Commercial Horizons > In the News

Posted October 23, 2006

Lowe's expands reach to Fox Cities

Home improvement store will open on Tuesday in Buchanan

By Maureen Wallenfang
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

BUCHANAN — Add Lowe's to the list of home improvement stores in northeast Wisconsin.

The national home improvement chain will open its newest store Tuesday just outside of Appleton.

The $18.5 million store is just east of the Wisconsin 441/College Avenue interchange. It's attached to the $6 million Festival Foods store that will open Nov. 8, making this small town one of the Fox Cities retail growth hotbeds for 2006.

Lowe's hired 129 people, the majority full time.

At 117,000 square feet, plus a 31,000-square-foot garden center, it will compete for customers' wallets with Menard's, on the other side of the highway, and Home Depot, a mile and a half away.

A fairly constant stream of cars and trucks drove past the front of Lowe's entrance Friday afternoon, slowing down just enough to see that the store wasn't quite open.

"I've seen the ads and I'm curious," said Cathy Van De Ven of De Pere who'd never been in a Lowe's. "I'm wallpapering my bathroom and I wanted to see what they had that was different from Menard's. I'll come back."

Roger Doleman, an Appleton-based truck driver originally from North Carolina — Lowe's home state — stopped by for an application for part-time employment.

"Lowe's is a lot like Home Depot, but in several cases I've found it has a larger selection," he said. "In a lot of places, you have to order ceramic tiles. Lowe's had them on hand."

He said he's noticed how much local people like to comparison shop, so he thinks the competitors won't suffer if they keep up with good prices and quality.

"I'll still shop all three places," he said. Overall, he said he liked Lowe's prices and return policies.

Inside, the warehouse-style Lowe's store has traditional departments like lumber, lawn and garden, building supplies and plumbing.

Some of its other amenities and departments are clearly meant to appeal to women and Hispanic customers, with bilingual signs, a decor department and name-brand appliances.

"We're covering as many people as possible," said store manager Jim Kieffer.

"Our fashion plumbing area changes as much as stores that sell clothing," he said. "The whole home improvement business is about style and fashion for the home. You have to keep up on an almost daily basis," Kieffer said. "Marketing is geared to the female customer, which makes sense because 80 percent of the buying decisions are made by women. They watch HGTV and come in asking for specific things. We have to keep up to date."

Kieffer said the draw of the store could be from Green Bay through Oshkosh.

Including this store and another coming to Brown Deer, there will be a total of nine Lowe's stores in Wisconsin this year. The closest ones were previously in Manitowoc and Plover.

Lowe's in Manitowoc is about a year old, but has drawn shoppers from the Fox Cities.

"I talk to 20 to 30 people a week from the Appleton area who are shopping in our store," said Manitowoc store manager Tom Cole. He figured people were curious after seeing ads on TV, which have a voiceover by actor Gene Hackman.

In distinguishing itself from the competition, Cole pointed out three areas where he felt his store excelled — in overall service, appearance and installation services.

"We like to think our customer service is better. When you walk into our stores, you'll notice wide, clean aisles. We install over 40 different product groups, from roofing to plumbing fixtures," Cole said.

In Buchanan, Kieffer plans to keep the same strengths going.

"You could buy a two-by-four anywhere. Genuinely friendly people are going to make our store," Kieffer said. "We're a very customer-focused company. It's getting them what they need and making sure they go home satisfied."

— Maureen Wallenfang writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton.Posted July 6, 2006

PETCO to build local store

Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC - San Diego, Calif.-based PETCO will break ground in August on a pet food and supplies store at Harbor Town Center. It is expected to open in January 2007.

Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford shared information from Jeff Weyers, of commercial developer Dewey Properties, Inc., at Wednesday night's common council meeting.

The store, on Harbor Town Lane on the city's west side, will be approximately 17,000 square feet, and employ about 25 full- or part-time workers. The store will be part of a new 27,000-square-foot strip mall, adjoining the strip mall that includes Cold Stone Creamery, PayDay, Game Stop, Cost Cutters, Cellcom, Fox World Travel, and Associated Bank.

PETCO has two stores in Green Bay, as well as, one each in Appleton and Oshkosh. It operates more than 800 stores in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Services offered at many of the stores include grooming, dog washing, pet photography, and veterinary services.

Posted July 2, 2006

Builders break ground on Best Buy in Kohler

By Troy Laack
Sheboygan Press staff

John Weber of Sheboygan is excited that a $3 million, 30,000-square-foot Best Buy store will open in January to anchor a planned shopping center just south of Deer Trace Plaza in Kohler.

"I think it would be a great improvement to the area," said Weber, 44. "That store would go over terrific. Stereo equipment, televisions, cameras and stuff like that. I like all those things."

Minneapolis-based Best Buy will hire about 100 employees for the new store, said Justin Barber, company spokesman.

Commercial Horizons, the Green Bay and Appleton-based developer, also plans to build a $4 million to $4.5 million, 50,000-square-foot building next to Best Buy for other retail shops and a restaurant, said Jeff Weyers, president of Commercial Horizons. The shopping center hasn't been named, he said.

"It's not uncommon for retail like that to not name it at all," Weyers said.

Best Buy and the other building will make up a shopping center on 11 acres on county Highway A near the southwest corner of Interstate 43 and state Highway 28. Kohler Co. sold the land to Commercial Horizons and it was annexed from the Town of Wilson into the Village of Kohler on May 15.

On the east side of I-43, directly across from new shopping center and Deer Trace, is the future site of a 212,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter, slated to open in the early fall.

Best Buy chose the location because of the commercial development in that area, Barber said.

"In choosing location, it comes down to the convenience of the customer," Barber said. "We want it to be in an area where traffic flows smoothly."

Jim Pankow Inc. of Plymouth began construction on the Best Buy store June 7 and it's expected to be completed by Dec. 1 with a store opening in January, said Jim Pankow, owner of the general contractor firm.

"It's a nice job for us," Pankow said. "It's a local job for a development company that does a lot of this kind of work."

No tenants have committed to the second building so far, but Weyers thinks that will change as the Best Buy building goes up.

"Once you start showing activity and they start seeing a building erected, it tends to generate excitement," Weyers said. "People believe it's real and that's when the strongest leasing opportunities tend to arise."

Construction won't start on the second building until an anchor store or restaurant agrees to lease space there, Weyers said.

"With (Best Buy) just under way now and with leasing for the second phase being in its infancy yet, I would imagine construction for that phase two would not start until … 2007," Weyers said.

Among the items Best Buy sells are high-definition flat-panel televisions, computers, computer software, video and digital camera equipment, video games, DVD and MP3 players, toys, appliances, telephones, office equipment and furniture.

It's something that John Witkauskas of Sheboygan is happy to see come here as well.

"It'll bring additional materials to the city that we don't have — more DVDs, more music," Witkauskas said. "They have very good prices. I think it's good. I've shopped online with Best Buy."

Best Buy has 758 stores in the United States, Barber said. Pankow thinks Best Buy is going to be popular.

"It sounds like it's filling a need for the area," Pankow said.

Posted June 22, 2006

Giltedge Building will get new name

GRAND CHUTE — The Giltedge Building at 4321 W. College Ave. will be renamed today or Friday after its newest large tenant.

The new name, The Berbee Building, refers to Berbee, a company that secured naming rights by leasing a floor of the landmark gold-colored building west of U.S. 41.

Berbee has grown from 35 to 70 employees in the last two years and is a technology provider for businesses based in Madison.

The 35-year-old building is owned and managed by Commercial Horizons.

Posted June 9, 2006

Valley Fair redevelopment plan announced

Good portion of the building to come tumbling down in July

By Maureen Wallenfang
Post-Crescent staff writer

APPLETON — Developers unveiled Valley Fair's new mixed-use office/retail site plan today, breathing life back into a 26-acre site that has declined over the last 20 years.

The new design requires demolition of a significant portion of the 52-year-old building at 2145 S. Memorial Drive, which was the country's first enclosed mall. It will be replaced by multiple buildings, rather than one large structure.

The new site plan flips the existing layout, putting individual new buildings close to Memorial Drive and Calumet Street and setting parking behind them.

Demolition could begin in July or August, said Terry Bomier, principal broker of Bomier Properties who will head up marketing for the property. New construction could then begin in late summer or early fall.

Bomier is also one of the site's developers and owners, together with two of the Fox Cities' other prominent development groups, Rollie Winter & Assoc. and Commercial Horizons.

The three firms form VF Partners and together purchased Valley Fair from YouthFutures for $2.3 million Feb. 1.

"I think it will be between $7 million and $10 million to get it where we want it to be," Bomier said.

That includes the renovation of the 110,000-square-foot former Kohl's department store and former Kohl's food store, which will remain on the eastern side of the property and be incorporated into the redevelopment plan.

"We're leaving Kohl's grocery and the department store because it's all sprinklered and has a new boiler," said Terri Winter, a principal at Rollie Winter & Assoc. "It seemed a waste to tear that down."

Other structures on the site that escape the wrecking ball include the Valley Value Cinemas and Chase (Bank One), both of which continue to operate and are separately owned.

New buildings slated for the property have not yet been leased to new tenants or sold outright. "We're working with a c-store (a convenience store) and we have some retailers and call centers that are interested," Bomier said.

Several charter schools on the property will be given an opportunity to relocate on the site, he said. Otherwise, existing tenants have all been relocated or are in the final steps of moving out of Valley Fair.

Overall, said Winter, the site plan was chosen out of a half dozen possibilities. "It was the best utilization of the land," she said. "It's really attractive along Memorial Drive and Calumet Street because we brought the buildings closer."

While the fate of Valley Fair is now set, its name is still in limbo, said Bomier.

"I think we're going to continue to call it something with Valley Fair in it. Right now, we're calling it Valley Fair Center," said Bomier.

Posted June 10, 2006

Plans for Valley Fair firmed up

Part of former Appleton mall will be torn down

By Maureen Wallenfang
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

APPLETON — Developers unveiled Valley Fair's new mixed-use office/retail site plan today, breathing life back into a 26-acre site that has declined over the last 20 years.

The new site plan flips the existing layout, putting individual new buildings close to Memorial Drive and Calumet Street and setting parking behind them.

Demolition could begin in July or August, said Terry Bomier, principal broker of Bomier Properties who will head up marketing for the property. New construction could then begin in late summer or early fall.

Bomier is also one of the site's developers and owners, together with two of the Fox Cities' other prominent development groups, Rollie Winter & Assoc. and Commercial Horizons.

The three firms form VF Partners and together purchased Valley Fair from YouthFutures for $2.3 million Feb. 1.

"I think it will be between $7 million and $10 million to get it where we want it to be," Bomier said.

That includes the renovation of the 110,000-square-foot former Kohl's department store and former Kohl's food store, which will remain on the eastern side of the property and be incorporated into the redevelopment plan.

"We're leaving Kohl's grocery and the department store because it's all sprinklered and has a new boiler," said Terri Winter, a principal at Rollie Winter & Assoc. "It seemed a waste to tear that down."

Other structures on the site that escape the wrecking ball include the Valley Value Cinemas and Chase (Bank One), both of which continue to operate and are separately owned.

New buildings slated for the property have not yet been leased to new tenants or sold outright.

Festival Foods coming to Buchanan

By Maureen Wallenfang
Post-Crescent staff writer March 31, 2006

BUCHANAN — A $6 million Festival Foods grocery store will open here in November near the intersection of College Avenue and State 441. It will be the chain's first Fox Cities store.

The grocer made the commitment Friday to open a 72,000-square-foot market next to the upcoming Lowe's home improvement store.

"We felt it was right to fill the gap," said Mark Skogen, president of the family that owns and operates nine Festival Foods in Wisconsin, including two in Green Bay, one in DePere and one in Oshkosh.
They do not own the Festival Foods in New London.

The Buchanan property is being prepared now so both stores can begin construction.

Festival Foods will be situated between the future Lowe's and an existing shopping plaza — College Park Plaza — that until recently housed Big Lots. The grocer's building will be owned by Commercial Horizons and leased to the Skogens.

"I looked at Appleton for two or three years," Skogen said. "We've never kicked around a city as much as we have Appleton. We put projections on 20 different sites. We've known about this location for a while, but once Lowe's said they were going in, it made more sense. We always like to be located next to a big box retailer. It helps traffic."

Some of his other stores are near Menards stores and a Wal-Mart.

Consumers, including Paul and Liz Weaver who live on Appleton's northeast side, have been asking for a Festival Foods for a long time.

"They will give Wal-Mart a run for their money," said Liz Weaver, who called herself an experienced sale shopper. "I go by ads, and I would say Festival is cheaper because they have more loss leaders."

"It's more of a bulk store," said Paul Weaver.

Others know the store for its free child care area, called the Tot Spot, that has monitors around the store for parents to keep an eye on their kids.

Developer Paul Klister, owner of Commercial Horizons in Appleton, said he had been working on the deal to put Lowe's and Festival on this site for two years.

"It's the most complex, difficult project in my career. The existing property had a lot of issues regarding everything from several landowners to prior restrictive covenants to environmental issues to access."

Lowe's confirmed Thursay it will open its store in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Klister called the entire 35-acre project encompassing both stores "a tremendous addition to that side of town and to the town of Buchanan."

Four additional outlot buildings will face College Avenue and the two big stores will be set back on the property in line with the existing College Park Plaza shopping plaza.

BUCHANAN -- A plan for Fox Valley's first Lowe's home-improvement center is moving forward swiftly, as the retailer eyes a store opening here within a year.

On Monday, the Buchanan Plan Commission approved the preliminary site plan proposed by Appleton-based developer Commercial Horizons, one that suggests a broader plan to develop all available parcels south and east of the State 441 interchange at College Avenue.

The 4-0 vote sends the matter to the Town Board, which will consider the site plan Jan. 20.

The plan calls for the town to relocate Van Roy Road to the south and create direct access to the proposed Lowe's parking at a new intersection midway between the interchange and Eisenhower Drive.

"The town has committed to moving (Van Roy) road for them," Town Clerk John Derks said Monday.

Commercial Horizons representative Paul Klister said the firm owns or is negotiating to buy several properties surrounding the proposed Lowe's store.

The site plan calls for future development of commercial parcels south of College and north of Van Roy. It also envisions 72,000 square feet of new retail space bridging the proposed Lowe's and an existing strip mall that extends to Eisenhower.

Klister said planning for the surrounding retail parcels is early, but said, "We're working on it."

Robert R. Fiebig III, site development manager for Naperville, Ill.-based Lowe's, told town officials the firm was "very excited" at the response from town and Outagamie County officials.

"This is a site we've been looking at for six or seven months," Fiebig said.

Fiebig said the proposed 117,000-square-foot store would be based on the firm's largest store template. The store, designed to feature an "indoor lumber yard" on its east end and a 33,000-square-foot garden center on its west end, would employee between 150 and 175 people, he said.

Town Chairman Jerry Wallenfang said town officials will need to work quickly to secure the various approvals necessary for the store to be built as planned, but noted county leaders are supportive and have approved transportation elements of the plan.

Derks said the store, if approved as planned, would open by about Nov. 1. Construction would begin in spring.

Fiebig said Lowe's plans to open between 150 and 160 stores in the U.S. in 2006. Lowe's operates three stores in Wisconsin -- the nearest in Manitowoc -- and three other state stores are under construction.

Ed Lowe can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 293, or by e-mail at elowe@postcrescent.com.

On the Web

Lowe's stores: www.lowes.com

February 27, 2006

Downtown Green Bay, Inc. presented downtown awards

(Green Bay) Downtown Green Bay, Inc. presented six awards at its Good Morning Downtown public event last Thursday, February 23, 2006 at the Meyer Theatre, 117 S. Washington Street in downtown Green Bay. The awards were presented to local individuals and businesses for significant contributions to downtown Green Bay in 2005.

The Urban Design Committee of Downtown Green Bay, Inc. presented the "Best New Design Award" to Brian Netzel, Senior Architect of Performa, Inc. for his design contribution of the newly constructed Nicolet Center, 111 N. Washington Street. The Best New Design Award recognizes a person, group or organization that has made an outstanding contribution with designing downtown in the area(s) of new construction, public spaces, streetscape amenity, public art or other new addition.

Quality Inn & Suites, 321 S. Washington Street received the "Best Design Improvement Award" for its outstanding enhancement of the hotel building façade and renovations. This award is given to a business or organization that has made an outstanding contribution with improving or being instrumental in the improvement of an existing downtown building or public space.

Two President's Awards were given. One went to Commercial Horizons, Inc. in appreciation for its outstanding generosity to Downtown Green Bay, Inc. for DGBI's new office space - Suite 117 in the Regency Center, 333 Main Street. The second President's Award went to Tina Chervenka of VerHalen, Inc. in appreciation for her outstanding design and expertise with the interior layout of Downtown Green Bay, Inc. office space in the Regency Center.

Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Roz Barker for her countless hours of time, expertise and efforts over the past year during a staff vacancy, office move and new employee training period. Barker is Public Relations Specialist with Relevant Radio, Green Bay.

A Special Recognition Award was given to The Byron L. Walter Family Trust for its generosity and contribution for the name of street signs in the downtown district.

Over 250 people attended the Good Morning Downtown meeting last week. The event is held twice a year and is sponsored by Downtown Green Bay, Inc. (DGBI). DGBI is a non-profit Business Improvement District (BID) organized in 1997 to preserve and to improve the social and economic climate in downtown Green Bay. Questions can be directed Downtown Green Bay, Inc., (920) 437-5972.