Whole Foods plans to open a second store in the Milwaukee area and is considering sites in Brookfield and Wauwatosa, according to commercial real estate sources.
Options include the Bluemound Road corridor and Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate’s Mayfair Collection development in Wauwatosa, sources say.
Whole Foods opened its first store in the area in 2006 at 2305 N. Prospect Ave. on Milwaukee’s east side. After a slow start at that location, the store has performed better in recent years, grocery and real estate industry experts say.
“They’re doing really well with the store that they have (on the east side),” said Pewaukee-based grocery industry consultant David Livingston. “The sales there have really gone up the last three to four years.”
One source said HSA is trying to get Whole Foods to locate in the Mayfair Collection. A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the first phase of that development, which will be built at Highway 45 and Burleigh Road in Wauwatosa. In the project’s first phase, HSA Commercial will demolish a portion of the warehouse buildings fronting Highway 45 to create approximately 270,000 square feet of retail space and a parking lot. Tenants in the first phase will include Nordstrom Rack, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Ulta Beauty.
Representatives for HSA Commercial and Whole Foods could not be reached for comment.
Sources say Whole Foods plans to keep its east side location open after opening the suburban store.
The Milwaukee area could support an additional two to three Whole Foods stores, Livingston said. Affluent areas of the region, including the western suburbs or Mequon, could support a Whole Foods store, he said.
