DELAVAN
Development of a Meijer supermarket in Delavan inched closer to reality Monday night after the plan commission unanimously decided to recommend the company’s proposal to the Delavan City Council.
Council members will now make the final call on the project when they meet Tuesday, Sept. 18. Included in the proposal is a 160,000-square-foot supermarket, a drive-thru pharmacy, a garden center and a 3,400-square-foot gas station with 10 fuel pumps.
Meijer would build in a burgeoning business development at the intersection of Interstate 43 and Highway 50. Named Lake Side Center, the 200-acre mixed-used development is already home to Mills Fleet Farm. That building—a 218,000-square-foot mammoth—is expected to be finished next month.
Michael Klingl, a real estate representative for Meijer, said a Meijer store would be another boon for the area and drive tax revenue and consumer spending.
Along with its two planned 24-hour stores, Meijer will sell or lease three adjacent lots for commercial development. Those lots vary in size from about 2 to 5 acres and will be on the market once the development is complete, Meijer real estate manager Ashley Mack said.
During its meeting, the plan commission recommended several conditional-use permits for the “precise implementation plan” of Meijer’s proposal. Those permits include allowing the drive-thru pharmacy, fuel center and several outdoor displays.
The development would feature a grocery store with a full-service bakery and deli, home goods, sporting goods, a pharmacy, and a garden center. According to a memo sent to the plan commission, the store’s interior would be “essentially one very large room for retail floor space.” Meijer plans for 536 parking stalls and intermittent landscaping outside.
In its memo to the commission, Meijer said it would hire between 200 and 250 employees and sell 120,000 products, locally sourced and “straight from the farm” groceries, housewares, seasonal items, and a free prescription program.
Since the company does not currently own the property, Mack said it has not yet determined when construction would begin. She said the company could close on the property in the next few months “if everything goes well. We still have a little bit of due diligence to do.”
Klingl told the commission the Meijer development is not positioned near residential neighborhoods and will not affect residential property values. He said the Lake Side Center is installing new roads and service amenities in the area.
“We are fitting right in and becoming the catalyst for development,” Klingl said. “It is a handsome development. We have gone to great lengths to exceed the amount of landscaping. I think everything the developer is doing likewise is going to only enhance the area.”
