Wispark LLC has sold 18.6 acres of land along the Interstate 94 corridor in Pleasant Prairie for $3 million, according to state records.
The real-estate development arm of Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group Inc. sold the two parcels at 120th Ave., roughly a mile south of where the interstate meets Wilmot Road, to Samartal LLC. State real estate transaction records list David Barnes, a Kenosha real estate lawyer as the agent for Samartal.
Barnes declined to comment on the transaction or on any potential plans for the property. Village officials, meanwhile, said they have not yet received any specific development proposals for that site.
Wispark sold the land about a month after it acquired the roughly 11.5-acre northern parcel, located at 9655 120th Ave., from the village. The Community Development Authority-owned parcel was transferred to the developer as part of a land swap for a different parcel near the Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets shopping center.
The village was interested in acquiring the land at the intersection of 120th Avenue, Corporate Drive and 116th Avenue in order to build a new roundabout, said Nate Thiel, Pleasant Prairie village administrator.
Wispark wasn’t thrilled about the idea when approached by the village, Thiel said. Even before that, Wispark had expressed interest in purchasing the village property to the north as it already possessed the neighboring parcel. Thiel pieced those two separate events together and suggested the land swap.
“It was kind of a cool deal and a good negotiation,” he said.
Brendan Conway, a spokesman for We Energies, confirmed the development entity’s interest in the parcel.
“By having the two parcels tied together made for a more comprehensive development,” he said. “The sites complemented each other.”
Conway added that Wispark had no immediate plans to develop the land prior to selling it to Samartal LLC.
Pleasant Prairie, which sits roughly halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee, has seen significant development activity recently, especially along the busy interstate corridor. For instance, on Monday the Plan Commission approved conceptual plans for a new 124-room hotel and Kings & Convicts brewery along the same I-94 frontage road. That proposed development, at 7821 120th Ave., is a little more than two miles to the north of the parcels recently sold by Wispark.
“Adding attractive and unique destinations will promote tourism within the village and offer a fun and memorable experience for residents,” Thiel said of the proposed hotel and brewery.
In addition, La Crosse-based Kwik Trip Inc. announced recently it is planning to build an 11,000-square-foot convenience store and gas station. The store will also be built along 120th Avenue, in the northeast quadrant of the I-94 and Highway 165 interchange — less than a mile to the south of the former Wispark property.
