Developer Just Weeks From Beginning Walmart Neighborhood Market Project

The shopping center at the corner of Pilgrim Road and Main Street has been in the spotlight of both residents and village leaders for quite some time, but now shovels are just weeks from hitting the dirt for a large redevelopment project that will usher in a Walmart Neighborhood Market as an anchor store.

Tenessee-based Gatlin Development will handle the demolition and site work in the Pilgrim Village Shopping Center, which formerly housed Piggly Wiggly. Chad Williard, vice president of land use and entitlements with Gatlin, said the company expects to close on properties within the first two weeks of November, and demolition and site work will commence within the month and continue throughout the winter. 

Barring construction delays, Williard said the site work should be completed by April. Once that is complete, the four walls of the Neighborhood Market will rise, and the store could officially open by November 2012.

“We’ve been working a long time on this, and it’s good to see that we aren’t far from beginning demolition and site work,” Williard said.

Gatlin plans to build a 40,000-square-foot supermarket and pharmacy in the vacancy-laden shopping center. As part of the plan, the Piggly Wiggly, which has sat empty since 2007, and the adjacent mall will be demolished. Three outlot buildings will also be constructed along Main Street.

Both and will remain in the center, and the exterior of their stores will be updated. will also stay put and get a facelift on its exterior as well.

Vacant gas station a top priority

Williard said razing the vacant gas station on the corner of Pilgrim Road and Main Street is a top priority in the redevelopment project. The village is investing up to $820,000 toward .

A total of $620,000 will fund developer improvements, as well as a right of way land purchase allowing for future expansion of Pilgrim Road. The village also advanced $200,000 to buffer costs resulting from environmental remediation needed on the site.

In exchange, Gatlin will build a “landmark” building on the busy corner that will have distinctive architecture and design. 

“That gas station building will be one of the first to go,” Williard said. “That was a request from the village, because they wanted that building gone.”

The developer’s agreement includes a “time is of the essence” clause, which requires timely completion of the building by the end of 2012. Williard said plans for that building would be sent to the village promptly in November. He said several businesses are already expressing strong interest to locate in that building once it is operational.

The other two outlot buildings proposed to the east of Schlotzsky’s would be phased in as tenants step forward, Williard said.

For years, this section along Main Street has ranked near the top of the village’s list of places to revamp. However, the original plan for improving the shopping center was unsuccessful, and the village was forced to change course after several years. Planning Technician Matthew Dorner said earlier this year that Gatlin’s proposal would likely bring needed traffic to the area, and have a catalytic effect on future development along the Main Street corridor.

Plans to the south on hold

In addition to the Neighborhood Market proposal moving forward on Main Street, Walmart was to build another Neighborhood Market. However, those plans have been put on hold.

In August, Walmart consultants held a resident meeting to get feedback on building a Neighborhood Market on the corner of Pilgrim and Lisbon roads on the south side of the village. Based on the resistance from many neighbors in the area, Walmart spokeswoman Lisa Nelson said those plans are now in flux.

“We are re-evaluating or plans for that area,” Nelson said. “We still want to serve our customers there in Menomonee Falls, there’s clearly a need for our customers out there."

Nelson said developers might look at other sites on the south end of the village for store construction. Nelson said residents weren’t as upset about building a new store, but they didn’t approve of its location.

In January, Gatlin to request a rezoning of 25 acres of undeveloped land on the northwest corner of Pilgrim and Lisbon roads. The initial proposal called for a much larger 115,000-square-foot supercenter at that corner.

However, the developer ran into for the plan when the rezoning request went to a public hearing. Hundreds of residents attended the meeting Jan. 4 to voice their displeasure with the plan. Though Gatlin scaled down the plans, residents still opposed building on that corner.