Franklin-based Mark Carstensen Construction & Development Companies Inc. plans to develop a 30-acre vacant property southeast of Drexel Avenue and Highway 100 with up to 295,000 square feet of upscale retail space. Carstensen, who could not be reached for comment, told city officials that the development would include a Sendik’s grocery store, said Doug Wheaton, director of city development.
There are nine Sendik’s grocery stores in the Milwaukee area, with two locations in Milwaukee, two locations in Brookfield and additional locations in Whitefish Bay, Mequon, Wauwatosa, Grafton and Bayside. None of the upscale grocery stores are located in the southern half of the metro Milwaukee area.
Carstensen’s upscale retail development would be called the Shops at Wyndham Village.
“We anticipate a number of national retail names blended with solid local upscale retailers, bringing the appropriate mix to the equation,” Carstensen said in a letter to city officials. “Examples of potential retailers include, but are not limited to, coffee shops, upscale grocery stores, retail store(s), banks, restaurants, or spa etc.”
The development would feature “old world classic architecture,” with stone and masonry materials on the buildings. The shops would also have decorative lampposts, a decorative fence, covered canopy walkways, outdoor seating, water features and extensive landscaping, Carstensen said in his letter to the city.
“Through careful site planning and urban design, Wyndham Village will offer customer/pedestrian friendly walks, and offer a scale that is appropriate for the area,” his letter to the city says. “I envision a customer and pedestrian friendly development that provides ample walks to promote walking to, from and between the stores allowing for the potential for coordination with other neighborhood linkages.”
The property needs to be re-zoned to accommodate Carstensen’s development. Current zoning would allow 240 units of multi-family housing.
“The question has to be asked if that is the highest and best use of the site,” Wheaton said.
The city is trying to attract more commercial development, Wheaton said. To reduce the tax burden on Franklin homeowners, city officials have set a land use goal of 70 percent residential property and 30 percent commercial property.
“We have a ways to go to meet that,” Wheaton said.
In addition, much of the city’s existing commercial development is located along South 27th Street, providing tax base for the Oak Creek Franklin Joint School District, but not for the Franklin Public School District. Carstensen’s development would boost the tax base for the Franklin Public School District.
However, a chance to a add a major commercial development was missed in 2004 when Wal-Mart dropped its plan to build a 184,000-square-foot Supercenter store at the corner of Highway 100 and Loomis Road, after city officials placed a temporary moratorium on development in that area. Several city residents had voiced strong opposition to the Wal-Mart proposal.
However, Carstensen’s upscale retail center project appears to be getting a better reception from residents and city officials. More well-to-do people have moved into Franklin in recent years and many of them want to have upscale stores in the city that they can shop at conveniently, Wheaton said.
“Many of the upscale amenities available in Brookfield and Mequon are things that Franklin residents have to drive out of the city to access,” he said. “Some of the people who live in Franklin would like to not have to drive so far for those things.”
The site for Carstensen’s proposed development is just south of the upscale Wyndham Ridge and Wyndham Hills subdivisions and about half a mile west of the Wyndham Professional Centre upscale office complex, all of which he developed.
“(Carstensen) is a lifelong Franklin resident and has a good reputation for doing high-quality projects,” Wheaton said.
Shorewest Realtors opens several new offices
Nationally, home sales are down and residential property value appreciation is slowing, but that doesn’t seem to be affecting Brookfield-based Shorewest Realtors, the largest home seller in Wisconsin.
Shorewest is adding several new offices, as the company continues to grow and is on pace to have another record year, said John Horning, executive vice president. Last year, Shorewest closed on more than $3.1 billion in sales, its best year ever. This year, the company hit the $2 billion mark two weeks ahead of last year’s pace, Horning said.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “I know some companies are down. We’re still seeing a good amount of business. It’s still a good market. Interest rates are still very low.”
The company recently opened a new downtown Milwaukee office at 1610 N. Water St. The 51-year-old, 6,000-square-foot building, which is owned by Ron Bates and was extensively remodeled, provides Shorewest with more space than its previous downtown office in the Knickerbocker on the Lake Building at 1028 E. Juneau Ave. About 30 people work in Shorewest’s downtown office.
“Our business downtown has just been growing,” Horning said. “As they add more housing (downtown) our business just continues to grow. It’s been a very good office for us.”
Shorewest also recently opened a new office at 1021 W. National Ave., Milwaukee, in the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce building. The 3,000-square-foot space covers the entire second floor. About 12 people are working there.
“We’ve seen more and more business coming from that area,” Horning said. “We’ve hired a lot more bilingual sales associates. We were getting more comments from people that we needed an office closer to the south side. There’s not really any other major real estate companies with an office there right now.”
It is called Shorewest’s south metro office, and it serves the south side of Milwaukee and some southern suburban areas.
“It’s not just serving the Hispanic community, but that is a large part of it,” Horning said.
Shorewest also recently moved to a new office in Fort Atkinson, moving out of a house with less than 2,000 square feet at 226 N. Main St. to 4,500 square feet of space at 728 Madison Ave. About 24 people work in that office.
“We had people working in closets (in the Main Street building),” Horning said. “It has just continued to grow out there.”
By the end of the year, Shorewest also plans to move its west City of Waukesha office to a new location. The 4,000-square-foot space at 101 W. Sunset Drive, Waukesha, is too small, so that office will be moved to a 6,000-square-foot space at 921 Meadowbrook Road, Waukesha.
“We’ve been looking for a new office there for awhile,” Horning said. “There’s a lot of growth on the west side of Waukesha, a lot of new subdivisions. We feel we will be very well set to serve that area.”
Shorewest has a second Waukesha office at 2212 E. Moreland Blvd., which also serves Brookfield.
Shorewest also is expanding its Grafton office, adding 1,300 square feet to the 2,300-square-foot space at 1245 Cheyenne Ave., Grafton. About 30 people work in that office.
In addition, Shorewest is looking for additional space in Janesville, Horning said. The company currently has 60 agents working in a 3,000-square-foot space at 1800 Milton Ave., he said.
High end “dog hotel” planned in Racine
Racine residents Eric and Theresa Marcus plan to open an upscale dog kennel, to be called the Woofdorf Historia Dog Hotel and Day Spa, in an industrial building at 1308 18th St., Racine. The dog hotel will be an alternative for people who do not want to leave their pooches at an ordinary kennel.
“One of the concerns I always had with my dogs is I didn’t want to leave them at a kennel where they would end up in a cage and maybe get walked a couple of times,” Eric Marcus said. “For people who say, ‘I don’t want to cage my dog up,’ we’re going to be a solution for them.”
The Woofdorf Historia will have suites with walls for the dogs, not cages, and rubber floors. It will have 6,000 square feet of “residence space,” a 6,500-square-foot indoor play area and an outdoor dog park.
Classical music will be piped into the dog suites. Television sets will be provided for dogs who need the TV on to fall asleep, Marcus said.
The dog hotel will also have a doggie cam, which dog owners can use to check up on how their hound is doing at the Woofdorf Historia.
On-site dog grooming will also be available.
“It’s a combination of a day spa, for dogs that can’t be home during the day, and it’s a solution for dog owners going on vacation,” Marcus said. “We want the Woofdorf Historia to be a place that dogs want to come to.”
Marcus said he has not determined what dog owners will have to pay to keep their pet at the Woofdorf, but he said he wants to keep the price competitive with regular kennels.
“I want it to be high-end service, but I want it to be at a reasonable price,” he said.
They hope to open the Woofdorf Historia next month.
Rawson Contractors moving to Town of Lisbon
Briohn Building Corp. and Rawson Contractors are jointly developing a 19-acre business park, to be called Commerce Centre Industrial Park, southwest of Lisbon Road and Duplainville Road in the Town of Lisbon. The site is just south of Sussex and is adjacent to the Quarry Corners industrial park.
Rawson Contractors plans to move from 11600 W. Forest Home Ave., Hales Corners, to a 12,500-square-foot, one-story industrial building that will be built on a three acre site in the business park in Lisbon. Construction has already begun and is expected to be completed by the end December.
Rawson Contractors needed a larger facility. But more importantly, the Town of Lisbon property provides a large amount of outdoor space to store equipment and pipes, said Don Tendick, director of business development for Briohn Building Corp.
“The Town of Lisbon is one of the few municipalities (in the area) that allows outside storage,” Tendick said. That will help attract tenants to the business park, he said.
In addition, there is a lack of other sites in the area ready for industrial development that are properly zoned and have access to utilities and do not have wetlands issues, he said.
West Bend
West Bend-based W.B. Development LLC plans to build a two-story, 13,000-square-foot office building on an 11.5-acre site at the southeast corner of Paradise Drive and Continental Drive. One floor will be for commercial office tenants and the other floor will be for medical office tenants. Only two acres of the property is buildable, much of the rest of the site is wetlands. The site is located just south of the Elder Beerman store at 1291 W. Paradise Drive.
West Bend-based Great Falls Development plans to build a two-story, 21,000-square-foot multi-tenant commercial building on a 3.7-acre vacant site at 1102-90 E. Paradise Drive. The building will have about 13,500 square feet of retail space on the first floor and about 7,500 square feet of office space on the second floor.
Car-X Auto Service plans to build a 5,000-square-foot auto repair shop on a vacant 1.1-acre lot at the northwest corner of South Main Street and Parkway Drive.
Hartland
Eden Prairie, Minn.-based IDI Distributors Inc., a distributor of insulation and related products, plans to build a 28,960-square-foot office and warehouse building on a vacant lot at 1165 Richards Road. The new building will replace IDI’s 12,000-square-foot facility at 1308 Poplar Dr., Waukesha, which the company has outgrown. The new building is expected to be complete in the spring, and the company plans to sell its Waukesha facility.
West Allis
West Allis Animal Hospital, 1736 S. 82nd St., plans to demolish its existing building and build a new, 11,700-square-foot building on consolidated properties at 8130 W. National Ave. and 1736 S. 82nd St. The veterinary clinic has outgrown its current facility.
Racine
JavaVino, a coffee, tea and wine bar opened recently at 424 Main St., Racine. JavaVino is owned by Ramez and Cecilia AbdulNour. JavaVino offers mochas, shakes, fruit smoothies, wine, pastries, sandwiches and salads. Fresh Belgian waffles are also served.
Pleasant Prairie
Central Music and Learning Center, which sells and leases musical instruments and also offers music lessons, will open a store in a 3,700-square-foot space at 8503 75th St.
Northwestern Title Loans, d.b.a. Loan Max, will open a loan center in the former Pizza Hut building at 4608 75th St. Pizza Hut vacated the 2,283-square-foot building about one year ago, according to village officials.
Leases
Apex Commercial Inc.
United States Postal Service leased 49,605 square feet of industrial space at 5050 S. 2nd St., Milwaukee, from Centerpoint Properties.
Speedy Loan Corp. leased 1,440 square feet of office space at 1011 Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, from 1011 Mayfair Road Limited Partnership.
Shakespeare Investment Counseling leased 2,504 square feet of office space and Bisco Industries leased 4,093 square feet of office space at 150 N. Sunny Slope Road, Brookfield, from 150 Sunnyslope LLC.
Impact Sales of Wisconsin leased 1,928 square feet of office space at 155 S. Executive Dr., Brookfield, from Executive Center I Limited Partnership.
APW WI Inc. leased 4,023 square feet of office space at 2120 Pewaukee Road, Waukesha, from Sky Plaza LLC.
National Title and Closing Services leased 2,502 square feet of office space at 12300 W.
Center St., Wauwatosa, from Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.
Boerke Company
One Price Cleaners of Wisconsin leased 1,200 square feet of retail space at the Shoppes of Maple Ridge, N96 W18743 County Line Road, Menomonee Falls, from Don and Debra Bartz.
Nelson Development Corp.
Growth Design Corp. leased 3,400 square feet of office space at 225 E. St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee, from Nelson Development Corp.
NAI MLG Commercial
On-Site Health Care S.C. leased 3,000 square feet of industrial space at 5010 W. Ashland Way, Franklin, from St. John Properties.
Sales
Apex Commercial
Integrated Enterprises Inc. purchased 9,000 square feet of industrial space at 5467 S. 9th St., Milwaukee, for $600,000 from Airoldi Brothers Inc.
S.T. Specialty Foods purchased 108,000 square feet of industrial space at 6819 77th Ave., Kenosha, for $6.3 million from American Italian Pasta Corp.
Colliers Barry
Sig LLC purchased 78,000 square feet of industrial space in two buildings at 2010 Indiana St. and 4326 21st St., both in Racine, for $800,000 from Printing Development Inc.
NAI MLG Commercial
The Hilltop Investment Group purchased a 10,000-square-foot industrial building at 730 Larry Ct., Brookfield, a total of 131,200 square feet of industrial buildings at 2236-46 Bluemound Road, Waukesha, and a total of 49,500 square feet of industrial buildings at 21675 Doral Road, Waukesha, from the Schallock-Petersen Group.
Tritz Investments LLC purchased an 11,200-square-foot building at 1570 E. Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, from Rabay Investments LLC.
Uni-Pump Inc. purchased a 16,000-square-foot industrial building at N59 W14508 Bobolink Ave., Menomonee Falls, from Brandy Helchen. Uni-Pump will use the facility as its new headquarters.
The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee purchased 65 acres at the southwest corner of Green Tree Road ad 60th Street in Milwaukee from James Cape & Sons Company Inc.
New construction
Inland Construction, Milwaukee, was recently awarded a 27,000-square-foot historic renovation of an office building at 215 N. Water St., Milwaukee. Inland was also recently awarded a contract for a 6,600-square-foot build out for physician offices for Oak Creek Occupational Medicine at 8825 S. Howell Ave., Oak Creek. Inland also recently completed the build out of a 5,000-square-foot office space for Walker Forge at 222 E. Erie St., Milwaukee.
Briohn Building Corp., Brookfield, recently completed the design and construction of a 3,955-square-foot tenant improvement for First Realty GMAC Real Estate in the Brookfield Towne Centre at 19115 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield.
Riley Construction Company Inc., Kenosha, was recently awarded construction management services for the new, 9,500-square-foot, two-story Johnson Bank building to be built in the Strawberry Creek development, located west of I-94 and north of Highway 50 in Kenosha. Riley Construction was also recently awarded general construction services for the new 550,000-square-foot distribution center to be built by Liberty Property Trust in the Renaissance Business Park, Sturtevant.
Andrew Weiland is the 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.
