By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The City of Delavan Plan Commission and Common Council held a joint Committee of the Whole meeting on Aug. 28 to hear about plans for the former Geneva Lakes Kennel Club property at the intersection of Highways 43 and 50 and heard that Mills Fleet Farm is planning to build one of its largest new prototype stores on the site.
The 200-acre property is currently owned by two entities, DKC135, LLC and DP71, LLC. Commercial Horizons, a development company based in Kohler, Wisconsin, is planning on buying the 27 acres Mills Fleet Farm would occupy. The developer will build the 218,628-square foot building and Mills Fleet Farm will lease from them, said Curt Mauer, who represented Commercial Horizons at the meeting. A gas station/convenience store and a garden center are part of the plans.
The Mills Fleet Farm building would face northwest toward the intersection of Highways 43 and 50. Between the store and North Shore Drive along the southern side of Highway 50 are plans for future retail development. No tenants for that property have been found yet, but Andy Teegen, manager of the two current owners of the property, hopes breaking ground on one big anchor will spur interest in the remaining land. Other commercial or residential development would eventually fill out the rest of the 200 acres.
The plans call for a public road to provide access to the site at the former entrance to the dog track facility. As many as three private roads would wind through the property. Mauer said he would like to see the access point on Highway 50 be a full access point with traffic signals. There would also be as many as three access points from North Shore Drive with one of them being limited. Mauer said he would also like to see an access point off of Borg Road at some point.
Attorney Dale Thorpe said the development is in its early stages and will come back to the plan commission and council in September and October for necessary approvals. No action was taken at this meeting. Mauer said Mills Fleet Farm is heavily motivated to move through the process as fast as possible because the company would like to break ground yet this year and open by fall of 2018.
Mayor Mel Nieuwenhuis said he liked the concept plan that was presented and the plans would be a big boost to the community if approved. He said the entire 200-acre parcel is zoned for this kind of development, so he sees it as inevitable.
“I am very happy we are getting some actual action,” he said. Nieuwenhuis said he has heard of many proposed plans for the site that never came to fruition.
Nieuwenhuis said he asked why Mills Fleet Farm was interested in Delavan and was told the location was good and Walworth County can provide a good work force.
Nieuwenhuis also said competition is good when asked if the city can support more retail development when several stores across the street in the Delavan Crossings development sit empty. He said he has heard the owner of that development has raised rents significantly in recent years and having some competition across the street might change that strategy. He also said concerns about local businesses being able to compete with Mills Fleet Farm are valid, but Ace Hardware and other stores survived when Walmart and Lowe’s came to town.
