The Kroger Co. says it will build its new Pleasant Prairie automated fulfillment center on a vacant 58-acre site along 88th Avenue, which the company recently acquired for $7.4 million, according to state records.
The vacant land sits on the east side of 88th Avenue, south of Bain Station Road and north of 95th Street. It is immediately south of the Majestic Badger Logistics Center at 8801 88th Ave., and about a mile from the Pleasant Prairie RecPlex. The land was purchased from Majestic Badger LLC, an affiliate of California-based Majestic Realty Co.
Last week, Cincinnati-based Kroger announced plans to construct a 350,000-square-foot warehouse that would employ up to 400 workers in Pleasant Prairie and serve customers in Wisconsin, northern Illinois and northwest Indiana.
James Hyland, vice president of communications and public affairs for Kroger’s Milwaukee-based Roundy’s division, said the chosen location for the new warehouse “is ideally situated to serve both the Chicago and Milwaukee markets and beyond.”
Hyland said the company hasn’t yet released an official groundbreaking date yet because the winter weather may impact when crews can begin working on the project. The company noted in a news release last week that the facility would become operational two years after construction commences.
Peggy Herrick, Pleasant Prairie assistant planner, said at minimum Kroger would need to submit site and operational plans to the village at a minimum. More approvals could be needed, depending on the company’s specific plans. Nothing had been formally submitted to the village as of Monday morning, said Herrick.
If eventually built, the facility would be the company’s sixth automated fulfillment center in the U.S.
“This transformative fulfillment center will create local jobs and accelerate Kroger’s ability to expand our products and services to a larger footprint, providing customers with anything, anytime, anywhere,” Michael Marx, Kroger Roundy’s president, said in the news release last week.
The land Kroger acquired has an assessed value of roughly $5.7 million, according to Kenosha County records.
Hyland declined to provide further details on what types of jobs the new fulfillment center would bring and the wages they’d come with.
“As we get closer to (project) completion, we will be able to provide you with more information on job types and wages,” he said in an email.
Kroger is the largest supermarket chain the country, and in late 2015 acquired Milwaukee-based grocery chain operator Roundy’s Inc. According to the company, its stores serve over 11 million customers daily under a variety of banner names, including Kroger, Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market and several others.
