The former Venture Plaza commercial building southwest of Appleton Avenue and Pilgrim Road in Menomonee Falls is getting a makeover.
According to village documents, the four-story building at W156 N8327 Pilgrim Road, formerly known as Venture Plaza, will get a full repaint to a tan and dark brown color and a band of wood siding will also be installed above the first floor, under renovation plans proposed by property owner Jeffrey Martin and project contractor, Nashotah-based
MSI General Corp.
The exterior plans are in addition to work that's underway in the building's interior. Martin said in an interview with BizTimes that the building's two first floors are being renovated.
When finished, the first floor will have six offices, a new bathroom and a conference room. This will in part replace what was formerly used as a windowed maintenance area, he said. Meanwhile, the second floor will be turned into a training center for up to approximately 50 people along with eight new offices.
The renovated building will be renamed Martin Plaza, according to the project plans.
At least the first floor will be occupied by ePlatinumHealth, an insurance agency Martin co-owns. He said the company is relocating from Germantown, and will initially have three paid staffers and four agents working out of the new office. The company could later expand into the second floor, he said. The top two floors are being leased to the building's existing seven tenants.
MSI General pulled a building permit last week for a nearly 3,400-square-foot interior build-out valued at roughly $287,500, according to village permit records.
Altogether, Martin said he will spend about $500,000 on the renovation project. This includes $240,000 alone to replace the windows. Martin said he bought the roughly 20,000-square-foot building in June for $600,000.
The exterior renovations are scheduled for consideration by the village's Architectural Control Board on Tuesday. Martin said he hopes to have renovations finished in November.
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The building is located along the Appleton Avenue commercial corridor, an area that's been buzzing with development and investment activity of late.
A
new Burger King restaurant was built recently near the northeast corner of Appleton Avenue and Pilgrim Road, and next door to that a
new Waukesha State Bank branch is under construction.
Two strip mall buildings northeast of Appleton Avenue and University Drive were acquired in 2019 by a Minnesota investor, were renovated and then earlier this year
landed a new 5,000-square-foot retail tenant in Sola Salon Studios.
Just north of those buildings, a new Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins building was recently constructed southeast of where Appleton Avenue meets Elm Lane.
A BMO Harris branch northwest of Appleton and Elm was acquired by a Milwaukee investor and developer for $1.7 million. Further south,
the Pick 'n Save Marketplace building at N77 W14435 Appleton Ave. was sold to a California real estate investor for a stunning $28.4 million.
