Update: Here is the Journal Sentinel story on this. And be sure to vote in the p0ll on the right-hand side of the page.
Walmart wants to come to South Milwaukee.
The world’s largest retailer is proposing to build a store on a 10-acre parcel at 222 N. Chicago Ave. — a more than $13 million project that would provide another local shopping option and potentially more than 120 jobs to area residents.
This would not be your typical Walmart — and not a SuperCenter.
At 115,000 square feet, it will be one of the first in the area to be built using the company’s smaller, neighborhood-focused retail concept, a more upscale version of your traditional Walmart featuring groceries, a pharmacy and general merchandise.
The store would be “tailored to the character of the neighborhood,” according to Gatlin Development, the project developer, and it will serve an approximately two-mile radius, rather than the chain’s typical 10-mile area. The development would also include an outlot to potentially be used for development of a national chain restaurant.
The South Milwaukee store would create approximately 120 jobs, about 60 percent full-time, according to Gatlin.
The store is part of Walmart’s aggressive growth in the region, which also apparently includes plans for a smaller grocery store on 76th Street in Greendale and the recent remodeling of the store on South 27th Street in Franklin, among others.
Of course, more details will emerge in the months ahead.
Tuesday night, the project got a boost when the City Council approved the sale of a 3.6-acre parcel of land between Davis and Carroll Avenues — part of our Tax Incremental Financing District #2 — for $500,000 to Gatlin, which also has under contract the other 6.5 adjacent acres being used for the project.
(Full disclosure: I was not at the meeting because I was out of town on business involving my day job at MillerCoors. I expect I would have voted yes.)
I am interested to know what you think about the project. The proposed development will be subject to public hearings and approvals before several city entities, including the Plan Commission, Community Development Authority and City Council, so there is plenty of time to have your voices be heard on this. I’ll keep you posted when those opportunities occur.
Of course, you can call me anytime, or post your comments below. I’ve also posted a poll question about this on the right-hand side of the page. I appreciate your feeback.
South Milwaukee Blog 
120 jobs? It’s a no-brainer, of course, yes to WalMart.
We just have to make sure that the building is quality looking, no grey & blue block exterior.
No way, sorry I live right across the street and can’t imagine having that as my neighbor! I will not want this!
Of course we’ll need to learn more about it and I agree with Rich’s comment above, but it would be good to have some place to shop on the north side. Ignoring Walgreens (not SM) there is currently no place to pick up groceries or other items in walking distance for the elderly. This might be a great addition if parking is properly handled (i.e., through the back street, not a mess on N. Chicago or another stop light there).
I always thought that the area by Pizza Hut/Taco Bell was the sore eye of the city, but Walmart won’t be much better. Any resident who thinks having a Walmart needs to read the “Walmart Effect” and odds are they will feel different about a company that will do absolutely nothing to or for a community besides shut down any small retail business and pay its employees not even enough to find the American Dream.
Here’s more: http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhayesboh/badbusiness.html
I hope the community does what Cudahy did and fights the hell out of this to keep them away.
There aren’t any mom and pop joints anymore, observe the many, many empty storefronts in South Milwaukee. You can’t chase away small businesses that no longer exists.
You’re right Melanie…and look at all the empty shops in the new(er) development that houses Pick & Save. What businesses are there in SM that this store would be competing with? There is absolutely nothing north of Rawson (except for some restaurants and Napa). There is nothing of any substance on Milwaukee any more so about the only things north of Marquette are the quick-mart type stores at the gas stations.
Now, if there was some manufacturing business that wanted the land, it might be a different story, but Wal-mart sure beats the heck out of vacant land, or worse, low-income / high-density housing that seems to go up on every other piece of vacant land in town.
I like the idea! We need jobs and the area looks dumpy right now. There are no local businesses in South Milwaukee! I go to Oak Creek if I want something because they at least have stores!! We need a retail store in South Milwaukee! I couldn’t wait to leave South Milwaukee and go to college because I would have more options than the local pick n save!!
I’m curious about the $500,000 price of the land…just shy of $140,000 per acre. It seems low compared to the price of other vacant retail lots in the Milwaukee area which, on average, seem to have sale prices in the low $200,000 range. I’m also curious about what guarantees the city has that Walmart will add to the tax base. Walmart has a history of using contortionistic business practices to shirk its tax responsibilities (some of which it is being sued over). To what extent is the city going to have to pick up the tab for street upgrades and maintanence to compensate for the increased traffic…and are the taxes Walmart is to (might?) pay gobbled up by those infrastructure expenditures?
Like others, I’m concerned about seeing a lack of vitality in the South Milwaukee business community, but I’m not convinced we should uncritically welcome any new business as a good business. Walmart carries a fair amount of baggage and the lack of disclosure about this deal when it was pending and the failure to hold something akin to a public hearing prior to approving the land sale makes me even more distrustful of the situation.
I detest Walmart and what it stands for and refuse to shop there. Yes, their prices may be lower, but everything is from overseas and does not support our local producers (at least Woodmans buys local).
I would like to know about any informational meetings on this development. I agree South Milwaukee needs business development, but at what cost and in who’s neighborhood will it be built?
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WalMart is actually changing their approach to buying local. Since they’ve added their grocery element it makes sense for them to use local growers, as well as organic products. I actually know a Wisconsin farmer who sells some of their product at WalMarts already.
I think it’s not a bad idea as long as the store is committed to building (and landscaping) something that is pleasing to the eye.
As far as other products made overseas, where do you shop where they are not? Kmart? Target? It’s all made overseas! All of these stores have made in the USA products, you just need to shop carefully.
Any clarification on the size of the store?
Thanks for the question. It’s proposed at between 110,000 and 120,000 square feet. For some comparison, consider that a typical Walmart SuperCenter (which this isn’t) is more than 200,000 square feet. A typical Pick ‘n Save store (such as the one in South Milwaukee) is around 60,000 square feet.
Eric, First a full disclosure. I am in favor of the Walmart. However, when you are making you decision, please base it off of what is best for South Milwaukee given the fact that no manufacturing (or anybody else) is interested in that land. Ignoring the positive comments above, I see only two negatives that should weigh into the decision. 1) neighborhood effect (traffic / property values) and 2) Betsy’s concern about their willingness to add to the tax base. Whether or not an individual wants to shop there isn’t really the city’s concern, but one for the Walmart boardroom. Apparently, their retail analysis indicates that there are enough people that will shop there. Similarly, wages should not be a city issue. If Walmart can’t find people willing to work for whatever they are willing to offer, the business would not be able to come here. While displacement of existing businesses would be a city concern, South Milwaukee does not seem to have any. (Note that Cudahy kept the Supercenter version of Walmart out due to its size and to protect the strip malls that do have businesses in the immediate area of Layton. We don’t have those concerns).
I am getting mixed information … is this just a grocery store or grocery store with clothes and other merchandise?
Thanks for the question. It’s proposed as a combination grocery and general merchandise store.
Walmart certainly has stores larger than 110,000-120,000 square feet, but I’m curious about the degree to which the city has input into the size and style of the proposed building. A gray box that pushes the limits of the lot size does not sound like a great improvement to the space aesthetically.
It seems a number of additional questions need to be addressed.
My understanding is that parcel is a TIF district. How much of Walmart’s local taxes would go to pay back loans taken out to upgrade the parcel? What other subsidies/tax incentives is Walmart being offered? What costs would the city have to bear to widen streets, add stop lights (certainly N. Chicago would need to have at least one added somewhere between College and Rawson) and make other infrastructure improvements? What additional street maintenance costs would the city have to pay to account for the additional traffic? Would there need to be an increase in police personnel to account for the additional activity…and, if so, at what cost? What other costs would the city incur? What is the projected NET revenue increase for the city? Would the primary entrance be on Chicago (which might have a negative effect on the nearby residential area) or College (which would focus traffic on an area that is populated by businesses)? Is there a traffic control plan to minimize the impact of traffic in the Grant Park neighborhood (Park and Elm already have problems with people driving excessively fast…even when children are present before and after school)? Middle and high school students who need to cross Chicago when walking to and from school already take their lives in their hands…how will they be protected from the additional traffic? Has there been any other interest in the parcel or is Walmart the only suitor (that it has been vacant for so long seems to indicate a general lack of interest, but it’d be nice to know how desperate we are)? Though South Milwaukee does not currently boast the kind of thriving business community we would like, it does have local businesses (Ace Hardware springs to mind)…what are the projected effects on those businesses?
The city may have already investigated these issues…if so, the information needs to be shared with residents. The Plan Commission’s decision to list only Gatlin Development on the agenda for the meeting in which the sale of the parcel was approved with no mention of Walmart does not demonstrate a good faith effort to inform residents of city business. (I wish I understood Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law more fully…the agenda item listing certainly does not meet the spirit of the law and I wonder if it meets the letter.) This is an unfortunate start to what is, at best, a controversial decision…it makes it seem like a backroom deal in which the city has something to hide. I hope the city is, at this point, prepared to go above and beyond in providing information about and opportunities for input into the decision/development.
I agree with Robyn that whether a person patronizes Walmart is not the city’s concern. I do not and will not patronize Walmart. If it were my decision alone, I would not allow a Walmart to be built in South Milwaukee. I, however, recognize that the potential benefits to the city supercede my personal dislike of Walmart’s business practices and refusal to fund them…but I remain concerned about my property value being depressed and about the net effects on the city (do the benefits actually outweigh the costs…direct and indirect…short term and long term?).
I also agree with Robyn that Walmart’s compensation practices (however troubling they should be to us as a society) are not an issue for the city…except for any considerations for how they may effect the city. Would an influx of low-wage jobs promote the development of rental units rather than single-family homes and, if so, what would the tax implications be? Would an influx of jobs with no benefits or benefits too expensive for employees to purchase cause an increase in use of city services (such as the health department)? Would having a major employer that does not provide a living wage for many of its employees cause an increase in the number of people being served by an already overstretched Human Concerns? (These questions assume that those working at Walmart might move into the city, which may not be the case.)
These are just some top-of-the-mind questions… I’m sure there are others. As much as I’d like to run wild with a knee-jerk negative reaction, it is difficult to argue with a decision that benefits the city. The city must demonstrate that this is actually the case.
Eric – You have been great with all your up-do-date information. Please keep us continually informed of future Council meetings regarding Walmart for public input. It looks like there will be many questions the board will need to address.
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Any news on Walmart? I would also love to see a Kwik Trip go in where the abandoned Citgo Station is on 10th ave…
Carol: Unfortunately, not much. They are apparently still working through some environmental issues with the site — both the city-owned parcel and the others they are planning to purchase as part of the deal. Still no formal plan submittal … but I will keep you posted.
I would love a Kwik Trip nearby, I hear they are being boycotted by anti- Walker unions. I would patronize them for that reason alone!!
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I was at the meeting last night and I believe many concerns were brought forth by the group to the planning commission. There is no one on the commission representing the people of the first ward where the proposed Walmart site is located. I do not want a Walmart down at the end of Badger Avenue. If the city wants Walmart here, why not develop a business district. There is one started with Pick n Save, Walgreens, Aldi and a Dollar store located on South Chicago Ave. If you want a discount store KMart is located a couple of blocks from the proposed Walmart site. Once Walmart comes in this will be the death of KMart. At the meeting we heard that Walmart projects an additional 6000 (cars, trucks, buses etc). either coming in or leaving South Milwaukee. They have proposed a traffic light at the end of Badger Ave. North Chicago will have a dedicated left turn lane going north and a dedicated right turn lane going south. This means there will be one lane for thru traffic. This lane will accomodate any buses used for public transportation adding to the traffic burden. Walmart will receive one 18 wheeler a day along with 20 – 30 vendor trucks delivering product. This will also add to the congestion on College Ave and North Chicago.
Will this store increase the number of calls to the police department? Does this mean we will have to add another person or more to the police force? Since the average police officer will make $50,000 plus another 30 – 35% in benefits the increase to the city will be around $85,000 for just one additional officer.
Walmart has a reputation of attracting a lower element. If you doubt this go to the Walmart on 27th near Oklahoma.
Who is going to clean up all the trash that is going to be blowing around the area? Would you like to get up every morning and pick up your yard? All the homes in this area will have to be reassesed as this will lower the property values.
Will Ace Hardware or any other business beforced to leave due to the lack of clients? If you think having a Walmart is so good why didn’t Cudahy want them? Why are there so many communities standing up and saying NO not in my city? If you doubt this just do a search on the internet fo No Walmart.
Why does Walmart want to locate in South Milwaukee? If you want to go to Walmart all you have to do is drive right down Rawson or College to 27th Street. They even have a Super Walmart so you can get anything you want there.
Bottom line is I do not want a Walmart in my city…