Developers are planning to build a new Walgreens store on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee that will replace the current Walgreens store on the street.
If the current store, located northwest of North Avenue and King Drive, closes, it will create a vacant space at a key location in the Bronzeville District. But if the store closes, that could also spur plans to redevelop the site.
“It’s always exciting when new development is proposed on the street,” said Teig Whaley-Smith, executive director of the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District. “The new Walgreens is a significant investment. Any vacancy on North Avenue will be quickly filled. It’s a prime location.”
Waukesha-based MRED Cummings Commercial Development Corp., Milwaukee-based Endeavor Development Inc. and Milwaukee-based Vanguard Group LLC plan to build the new 14,700-square-foot Walgreens store at 2826 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The existing King Drive Walgreens store is located about two-thirds of a mile to the south at 2303 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I believe (the proposed King Drive Walgreens) is to replace (the existing King Drive store),” said Mark Lake, director of development for MRED Cummings. “(The proposed store) is more centrally located. The North and (King) store isn’t centrally located per their normal distribution network. This one would be.”
The existing King Drive Walgreens also lacks a drive-thru lane and an in-store clinic, which are standard for new Walgreens stores, Lake said.
“That store is too small for Walgreens’ current model,” he said.
The current King Drive Walgreens store is located in Brooks Plaza, which is owned by Inner City Redevelopment Corp., a nonprofit organization. “I can’t stop (Walgreens) if they decide to relocate,” said J. Allen Stokes, executive director for Inner City Redevelopment Corp. “We’ll work on it and try to accommodate them.”
The ICRC is now working on redevelopment plans for the Brooks Plaza site, Stokes said, including residential, retail and office space. The nonprofit is now examining differing architectural firms for the potential project and weighing different site plans. If Walgreens closes its store in the mall, the nonprofit would consider rearranging its existing retailers or accelerating its plans to redevelop the property, Stokes said.
The developers for the new Walgreens store are buying the property, located on the east side of King Drive between Hadley and Locust streets, from Lake Forest, Ill.-based S&J Properties Inc.
The site is located in an area of King Drive that is slowly seeing improvement. A Burger King restaurant is located to the north of the proposed Walgreens site. To the south of the site is King Commons I, a three-story building with about 5,000 square feet of commercial space and 18 apartments above it. King commons I is located next to a Ponderosa restaurant.
The 1.23-acre proposed Walgreens property has a mostly vacant 30,519-square-foot building that was formerly an auto shop. That building would be demolished to make way for the new Walgreens store.
Lake declined to disclose the sale price for the property. It has an assessed value of $156,000, according to city records.
Construction for the new store could begin in June, Lake said. Once completed the store will have about 35 employees, plus a drive-thru pharmacy window, a health clinic, a photo finishing department and 52 on-site parking spaces.
Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. has 6,270 stores in the U.S.
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Greg and Ann Clausen plan to open a fitness center, called Body Logic Fitness, that will occupy the currently vacant second and third floors of a historic building at 703-09 Main Street in downtown Lake Geneva.
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Slumberland Inc. plans to build a furniture store on the site of a former Chi-Chi’s restaurant, northwest of Durand and Roosevelt avenues near Regency Mall. Little Canada, Minn.-based Slumberland Inc. has 111 stores in 10 states, including a store in Delavan.
Waukesha
Waukesha-based Bielinski Homes Inc. plans to build eight 39-unit residential buildings on a vacant 19-acre site northeast of East Broadway and Les Paul Parkway.
Commercial real estate Transactions
Leases
Colliers Barry
Project Two Customs LLC leased 6,750 square feet of industrial space at 1416 Poplar Dr., Waukesha, from Kelliher Commercial LLC.
Dickman Company
Thomasville Home Furnishings leased 6,635 square feet of industrial space at N93 W14615-65 Whittaker Way, Menomonee Falls, from Muncie Riverside Associates LP and Paul M. Kolosso.
Mid-America Real Estate
Buffalo Wild Wings leased 5,457 square feet of space in Pewaukee Commons, located at the northeast corner of Capitol Drive.
Snap Fitness leased 3,298 square feet of space in Woodland Market, located on Appleton Avenue and Good Hope Road in Menomonee Falls, from Weas Development.
Dollar Tree Stores Inc. leased 12,544 square feet of space in Glenwood Crossings, located at the southeast corner of 18th Avenue and 30th Street in Kenosha from United Properties.
LyLy Nails leased 1,632 square feet of space and Specs Appeal leased 1,962 square feet of space at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale.
Sales
Colliers Barry
AKSS LLC purchased the 12,346-square-foot industrial building at 1102 W. Bruce St., Milwaukee, from Helen Cargile LLC.
MAZ Properties LLC purchased the 10,880-square-foot industrial building at 1125 W. Northbranch St., Oak Creek, from S. Anderson LLC and Y,Y&K LLC.
Traffic and Parking Control Operations, d.b.a. TAPCO, purchased a 128,000-square-foot industrial building at 5100 W. Brown Deer Road, Brown Deer, from Concours Motors Inc.
Korom Investments LLC purchased the 3,000-square-foot retail and warehouse building at 2622 N. Wauwatosa Ave., Wauwatosa.
1415 Donges Bay LLC purchased the 4,000-square-foot office building at 1415 Donges Bay Road, Mequon, from Pete and Kathleen Plautz.
WMB Properties LLC purchased the 16,500-square-foot industrial building at 16135 W. Ryerson Road, New Berlin, from WSG LLC.
Dickman Company
Henax LLC purchased 16,970 square feet of space at 3490 N. 127th St., Brookfield, from Zelm Realty Company.
Judson & Associates
John Smaglik purchased 1,440 square feet of space at W220 N7071 Townline Road, Lisbon, from Joseph Clanton.
GJS Holdings LLC purchased 12,000 square feet of space at 2785 S. 167th St., New Berlin, from Mason & Weiss Properties.
WMB Properties LLC purchased 16,500 square feet of space at 16135 Ryerson Road, New Berlin, from WSG LLC.
New construction
Menomonee Falls-based Creative Constructors LLC was recently awarded a contract to build a one-story, 19,456-square-foot police station for the Village of Saukville.
Wauwatosa-based Selzer-Ornst Construction Company recently completed the downtown Milwaukee office remodeling project for Professional Placement Services.
Oconomowoc-based MSI General Corp. was hired to design and build the new 160,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Menomonee Valley for Charter Wire. The facility will be built between Wheelhouse Road and Milwaukee Road. Construction is planned to start in August 2008, with a move-in date slated for late 2009. Charter Wire, a division of Charter Manufacturing of Mequon, will move to the building from 114 N. Jackson St. in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
