Allied Pools is consolidating its three Milwaukee-area stores into a larger superstore on Highway 100 in West Allis.
The new store is being built on the site of the former Excalibur Automobile Company manufacturing plant at 1800 S. 108th St. About half of the abandoned, almost 100,000-square-foot building on the site will be demolished, clearing way for the new 20,000 square-foot Allied Pools store. The rest of the building will be gutted and renovated for use as a distribution center for Allied Pools.
The West Allis store will replace stores Allied Pools has at 4251 S. 27th St. in Milwaukee, 7351 N. 76th St. in Milwaukee and 15805 W. National Ave. in New Berlin. The company leases the New Berlin space. The Milwaukee properties are for sale, said Allied Pools president David Murray.
The two Milwaukee stores and the New Berlin store each have about 9,000 square feet of space, Murray said. The larger West Allis store will provide space to display more of Allied Pools’ product line, which includes swimming pools, spas, hot tubs, patio furniture, bars, pool tables, dart boards, air hockey tables and foosball tables.
"Basically, we have everything recreation-wise for your home," Murray said. "(In the larger store) we’ll be able to showcase more home recreation products year-round then anyone else in this area. We won’t have to move anything around."
The distribution center at the West Allis site will also provide more storage space than the Milwaukee and New Berlin stores, Murray said.
Menomonee Falls-based Wahlgren-Schwenn, Inc. is designing and building the West Allis store and distribution center. Demolition began about seven weeks ago. Construction is expected to begin June 1 and be completed in time for the store to open on Nov. 1.
"It’s a tricky site," said Kevin Wahlgren, president of Wahlgren-Schwenn. "The Excalibur facility was comprised of at least seven individually constructed buildings and/or additions. Seven different structures were combined. It’s kind of a mess. A good part of what we’ve done to date is basically cleaning up the existing building."
The property is at a highly-visible location on heavily traveled Highway 100, just north of Lincoln Ave.
"We get a lot of inquiries whenever properties on Highway 100 become available," said city planner Jason M. Williams.
Not only does Highway 100 have a lot of traffic, it also has several tile, carpet, furniture and home improvement stores that will complement Allied Pools, Murray said.
"It’s just an area I think that a lot of people are traveling in when they are looking for things for their home," he said.
The Highway 100 property also provides a centralized location for the company’s existing customers and employees, Murray said.
All of the 35 employees who work at the Milwaukee and New Berlin stores will be moved to the West Allis store, Murray said. The company may add more warehouse jobs at the site, Murray said.
Allied Pools also has stores at 4121 Durand Ave. in Racine and in Appleton, Green Bay and Madison.
May 28, 2004 Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI
