A new town square-style development is being proposed for 28 acres in the village of Yorkville, near the site where Foxconn Technology Group is building its manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant.
This evening, the Yorkville Village Board and Plan Commission will consider preliminary concepts of the proposed development located at the southwest corner of Durand and Sylvania avenues, just west of Interstate 94. Plans include 84,000 square feet of new retail space, more than 35,500 square feet of hospitality space and 20,000 square feet of new service space.
Specifically, the conceptual plans depict a 46,000-square-foot anchor retail store; four additional strip retail buildings, ranging in size from 8,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet; a 16,500-square-foot hotel; two 6,000-square-foot restaurant buildings; two 3,500-square-foot fast-food restaurants; a 4,800-square-foot gas station; and a 4-acre public green space at the center of the development area.
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- A 2015 aerial view of the 28-acre site in Yorkville. (Courtesy: Racine County)
The green space could be used for public events or farmer’s markets, or even serve as a play area for kids. It could also incorporate things such as a band stand or benches.
“The concept for sub-dividing this plot is based on creation of a town square,” a memo submitted to the county states. “The lot division and the land development set out to create a brand and act as a gateway to Yorkville community.”
Milwaukee-based Continuum Architects + Planners filed the conceptual plans. The landowner is Durand Corners LLC, an affiliate of San Diego-based Lansing Cos. According to its website, the firm develops residential and commercial properties throughout the southwest, focusing on master-planned communities in southern California.
The Lansing Cos. affiliate purchased the land back in August for $2.45 million, state records show. It is assessed at just under $1.7 million, according to county records.
Greg Lansing, president and chief executive officer of Lansing Cos., said his company has not developed any land in Wisconsin previously. What attracted the firm to the area is all the development activity occurring along I-94, including projects from Foxconn, Haribo, Uline and Amazon.
“We are pretty excited about what is going on with Foxconn as well as a lot of other things going on … in the I-94 corridor,” he said.
Lansing said his firm has so far had “pretty strong discussions” with potential gas station operators and fast-food restaurants for the development, and that tenants for those spaces could be named by the end of the year. Lansing Cos. doesn’t yet have a specific anchor retail tenant for the project, but Lansing said almost any company could do well there. As examples, he named Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Target.
“I think those companies would do very well there to anchor this,” he said.
Village officials are scheduled only to discuss the plans for the site, and won’t be voting on a specific proposal. Michael McKinney, village clerk and treasurer, said a formal application would have to be submitted to Racine County. The village would then take a vote on any necessary approvals related to the project.
This isn’t the only potential development Lansing Cos. is pursuing in southeastern Wisconsin. Lansing said the firm owns about 40 acres of land in Mount Pleasant, where it plans to develop “hundreds of units” of residential housing.
