Milwaukee’s Midtown Center in the last eight years has weathered the loss of major tenants such as Lowe’s and Walmart, but its longtime anchor, Pick ‘n Save, is here to stay.
That’s the message Milwaukee-based Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. projected today at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the recent completion of a $2 million renovation project on its Midtown Center store, located at 5700 W. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee’s Capitol Heights neighborhood. Mayor Tom Barrett and 2nd District Alderman Cavalier Johnson were in attendance.
“At a time when other nearby grocers are shuttering services like the now vacant Walmart and the soon-to-be closed Lena’s, Pick ‘n Save has redoubled efforts to make sure that Capitol Heights and the surrounding neighborhoods do not become a food desert as too many neighborhoods in our community are,” Johnson said. “This investment is also important because Pick ‘n Save is an anchor store at Midtown that helps to buoy the center as a regional area for commerce. A strong and thriving Pick ‘n Save is key to a strong Midtown which in turn is important for economic development in my district and all of the northwest side of the city.”
The renovation, which included an interior facelift and upgrades to several grocery departments throughout the 53,460-square-foot store, is part of a $25 million initiative aimed at revitalizing Roundy’s nine Pick ‘n Save stores throughout the City of Milwaukee.
It’s all part of the company’s multi-phase ‘Restock Kroger’ plan, which was launched in October. Roundy’s in 2015 was acquired for $800 million by Cincinnati-based grocer The Kroger Co. The plan has also prompted the company’s recent announcement of lower prices on various grocery items sold its 106 Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market and Copps stores throughout Wisconsin.
The Midtown Center location, which first opened in 2002, is the most recent store, and one of the last of the city’s Pick ‘n Save stores, to be renovated over a two-year period, said Jim Hyland vice president of communications and public affairs at Roundy’s. The company also recently completed $1 million in renovations at its 35th and North store.
Each remodeling project ranged from approximately $1 million to just over $2 million, depending on the needs of the location, he said.
“We’ve invested in the central city,” Hyland said. “We’re here to stay. At the Midtown Center, where people have pulled out of the neighborhood, where others see doubt, we see opportunity.”
Roundy’s today also donated $5,000 to Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity for the purchase of 20, $250 Pick ‘n Save save gift cards for the nonprofit organization’s new Stock the Pantry program. The gift card will be given to homeowners when they move into their newly constructed homes.
