Industrial Park Near I-94 Ready
WisPark Awaits Abbott's Plans Before Developing Property

By Deneen Smith
Kenosha News

PrairieWood Corporate Park, the extension of WisPark's industrial park to the west side of Interstate 94, will be ready for development in the coming year, but WisPark is taking a wait-and-see attitude on the property.

The new corporate park, 270 acres south of Highway 165 just west of the Interstate and WisPark's existing LakeView Corporate, has been on the drawing boards for at least eight years. Slated to include the new world headquarters for Jockey International, the park will be available for development in 2007, according to WisPark.

But WisPark President Jerry Franke said that for now, the corporation isn't in a hurry. Instead, the company - the real estate development subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation - hopes to know more about what is happening with the new park's potential neighbor to the north.

Abbott Laboratories bought about 500 acres just north of Highway 165. Abbott hasn't yet announced its plans for the property, saying only that it was purchased to accom modate future development. However, Pleasant Prairie officials have been working with Abbott on an overall development plan for the land and the state of Wisconsin, in announcing a grant for the project, said Abbott could eventually have 12,000 employees on the site.

Franke indicated it would be a challenge to market PrairieWood until Abbott makes their plans public.

"We're really on hold until we see what Abbott is going to do," Franke said. "When we started the plans for PrairieWood there was no thought of a 500 acre campus across the street."

Franke said Abbott's decision to purchase the property is good news for the village and the region. However, he said, the questions over the company's plans for the property complicate development plans for PrairieWood. "It just creates some uncertainty," he said.

At the same time, he said, there are still some large undeveloped industrial lots left in LakeView, and said the company will concentrate on marketing those, WisPark purchased the land for PrairieWood about eight years ago. The village annexed the land as part of a boundary agreement with the town of Bristol, along with most of the property owned by Abbott. A portion of the Abbott property will remain in Bristol.

Pleasant Prairie designated the area a tax incremental financing district in 2001, and is using funds from that district to pay for infrastructure improvements that will make development of the land possible.

Jockey announced its intent to relocate its headquarters to Pleasant Prairie in 2001, but has never given a timetable for the project. For now, their headquarters remains at 2300-60th St. in Kenosha.

Village Administrator Michael Pollocoff said sewer and water lines have been extended to the PrairieWoods property, and that the village is doing some ground work on the southwest corner of I-94 and 165 to cleanup some concrete and other debris that was on the site.

Pollocoff said the village is also working with the state on upgrades to the frontage road and entrance ramps near the site.
Franke said that if Abbott does not move forward with plans for the property indefinitely, WisPark will push ahead. But he said the company is not in a hurry.

"We just wait. And we're patient," he said.