Milwaukee-based Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. is working on plans to open a Pick ‘n Save grocery store at the site of a former Sears Grand store at N77 W14435 Appleton Ave., Menomonee Falls, according to a village official.

The Sears Grand store closed early this year when the company closed several low performing stores. The Sears Grand store opened in 2006 in the building, which previously was occupied by a Kmart store.

Roundy’s spokeswoman Vivian King said she was unaware of plans for a new store in the former Sears Grand space. Roundy’s currently has a Pick ‘n Save store next door in a smaller space at N78 W14501 Appleton Ave. Presumably that store would be relocated to the larger Sears Grand space, if those plans come to fruition.

Health Payment Systems, Inc., (HPS), recently moved its corporate headquarters to a larger office space in downtown Milwaukee.

The company, which accelerates payments to health care providers in exchange for reducing health care costs for self-insured employers and their employees, moved its headquarters from 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee to 735 N. Water St. in downtown Milwaukee.

The company is now taking up 13,000 square feet of office space, which consists of most of the third floor of the 735 N. Water St. building. At 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. the company had only 4,900 square feet of space.

HPS was formed about two years ago and started with 9 employees. The company now has 25 full-time employees and 3 part-time employees.

“We are tripling our office space requirements due to our continuing growth,” said Bruce Lefco, chairman and chief executive officer of HPS. “We’ve also tripled the size of our staff since we’ve started, and plan on adding additional staff this year. Our self-insured employer-clients are extremely satisfied with our successes and savings and are telling their colleagues about us. Our current growth, although phenomenal, is being addressed by our planning and cutting edge IT systems. We’ve taken out the confusion and headaches related to the payment of health services with our unique super explanation of benefits form. This has propelled us far ahead of other, less efficient health care payers.”

The city of Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority last week voted to approve $10 million in city loans for The Moderne, a long-delayed 30-story residential building proposed for a vacant lot at the southwest corner of West Juneau Avenue and Old World Third Street in the downtown Milwaukee Park East corridor.

The $60 million project has been delayed for nearly 2 years while the developer for the project, The Moderne LLC, has struggled to obtain financing. The building would have 203 apartments, 14 condominiums, 204 structured parking spaces and 7,500 square feet of retail space.

Under the current financing proposal for the project, the primary lender would be Capmark Financial Group Inc., which would provide financing under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 221(d)4 loan program, which insures mortgage loans to facilitate the new construction or substantial rehabilitation of multifamily rental or cooperative housing.

The plan includes two proposed loans from the city of Milwaukee, a $6 million loan with 6.4 percent interest and a 4-year term and a $4 million loan with 15 percent interest and a 4-year term.

The loan from the city could help the project complete its financing package and break ground as early as November.

However, the city loan still must be approved by the full Common Council. Ald. Willie Wade, the only alderman who is a member of the Redevelopment Authority, cast the only no vote against the loan last week.

Wade said he wants more time to review the loan proposal and before he will consider supporting it.

"This is an intriguing financing structure that I have not had a lot of experience with," he said.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Lowe’s Companies Inc. on Monday closed its store at Midtown Center, at 5800 W. Hope Ave., Milwaukee. The store closure resulted in the elimination of 77 jobs.

A letter from Lowe’s to the state Department of Workforce Development indicated that the store was closing “due to market conditions.”

“Lowe’s representatives have expressed regret over closing the store at Midtown Center and I am thankful for the efforts of the company as it tried to sustain a business that generates a large portion of its profit from home, landscaping and remodeling work amid troubling times in these areas,” said Ald. Joe Davis Sr. “I am confident that space at Midtown Center will be filled with a thriving business promptly and am constantly pleased with how the area around the center continues to develop and sustain a vibrant shopping district. I am confident this progress will continue and though I am saddened Lowe’s can no longer be our partner in this center, I must thank each proprietor in Midtown Center for their commitment to our residents and I welcome the next business to join the shopping district.”

Lowe’s now has 3 stores in the Milwaukee area, located in Wauwatosa, Franklin and Brown Deer.

Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, a Las Vegas-based restaurant chain with 55 locations, plans to open a restaurant in the Chase Tower at 111 E. Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee.

“We are thrilled to welcome another retail tenant to Chase Tower at Water and Wisconsin,” said Roger Lowenthal, vice president of Brookfield Real Estate Opportunity Group, the building’s owner. “Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop is a perfect amenity, not only for our tenants, but the entire downtown employee community.”

The restaurant will occupy a 3,000-square-foot space in the building at the corner of North Water Street and Michigan Avenue. The restaurant is expected to open in December.

This will be the first location in Wisconsin for Capriott’s. The menu consists predominantly of hot and cold submarine sandwiches.

Waukesha-based Campbell Construction was hired to build the restaurant space, which was designed by Erik Madisen Architects.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries restaurant will open in a 4,848-square-foot space at 2901 Oakland Ave., on Milwaukee’s east side, according to CB Richard Ellis.

Lorton, Va.-based Five Guys Enterprises LLC has more than 300 locations in the U.S. The chain opened a location in Bayshore Town Center in Glendale earlier this year and also has locations in Pewaukee and Delafield.

The city of Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority last week approved a plan to provide $500,000 in tax incremental financing (TIF) funds for the redevelopment of the former Foster Pontiac property at 3636 S. 27th St. The property has been vacant since 2006.

Under the development plan, the dealership building would be remodeled into a 19,550-square-foot multi-tenant retail building and an 8,000-square-foot stand-alone restaurant building would also be built on the property. The developer for the project is Foster Endeavor LLC, according to city documents.

The redevelopment is 78 percent pre-leased. The tenants will include Auto Zone, Rocky Rococo, Anytime Fitness, Great Clips and a stand-alone Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant.

About $500,000 in TIF funds would be provided for the $5.5 million redevelopment of the Foster Pontiac site, if the project is approved by the Common Council.

There are several vacant sites along the South 27 Street corridor, but city officials are hopeful the area can be revitalized because there are about 30,400 households, with an average household annual income of $45,700, within a 3-mile radius.

The street gained a new business recently when Rosen Automotive Group opened a new $2 million Rosen Kia dealership at 5575 S. 27th St. The new dealership is located next to the Rosen Nissan dealership, built in 2006, and a Rosen used vehicle store.

BizTimes Milwaukee once again invites you to identify your best leasable industrial, retail and office sites for inclusion in the publication’s annual lists of prime leasable commercial real estate sites in southeastern Wisconsin.

The lists will be published in the Honor Roll of Prime Leasable Space on Nov. 12 in the BizTimes Milwaukee 2010 Commercial Real Estate & Development Book. This is the sixth annual production of this book.

The Honor Roll consists of three lists: (1) Prime Leasable Industrial Sites in Southeastern Wisconsin; (2) Prime Leasable Retail Sites in Southeastern Wisconsin; and (3) Prime Leasable Office Sites in Southeastern Wisconsin.

To nominate your sites, go to www.biztimes.com/honorroll. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Oct. 16.

The BizTimes Milwaukee 2010 Commercial Real Estate & Development Book is published in conjunction with the seventh annual BizTimes Milwaukee Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference, to be held on Nov. 12 at Potawatomi Bingo Casino, will feature a panel discussion with some of the most renowned commercial real estate experts in the nation.

The theme for this year's conference will be, "What Now?" The conference will examine the latest trends in commercial real estate and development and explore the possibilities for the year ahead. Emphasis in the discussion will be given to successful development strategies and best practices in a recession, including adaptive reuse of properties, effective approaches to gaining access to capital, environmental sustainability and the emergence of aerotropolis development (near airports).

The panelists will share their insights about national statistics and trends and offer their perspectives about the possibilities and the limitations of the Milwaukee market.

The national experts on the panel will include:

The BizTimes Milwaukee Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference will take place Thursday, Nov. 12, at Potawatomi Bingo Casino, 1721 W. Canal St., Milwaukee.

The breakfast panel discussion will be moderated by professor Mark Eppli, Ph.D., who is the Marquette University Bell Real Estate Chair and a fellow at the Urban Land Institute. Opening remarks will be provided by Richard "Rocky" Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development.

BizTimes Milwaukee presents the conference annually in conjunction with the Bell Real Estate Chair and the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin (CARW).

More information about the conference is available at: http://www.biztimes.com/site/commercial-real-estate-development-conference

Whitefish Bay apartment building sold

Larry Katz (505 Henry Clay Street LLC) recently purchased a 17-unit apartment building at 505 E. Henry Clay St., Whitefish Bay, from Pieper Properties Inc. for $1.345 million. “It was a good run and a great property but it was an outlier in our commercial portfolio,” said Pieper Properties owner Ann Pieper Eisenbrown.

U.S. Senate approves $300,000 for 30th Street Industrial Corridor

The U.S. Senate last week approved the 2010 Transportation, HUD and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which included $300,000 to aid in the redevelopment of the 30th Street Industrial Corridor in the central city of Milwaukee. The funds will be used to acquire and start the redevelopment of the Esser Paint sites.

Wisconsin's greenest buildings

The winners of the 2009 SE2 (Sustainability and Energy Efficiency) Leadership Awards, recognizing “Wisconsin’s greenest buildings,” were announced recently. The winners included: Engberg Anderson’s office in Milwaukee, Kohl’s photo studio in Milwaukee, Johnson Bank in Brookfield and the 234 W. Florida building in Milwaukee, owned by Pieper Properties.