Real estate deal of the week

Arcadia, Wis.-based Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. purchased 5.32 acres on Cabela Way in the Washington County Town of Polk from Cabela’s Retail Inc. for $1.6 million. Andy Stefanich of CB Richard Ellis represented Ashley Furniture in brokering the deal. Ashley Furniture plans to build a 56,000-square-foot furniture store on the property, which is just north of the 165,000-square-foot Cabela’s outdoor gear store at U.S. Highway’s 41 and 45. The store is expected to open in March said Gary Colby, senior real estate manager for Ashley. There are 330 Ashley Furniture stores throughout the U.S., some owned by the company and others owned by franchisees. This store will be owned by the company, Colby said. "We saw a need for another store in the greater Milwaukee area," he said. The company liked the site in the Town of Polk because of "the draw that we anticipate that Cabela’s has," Colby said.