Upscale auto dealers flock to Moreland Boulevard

International Autos will open a pair of upscale automobile dealerships on Moreland Boulevard in Waukesha. The company plans to open an Infiniti dealership at 2230 E. Moreland Blvd., the former site of Kuettner Olds, which International Autos acquired in August. Since taking over the former Kuettner dealership, International Autos/Waukesha Motors has continued to sell GM and Mitsubishi vehicles there. The dealership plans to build a 20,000-square-foot dealership for Infiniti at the site. The Infiniti dealership will open in the fall and will replace the Infiniti dealership International Autos has at its location at 2400 S. 108th St., West Allis, said Tom Dexter, general manager of International Autos and Waukesha Motors.
The only other Infiniti dealership in the Milwaukee area is at Jack Safro Corp.’s Infiniti North Shore, 1515 W. Silver Spring Dr., Glendale.
International Autos also is building a Mercedes-Benz dealership at 2315 E. Moorland Blvd., the former location of a Steinhafels furniture store. That dealership is also expected to open this fall. The building will be expanded from 66,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet, Dexter said.
The only other Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the Milwaukee area are at International Autos’ West Allis location and Concours Motors at 1400 W. Silver Spring Dr. in Glendale. Next year, Concours plans to move its Mercedes sales to a dealership it plans to build at 5100 W. Brown Deer Road in Brown Deer. In August, Concours is moving its BMW sales to a new dealership at Green Bay and Florist avenues.
The busy Moreland Boulevard corridor is an attractive area for upscale auto dealerships, Dexter said.
"(Moreland Boulevard) is at the center of the traffic pattern for all of the western suburbs," he said. "It’s close to the expressway and serves a lot of our customers in the (Lake Country) area."
In another upscale auto dealership development on Moreland Boulevard, Fields Waukesha plans to remodel its Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo dealership at 1901 E. Moreland Blvd.
The only other upscale auto dealerships in the area are Lexus and Acura dealerships on Bluemound Road in Brookfield.
"We feel we can give them a run for their money," Dexter said.
More Waukesha
development
Texas Roadhouse Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., of all places, plans to build a 7,000-square-foot restaurant on the north end of Plaza Court, near Interstate 94. The restaurant will replace a former Super 8 Motel building at 2501 Plaza Court. The vacant motel building will be demolished. Texas Roadhouse is also building a restaurant in New Berlin at 15425 W. Rock Ridge Road, near the Moorland Road and I-43 interchange, that will open soon. The steakhouse chain has nearly 200 locations in 34 states, including four in Wisconsin. The menu for the casual restaurant chain includes steak, ribs and chicken.
Sheboygan
More retail development is planned for the South Pier District, the peninsula in downtown Sheboygan that is anchored by the Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center, which opened last year.
Christine Holbrook, who has owned businesses on the other side of the Sheboygan River across from the peninsula, plans to build three retail stores on the peninsula and along the river.
Wood Dale, Ill.-based Harborside Development and Entertainment plans to build four fish shanty-style retail buildings, with a total of 27,000 square feet of space, on the peninsula and a 16,240-square-foot mixed use retail and office building on the peninsula, along the riverfront promenade.
In addition, the $2.5 million Triple Play Fun Zone sports and recreational facility is expected to break ground this spring. A salon and spa, already under construction, will open this spring.
Kenosha
Kenosha resident Marty Alsabah plans to build a 25,000-square-foot commercial building, for either retail or office tenants, on a vacant lot at 7626 Green Bay Road.
Milwaukee
A Milwaukee real estate broker said a Chicago-based developer is interested in building an office tower at 327 E. Wisconsin Ave., the site of Downtown Books and the former site of a Walgreens drug store, in downtown Milwaukee. Several other sites in downtown Milwaukee also are being pitched by various developers for proposed office towers. The instant successes of the last two new office buildings, 875 E. Wisconsin Ave. and Cathedral Place, are fueling speculation that another new office tower will be built downtown, despite vacancies at some existing buildings.
Oak Creek
Milwaukee-based Gabaldon Properties Inc. plans to build a 25,717-square-foot multi-tenant retail building at 8907 S. Howell Ave., in an outlot near the new Target store. The Target store will have its grand opening on March 6.
Grafton
Walgreen’s plans to build a drug store at 1915 Wisconsin Ave.
Lake Geneva
Williams Bay residents Todd and Sharon Grimm plan to open an indoor miniature golf course in an historic building at 772 Main St.
Menomonee Falls
Spec Shep LLC plans to build a 5,226-square-foot office/retail building on a vacant lot on the southwest side of Appleton Avenue between a Cousins restaurant and Willow Creek Child Care. The building could accommodate up to three retail and/or office tenants.
Khalid Ahmed plans to tear down his 640-square-foot Clark gas station at northwest corner of Silver Spring Drive and Pilgrim Road and replace it with an 18,000-square-foot gas station and convenience center and a 900-square-foot car wash.
West Allis
Bartending Academy plans to establish a bartending school in 1,800 square feet of space of a multi-tenant building at 8626 W. National Ave.
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.
Commercial real estate transactions
Leases
Apex Commercial
Impact Sales of Wisconsin has leased 1,552 square feet of office space at 155 S. Executive Dr., Brookfield, from Executive Center 1 Limited Partnership.
New Horizons of Wisconsin has leased 2,373 square feet of office space at 2100 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, from 2100 Mayfair Road Limited Partnership.
Dr. Steven Kaufman has leased 1,043 square feet of office space at 13700 W. National Ave., Milwaukee, from Nova Medical Partners Limited Partnership.
PA Staffing has leased 2,199 square feet of office space at 2421 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, from 2400 Mayfair Limited Partnership.
James T. Barry Company Inc.
Athletic & Therapeutic Institute has leased 5,349 square feet of space at 2835 N. Grandview Blvd., Waukesha, from Highstone Management. This will be the first office in the Milwaukee area for the Athletic & Therapeutic Institute.
Grubb & Ellis|Boerke Company
Michael Stravropoulos/Grand Crew Service has leased 1,500 square feet of industrial space at 12665 Robin Lane, Brookfield, from J&D Holdings.
Inland Companies
Kerry Inc. has leased 10,634 square feet of office space at Executive Center V, 300 N. Executive Center Dr., Brookfield.
SPI Distribution has leased 11,000 square feet of warehouse space at Fairview Avenue Business Center, 10425 W. North Ave., Milwaukee.
Promotional Product Solutions LLC has leased 646 square feet of office space at the West Allis Center, 1126 S. 70th St., West Allis.
Wangard Partners Inc.
Initial Tropical Plants has leased 17,520 square feet of office and industrial space at 13040 W. Lisbon Ave., Brookfield, in the Eastgate Business Center, from Eastgate LLC.
MatrixOne has leased 891 square feet of office space at 625 Walnut Ridge Drive, in Hartland from Constance D. Fadrow.
Sales
Apex Commercial
Regees 1 LLC has purchased the 2,350-square-foot Pizza Hut restaurant at 901 Summit Ave., Oconomowoc.
NAI MLG Commercial
Bando McGlocklin Small Business Lending Corp. has sold a 27,972-square-foot manufacturing building at 2122 E. Birchwood Ave., Cudahy, to an undisclosed buyer.
Bailey Investments of Milwaukee LLC has purchased a 32,681-square-foot manufacturing building at 5707 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Cudahy, from Bando McGlocklin Small Business Lending Corp. Man & Material Lift Engineering will occupy the building.
DPM Realty Corporation has sold a 16,935-square-foot building at 4251 S. 27th St., Greenfield, to an undisclosed buyer.
New construction
MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, has been selected by Pabst Farms Market Place LLC and Roundy’s Inc. to design and build the new Pick ‘n Save grocery store at the Market Place at Pabst Farms in Oconomowoc. The 66,500-squaure-foot grocery store is expected to open in late summer and will anchor an additional 19,594 square feet of retail space. Pabst Farms Market Place LLC also named MSI General to design and construct an 8,400-square-foot restaurant and two additional retail buildings, one 17,000 square feet and a second 6,600 square feet, to continue the development of the Market Place. The Market Place will have a total of nearly 119,000 square feet of restaurant and convenience/service retail space.
Briohn Building Corp., Brookfield, has finished the design and construction of a 6,640-square-foot tenant improvement for Tadych Finishing at 5801 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Suite B, Cudahy. Briohn Building also completed the design and construction of a 27,000-square-foot tenant improvement for Ritter Technology LLC at N29 W23721 Woodgate Court West, Suite 100, Pewaukee.
National Survey & Engineering, Brookfield, a division of R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., is providing sitework engineering and surveying to Marcus Theatres Corporation the construction of a 17-screen theater complex at Renaissance Boulevard and Highway 20 in the Renaissance Place development in Sturtevant. The theater is expected to open later this year.
Grunau Company, Oak Creek, has been hired to design, build and install the HVAC system for the $85 million, 506,000-square-foot GE Healthcare headquarters under construction in Wauwatosa.
March, 4, 2005, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI