By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Whitewater’s former Sentry store building will have a new lease on life — but a grocery store is not part of the plans.
On Monday, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Foundation’s request to lease the high profile, 51,000-square-foot building, located at 1260 W. Main St., as a community outreach center.
Although specific details have not yet been finalized, UW-Whitewater is planning to use the site for several services that will be relocated from the main campus. Possible uses include a children’s center, business outreach, counseling offices and a speech and language clinic.
Mirroring a scenario at most of the state’s universities, UW-Whitewater’s main campus is considered landlocked, meaning other sites in the community are being considered.
The high-level approval from state regents comes on the heels of a series of recent announcements as city officials continue an ongoing quest to land a new full-service grocer in Whitewater. Terry Daniels closed his local Sentry store in December.
In the eight months since, the Whitewater Common Council and Community Development Authority have worked in tandem to try and land a new grocer to the community. The CDA was considering purchasing the Sentry building to help facilitate the development.
The overtures seemed to be bearing fruit as officials announced an unnamed grocer had considered locating in the city last month. But on July 26, Council President Patrick Singer indicated the grocer dropped out of discussions with the city, and the CDA was no longer pursuing the Sentry property.
While questions about a future grocery store continue to permeate, UW-Whitewater officials are moving full steam ahead with their plans for the Sentry site.
“This building will help us address our space deficiencies and critical academic program and enrollment needs,” Chancellor Beverly Kopper said in a statement. “A primary focus is also on expanding the services we provide to the community.”
While the core mission of public universities — educating adults — remains the same, institutions such as UW-Whitewater in recent years have begun trumpeting how they serve communities as well.
Economically, the Innovation Center is one such outgrowth of that effort. Kopper asserted the local university pumps $407 million annually into the local economy.
“We believe the outreach center will help increase the amount of money that comes in Walworth, Jefferson and Rock counties, while providing much needed services,” Kopper said.
Jonathan Enslin, president of the UW-Whitewater Foundation, said he viewed leasing the former Sentry site as a further overture in bridging gaps between the university and the community.
“This acquisition …will serve the City of Whitewater and the region by allowing easy access to the services most used by the general public,” Enslin said in a statement. “We are pleased the foundation is able to partner again with the university and the community to create new opportunities.”
Neither the CDA nor the city have publicly announced the next steps in the search for a new grocer, though Singer said the process has not reached a dead end.
“Recruiting an additional grocery option is a top priority for the majority of members of our community,” Singer said last month.
