A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday to celebrate the start of construction of a new, 177,557-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter store at South West Avenue and Highway 59 in Waukesha.

The general contractor for the construction project is Elmhurt, Ill.-based International Contractors Inc.

The store will replace the 120,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store at W226 S1500, Highway 164, Waukesha, which will close when the new store opens next fall.

Unlike the existing store on Highway 164, the new Wal-Mart store will include a gocery department.

The Highway 164 store opened in 1991. All of the 202 employees from that store will be transferred to the new store and an additional 85 jobs (mostly full time positions) will be created at the new store.

The Highway 164 store is located in the Town of Waukesha. The new Wal-Mart store will be the first Wal-Mart built in the City of Waukesha.

“Waukesha eagerly looks forward to the first Wal-Mart in the city,” said Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson. “It will help our economic development with new jobs and offer more shopping options for all of our residents, especially in the southern half of the city.”

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has 83 Wal-Mart stores and 12 Sam’s Club stores in the state.

Restat LLC, a prescription benefit management firm, will move from West Bend to Milwaukee in mid-November.

The company recently leased 30,488 square feet of office space in Park Place IV at 11900 W. Lake Park Dr., Milwaukee, near the intersection of Interstate 45 and West Good Hope Road, from Liberty Property Trust.

Restat has 141 employees, about 20 of whom have been hired in the last nine months, a company spokesperson said.

Restat is a portfolio company of Dohmen (formerly known as the F. Dohmen Co.).

“We made this move for three primary reasons,” said Dohmen CEO Cynthia LaConte. “First, a concerted plan for growth. As a result of our rapid growth over the past few years, our employee base has been divided between three locations, two in West Bend and one in Germantown. Our growth continues. We’ve added 20 new employees in the past 9 months. We want to consolidate and we need room to grow. In addition, we wanted a location closer to our corporate offices in Milwaukee, our sister company DDN in Menomonee Falls, and the airport.”

Dohmen moved its headquarters from Germantown to Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward earlier this year.

According to a report in the West Bend News, Restat searched for a larger space in West Bend, but was unable to find a suitable existing facility.

"We looked for space here in the city but found none that was suitable for having us all under one roof without having to build," Restat president David Kwasny told the West Bend News. "At this point, building is not the best option for us. We would have loved to have stayed in West Bend. There just aren't buildings available in West Bend at reasonable rates."

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is guaranteeing a $700,000 loan from the Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp. for a planned Melting Pot restaurant that would be located in the Historic Third Ward in Milwaukee.

The Melting Pot is a Tampa, Fla.-based chain of fondue restaurants. There are more than 140 Melting Pot locations in the U.S., but the only other Melting Pot location in Wisconsin is in Brookfield at 19850 W. Bluemound Road.

Matt Soik, the Melting Pot franchisee that operates the chain’s Brookfield location, is planning to open another location in the former Milwaukee Antique Center building at 341 N. Milwaukee St.

The Melting Pot’s web site indicates that the restaurant in the Third Ward will open during the “winter of 2010.”

The five-story, 43,200-square-foot building in the Third Ward is located at the southwest corner of North Milwaukee Street and East St. Paul Avenue. According to David Stroud, one of the investors that owns the building, Soik plans to purchase a commercial condominium space in the building for the restaurant. However that purchase has not closed yet, Stroud said, and no closing date has been set. Soik is still trying to put together the details of the project, Stroud said. The sale of the space could close within the next 60 days, he said.

Soik could not be reached for comment.

Milwaukee-based Wired Properties plans to break ground within 30 days of a 4-story, mixed use building that it plans to build at the northeast corner of Kensington Boulevard and Oakland Avenue in Shorewood, said Wired Properties owner Blair Williams.

The building will have 25 apartments and 11,000 square feet of first floor retail space. Tenants have been committed for most of the retail space, Williams said, including Alterra, which will open a café in an 1,800-square-foot space at the corner of the building. Alterra currently has 7 cafes in the Milwaukee area.

Other tenants in the building will include a 4,000-square-foot bar and grill, a 1,600-square-foot wine store and bar and a 2,000-square-foot women’s clothing boutique. A 1,200-square-foot space is still available, but should be leased by the time construction begins, Williams said.

“We anticipate being 100 percent pre-leased (for the retail space),” he said. “That’s pretty exciting.”

The $8 million development will also include 46 underground parking spaces and 33 surface parking spaces behind the building. The 0.7-acre site for the building was formerly occupied by a Mobil gas station, which closed last year.

Marquette University has selected Rosemont, Ill.-based Opus North Corp. as the design-builder for the construction of the university’s new $100 million College of Engineering facility. Hammel Green & Abrahamson (HGA) collaborated with Opus on the conceptual design phases of the 100,000 square-foot building, which is the first phase of the College of Engineering project.

“We’ve very proud of our work at Marquette University as it is always an honor to work with a university that is so dedicated to building ground-breaking educational facilities,” said Tom Kennedy, vice president and general manager of project management for Opus North.  

The first phase will involve construction of a five-story building. Preparation of the site has already begun with soil testing, environmental and demolition work on four university-owned buildings.

“The university expects to break ground for the new building in spring 2010 with initial occupancy planned for August 2011,” said Marquette University Architect Thomas Ganey.

Opus North’s Milwaukee office currently has more than $100 million of construction underway at Marquette, including the new Marquette University Law School – Ray & Kay Eckstein Hall, which will open in the summer of 2010, and the Joseph and Vera Zilber Hall, a 128,000-square-foot new student services/ administration building, which will be ready for initial occupancy in November.

Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday to unveil its new Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic and Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic. The facility, which will begin accepting patients on Oct. 26, is part of the new hospital complex that Aurora is building southeast of I-94 and Highway 67 in the Town of Summit, near Oconomowoc and within the Pabst Farms development. The hospital is scheduled to open in early 2010. The new Wilkinson Medical Clinic will replace the current location for the clinic and the Aurora Vision Center at 915 Summit Ave., Oconomowoc, although urgent care services will continue to be offered at that location. The Aurora Pharmacy at 915 Summit Ave. will also remain open and a new pharmacy will open at the new clinic. The new clinic will also replace the Aurora Wilkinson Women’s Center at 1248 Summit Ave., Oconomowoc.

The 81-year-old former Majestic Theater building, located at 3620 E. Layton Ave. in Cudahy, is getting a makeover. It is the first building to get a facelift with assistance from the city’s new façade improvement program.

Work crews have removed the 1970’s-era stucco from the exterior of the building. The project’s goal is to return the structure to its original appearance, including restoration of the cream city brick, new siding, awnings and tile and a brand new marquee. Construction will continue over the next several weeks and then be completed in spring.

The building is owned by the Ademi and O’Reilly Law Firm, which is the building's anchor tenant. Other tenants in the building include Anderson Smith Advertising Consultants, Scherrer Insurance and Mr. Paul’s Hairstyling for Men.

The Façade Improvement Program provides design and construction grants to help commercial business and property owners reinvest in existing downtown properties

“It is fitting that the city’s first façade improvement project be done to such a significant building in Cudahy’s history,” said Mayor Ryan McCue.  “The revitalization of this structure is just the beginning of the rebirth of our entire downtown area.”

Delafield-based Guthrie & Frey Water Conditioning LLC recently opened a second location at W63 N672 Washington Ave. in downtown Cedarburg.

Guthrie & Frey offers rental and sales of water softeners, drinking water systems and iron and odor filtration.

The company’s owner, Rob Frey, is a certified water specialist VI.

The company said the addition of the Cedarburg location will allow it to better service homeowners and corporate customers in Ozaukee and Washington counties.

Milwaukee-based MGIC Investment Corp. has reported a third quarter net loss of $517.8 million, or $4.17 per share, which was worse than a net loss of $115.4 million, or 93 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

Curt Culver, chairman and chief executive officer of MGIC and Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., said the weak economy, higher unemployment and lower home prices continue to keep cure rates low, which resulted in an increase in the delinquent inventory and consequently higher losses incurred for the quarter.

Culver said that while there has been minimal financial benefit to date, for the first time the company is seeing signs that the various loan modification programs of the U.S. Treasury Department and the private sector that are designed to help responsible homeowners avoid foreclosure are being implemented.

Culver reported that Fannie Mae has approved MGIC Indemnity Corp. as an approved mortgage insurer in selected jurisdictions. MGIC is working closely with Freddie Mac and hopes to have its approval soon, Culver said. Once Freddie Mac's approval is finalized, Culver said he is optimistic that the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Wisconsin will issue a decision allowing the reactivation of MIC in the very near future.

MGIC's total revenues for the third quarter were $413.3 million, down from $461.6 million in the same period a year ago.

Prestwick Group buys former Valeo building

Prestwick Group Inc. purchased a 55,800-square-foot building at W248 N5499 Executive Dr., Sussex, from T&L Real Estate LLC for $3.9 million.

For the sale negotiations, Prestwick was represented by Mark Gorski of Judson & Associates and T&L was represented by Mark Schnoll and Steve Sewart of Inland Companies.

The building was formerly the headquarters for Valeo Inc., which was acquired in 2007 by Younkers, N.Y.-based EB Sports Group LLC.

Prestwick is based in Oconomowoc and designs and manufactures furnishings for golf courses and the hospitality industry. The company will move its headquarters from Oconomowoc to the Sussex building

“They wanted a higher profile building with room to expand and something they could own,” Gorski said. “They have more room to expand (in the Sussex building) and the warehouse is laid out a little better for them.”

Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corp. recently completed the design and construction of a 200,000-square-foot building for Ace Distribution Services at 5600 S. Moorland Road, New Berlin. In addition, Briohn completed the construction of an office build out for Fox, O’Neill & Shannon at 622 N. Water St., Suite 500, in Milwaukee. Briohn has also been contracted to design and construct a new 7,161-square-foot medical facility for Barkwater Medical Clinic LLC at 20320 W. Greenfield Ave., Brookfield.

Oconomowoc-based MSI General Corp. has been selected to design and build a 60,000-square-foot addition to L.T. Hampel Crop. at W194 N11551 McCormick Dr., Germantown. LT. Hampel is a plastic thermoformer.

CARW announces 2010 board officers and directors
The Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin (CARW) recently announced the installation of its 2010 board officers and directors. Scott Furmanski of CB Richard Ellis was inducted as CARW’s 2010 chairman of the board and James T. Barry III of Colliers Barry is the chairman-elect.
John Czarnecki of Commercial United is the secretary and Stephen Provancher of NAI MLG Commercial is the treasurer.
Barry Chavin of NAI MLG Commercial was the chairman this year, and will serve next year as immediate past chairman.
The members of the 2010 CARW board of directors are: Michele Dugan of Mid-America Real Estate, Mike Fardy of Inland Companies, Peter GinnHendricks Development Group, Ned Purtell of RFP Commercial, Dan Rosenfeld of Mid-America Real Estate, Tom Shepherd of Inland Companies, Don Zien of CB Richard Ellis and Ryan Schultz of HSI Properties.

Wangard hires property manager
Wauwatosa-based Wangard Properties LLC recently hired Joseph McGuire as a property manager. He will be responsible for managing Wangard’s real estate portfolio which consists of over 2 million square feet in Wisconsin and the Midwest. McGuire has more than 11 years of real estate and property management experience. Prior to joining Wangard, he was the director of property management for Richter Realty & Investment Inc. in Brookfield.

Inland hires industrial broker
Milwaukee-based Inland Companies Inc. recently added Ryan Kopp as a sales associate for its brokerage department. He will focus on industrial brokerage.

Mid-America hires retail broker
Mid-America Real Estate recently added Cindy Cieslak as a retail space broker in its Milwaukee office.

Waterstone Bank hires new commercial real estate head
Kurt Andrae recently joined WaterStone Bank as vice president and head of its commercial real estate division, bringing more than 15 years of experience in the financial industry. He previously held the position of president and CEO of the former First Wisconsin Bank & Trust in Brookfield.

CARW announces 2009 award winners
The Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin (CARW) recently announced the winners of its 2009 Commercial Real Estate Awards.

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Deborah Sobczak of Eastmore Real Estate
• Realtor of the Year: Scott Welsh of Inland Companies
• Affiliate of the Year: Chicago Title Insurance Company
• Industrial Deal of the Year: CenterPoint Properties Trust Tire Centers USA Industrial Lease. Brokers: Roger Siegel, Trent Poole and Scott Furmanski of CB Richard Ellis and Jeff Horn of Grubb & Ellis|Apex Commercial.
• Investment Deal of the Year: Jetson Apartments on Farwell investment sale. Broker: Tom Shepherd of Inland Companies.
• Office Deal of the Year: Citadel/Compass Properties office sale. Broker: David Barry of Colliers Barry.
• Retail Deal of the Year: Shoppes at Fox River retail sale and lease. Broker: Dan Rosenfeld and Mike Fitzgerald of Mid-America Real Estate.

Nominations sought for MANDI Awards
Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) is seeking nominations for the 11th annual Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI). The nomination deadline is Monday, Nov. 16. Nomination information is available at www.lisc.org/milwaukee. The awards will be presented at an event on Tuesday, March 18.

Shorewest TV available over the air
Brookfield-based Shorewest Realtors recently added an over-the-air channel for its Shorewest TV. Shorewest TV launched in 2005 on Time Warner and Charter cable services, but it was not available over the air until now. The over the air channel is 58.4. Shorewest TV shows Shorewest listings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.