Pabst Farms, the 1,500-acre mixed-use development at Interstate 94 and Highway 67 in Oconomowoc and the Town of Summit, announced today that a 128-room Staybridge Suites hotel will be built just west of the Aurora hospital that is under construction. Staybridge Suites, an extended-stay hotel brand of Windsor, U.K.-based InterContinental Hotels Group, will anchor the Hospitality Campus of Pabst Farms, which will include another planned hotel, office building and restaurant.

The Staybridge Suites' amenities will include 24-hour business services and free high-speed internet services, complimentary breakfast, sundown evening receptions, a 24-hour fitness center, swimming pool, sport court, barbeque pavilion and a convenience store. Construction is expected to break ground this month and the hotel is expected to open in early spring, 2009. "By opening this hotel in the spring of next year, we saw an opportunity to capture hospitality business during Aurora hospital's active construction phase, since many workers and vendors need an extended place to stay nearby," said Peter Bell, president of Pabst Farms Development Inc. "We expect ongoing business from patients and families once the hospital opens in early 2010." A total of four to five hotels are planned at Pabst Farms. A Hilton Garden Inn opened last year in Pabst Farms. Fitchburg-based S&L Hospitality, which developed the Hilton Garden Inn, will also develop the Staybridge Suites at Pabst Farms.

Also this month, construction is expected to begin on the first of three speculative industrial buildings at Pabst Farms. The first spec building will have 30,000 square feet of space and about 25 percent will be occupied by Winona, Minn.-based Fastenal Corp., which plans to move in during mid-October. Fastenal is a distributor of threaded fasteners and accessories for use in industrial and commercial applications.  Leasing for the building is being handled by Sam Dickman Sr. of The Dickman Company. "Fastenal wanted to be in a new, convenient and recognizable location and therefore chose Pabst Farms," Dickman said. "With all the activity going on with the retail center, hospital and hotels, Pabst Farms is becoming the center of commercial business west of Milwaukee."

The construction of the 110-bed, 792,000-square-foot Aurora hospital in Pabst Farms continues to progress. A topping off ceremony was held earlier this month. The hospital is expected to create 650 permanent jobs. Construction is expected to start in the next week at Village Crossing, the 144-unit luxury condominium development in Pabst Farms. The general contractor for the condominium homes is Wired Construction LLC, a division of Wired Properties, a Milwaukee boutique real estate development, consulting and construction firm with expertise in full-service multi-family consulting. Condominium prices begin at $275,900. The first units are expected to open in late 2008.

Pabst Farms executives are still working on the Pabst Farms Town Centre, a 1-million square-foot retail center. Last fall, it was announced that Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty Corporation (DDR) had partnered with Pabst Farms to develop the project, which is scheduled to open in 2010. Pabst Farms Town Centre was recently showcased at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Conference in Las Vegas.

Despite high gas prices and the slumping economy, which have hurt the retail sector, the Pabst Farms Town Centre project is progressing, Pabst Farms spokesman Thad Nation said. "We're not looking at today," he said. "We're looking at two years down the road. Everything is moving forward. We were just at ICSC and had a great response." Pabst Farms and DDR are currently in the process of signing up tenants and hope to have news of the first announced stores later this year.

Pleasant Prairie officials recently approved preliminary site and operational plans for mass grading at the future site of Uline Inc.'s corporate headquarters. Waukegan, Ill.-based Uline plans to move its headquarters to a new facility that will be built on a 200-acre site southwest of I-94 and Highway 165/Q. The facility will consist of 218,000 square feet of office space and 1 million square feet of distribution space.

The recent approval by village officials will allow grading to begin for the installation of storm water facilities and infrastructure improvements for the project. Construction of the corporate offices is expected to begin later this summer and be complete during the spring of 2010. Initially, about 650 employees are expected to work in the Uline headquarters. Construction for the distribution space is expected to be complete by the end of 2009. Initially 200 employees will work at the distribution center.

Later, in a second phase of the project, Uline plans to add another 200,000 square feet of office space and 800,000 square feet of distribution space. Completion of all phases for the Uline campus is expected to be complete in 2015.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held in Kenosha on Friday, June 27, to celebrate the start of construction for a 587,710-square-foot distribution center for Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Gordon Food Service. The $50 million facility will be built southeast of 38th Street and I-94. It is expected to create 265 jobs when it opens in 2010. Gov. Jim Doyle announced that the state will provide a $1 million grant for the project.

"Gordon Food Service is a well-known industry leader, and I'm delighted to welcome them to Wisconsin," Doyle said. "We look forward to a long and successful partnership with the company." It will be the company's 10th distribution center in the U.S., and the first in Wisconsin.

This will be the second massive food distribution center to break ground in Kenosha in as many months. In May, construction began on a 692,000-square-foot distribution center at 8410 60th St. in Kenosha, for Norfolk, Neb.-based Affiliated Foods Midwest. About 250 full- and part-time employees will work in the building. In the future, the building may be expanded to 1.5 million square feet of total space with 500 employees.

Milwaukee Ald. Robert Bauman is sponsoring a resolution to create a tax incremental financing (TIF) district northwest of downtown to spur housing development. It would be called the Linden Hill Estates TIF district and would be bounded by West Galena Street, West State Street, North 20th Street and North 24th Street. TIF funds would be used on "improving housing conditions in the neighborhood, including construction of owner-occupied infill housing, rehabilitation of existing owner-occupied housing and increasing the owner-occupancy rate," according to the resolution, which will be considered at the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee meeting on June 24.

The area covered by the proposed TIF district has "an abundance of vacant lots and absentee-owned housing," according to the resolution. However, the area has potential for a "housing renaissance" because of its proximity to downtown, other revitalized or new residential neighborhoods (such as Lindsay Commons, Highland Homes, City Homes and Walnut Circle), Marquette University and Aurora Sinai Medical Center, the resolution states.

West Bend-based Epic Creative, an advertising agency and production company, plans to move its headquarters from a building on the city's south side to a new facility downtown. The company, currently located at 3014 E. Progress Drive, will build a new, two-story, 33,630-square-foot facility on a one-acre site along the southern portion of Veteran's Parkway in downtown West Bend. Construction of the new facility is expected to start in November.

The facility will house office space and a production sound stage capable of accommodating photography and video shoots. "I can't think of a more exciting time in EPIC's history," said Jim Becker, president of Epic Creative. "When the agency first started, we operated out of a garage, so to move into a building of this magnitude-it solidifies 19 years of hard work and dedication from a multi-dimensional team of talented, creative people."

The site for Epic's new headquarters is located east of the Milwaukee River, an area of the downtown that city officials have been working to redevelop. "We are so pleased to have an anchor like Epic kick-start development in the downtown area," said West Bend Mayor Kristine Deiss. "Not only is this a boost to our beautiful downtown, but it's also further confirmation that West Bend is a great place to do business."