By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Area residents will soon have a new option for purchasing food, drinks and other everyday incidentals.
German-based discount grocer Aldi is expected to make its entry into Mukwonago, following a series of recent decisions by village officials.
The Village of Mukwonago Plan Commission recently reviewed plans for an 18,500-square-foot store that is to be constructed at the corner of state Highway 83 and Wolf Run. Commissioners gave the project a favorable recommendation.
The Mukwonago Village Board on June 16 took up Aldi’s plans and recommended moving forward with the proposal with a series of caveats, including a stormwater management plan and landscaping details.
The board also will need to rezone the land from an agricultural district designation to one reflecting a planned unit development.
Village Planner Bruce Kaniewski said the Aldi project encompasses 3.7 acres on land that had been owned by the Dorothy Herriges Revocable Trust.
When the Aldi proposal first surfaced this spring, Kaniewski said the grocer and Milwaukee-based real estate firm ICAP Development, which is handling the transaction, scrutinized access to and from the property from the roadway.
“(The two entities) worked with village staff to prepare a site plan that has good traffic flow for both customers and delivery vehicles,” Kaniewski said.
He added, “The proposal includes a driveway extending through a neighboring property to provide a second access point with Maple Avenue and the use of an adjacent piece of property to be vacated from the Wolf Run right-of-way.”
According to documents submitted to the village by ICAP Development, the Mukwonago Aldi store is designed to conform to other nearby sites, meaning operating hours that run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.
The store is expected to hire 10 employees and feature 82 parking stalls. On average, about 10 truck deliveries will occur at the store.
Brian Adamson, a representative with ICAP Development, said the design of the Mukwonago Aldi is intended to match the architecture and character of the surrounding area.
“The total assessed value of the improvements is expected to be about $3 million,” Adamson wrote in application materials. “Our intention is to begin construction this summer.”
Officials have not yet revealed a precise target date for the opening of the new store.
Kaniewski noted a number of trees will be lost on the site, though Aldi and ICAP Development are planning to add a number of replacements as landscaping improvements are implemented.
Aldi, with roots going back to 1946, began in the German town of Essen. Over time, the company expanded to other countries. Today, according to the company, Aldi operates more than 9,000 stores in 18 countries, including the U.S.
Aldi has long been noted for an efficiency model that requires customers put down a deposit for shopping carts and purchase shopping bags.
Almost all of the company’s product selection are house brands that cannot be found elsewhere, though stores sometimes have so-called special buys that include brand named merchandise.
