Plan Commission Optimistic About Walmart Development

For years, the village has attempted to spur development activity in the Pilgrim Village Shopping center on Main Street and Pilgrim Road, but without success.

Now, an opportunity has knocked on the door and the village is ready to answer.

Gatlin Development Co., a national developer of Walmart retail stores, has come to the village with a proposal to raze the vacant Piggly Wiggly, N88W15507 Main St., and construct a small-scale, 40,000-square-foot, Walmart Neighborhood Market. The plan also includes building three other retail businesses that would front Main Street.

Specific details regarding the type of businesses that would be built along Main Street are yet to be released.

Five years ago, the village crafted a comprehensive plan that called for bringing a two-story residential and retail development to fill the vacancies in Pilgrim Village. The strict zoning in that area regulated the type of facade that could be built and the number of windows that could go into a development as well as other conditions.

After five years of waiting, and without success, Plan Commissioners on Tuesday said they are ready to change course from the original plan. Although the commission didn’t take official action, they supported amending the zoning and comprehensive plan to bring this development to Main Street.

“We’ve had a plan in place for five years, and nothing happened. It’s time to amend the plan and get something going there rather than continue to wait,” said Commissioner Anthony Ash.

After the amendment proposals make it through public hearings in May, 11.9 acres along Main Street will be rezoned from mixed use and high-density residential to strictly commercial. The rezoning will clear the way for the Gatlin development to proceed through the necessary approvals.

Trustee Michael McDonald said the Gatlin development could provide the momentum to jumpstart the Main Street corridor, which the village has targeted for years. He said he’s excited for this development, which could be a springboard for other businesses on adjacent lands.

“This particular concept has a lot more merit and we will finally address a corner that everyone has been asking about for the past 10 or 15 years, ‘When are your going to do something along Main Street?' ” McDonald said.  “And now we finally have something that looks like it’s going to be very viable.”

McDonald added that developers’ interest in Menomonee Falls continues to grow in tough economic times. He said the village will likely be a leader across the state in terms of economic development in the near future.

“You go to any other community throughout the state of Wisconsin, I can’t think of any that have this type of interest in terms of people that want to get the ball rolling,” McDonald said.