Sales
Mid-America Real Estate
Anthony Fernicola purchased the 65,000-sqaure-foot Pick ‘N Save store at 1202 N. Green Bay Road, Mt. Pleasant, from MRED Highway 31/Spring Associates LLP.
Heidner Properties purchased 6,750 square feet of space at 1606-08 S. Main St, West Bend, from Alliance Development.
NAI MLG Commercial
AJK Properties LLC purchased 18,600 square feet of industrial space at 2800 S. 166th St., New Berlin, from Supra Color Enterprises Inc.
New construction
Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corp. has been hired to design and build a 40,000-square-foot space for Independence First and a 20,000-square-foot space for First Edge Solutions at 544 S. First St. in Milwaukee, a 30,000-square-foot multi-tenant building for Starla LLC at W188 S8393 Mercury Dr. in the Muskego Industrial Park in Muskego. Briohn has also been hired to design and build a 20,000-square-foot addition for Chef Craft Corp. at N29 W2372 Woodgate Court East in Pewaukee, a 15,800-square-foot addition to Marking Services Inc.’s facility at 8265 N. Faulkner Road, Milwaukee, a 4,362-square-foot office space for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network in the Bayshore Town Center at 500 W. Silver Spring Dr., Suite K-290, Glendale, and a 1,520-square-foot nail salon for LYLY Nails at One Mayfair Place, 2727 N. Mayfair Road, Suite D, Wauwatosa. Briohn recently completed a 40,000-square-foot tenant improvement for M&I Wealth Management in the Milwaukee Center at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave., Milwuakee; a 10,800-square-foot ambulatory care facility for Columbia St. Mary’s and a 1,300-square-foot retail tenant improvement for Omaha Steaks, both in One Mayfair Place at 2751 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa.
Wauwatosa-based Selzer-Ornst Construction Co. said it is nearing completion of the expansion of The Private Bank’s downtown Milwaukee office, the buildout of the Friends of Housing corporate offices in downtown Milwaukee and the 13,000-square-foot phase II expansion of Brookdale Senior Living’s West Allis office.