Franklin Today

More vacancies on the way

I heard from a friend of mine over the weekend that Blockbuster is closing both of its Franklin locations - a larger-sized store in the Franklin Centre shopping center near 76th & Rawson and a smaller-sized store in a strip mall next to Chili's on 27th Street. This is more bad news for the 76th & Rawson business district, since this means another decent-sized building will be vacant. My friend said the store clerk at the 76th & Rawson location told customers the last day of business would be March 14th.

For 76th & Rawson, Blockbuster joins 5 Star Coffee, Ka Martini Lounge, and Sentry Foods as former Franklin businesses. Dare I ask where the Economic Development Commission is on this growing problem in Franklin?

Ouch! Is Southridge's rent a problem in landing retailers?

Several decades ago, my grandmother worked for Dryer Meyer in Southridge Mall. It was located where Hallmark is today. She worked there for several years, and when it closed its location she was told it was due to extremely high rent for the space. Now, like many, I always believed that rent at malls was likely a little high due to the amount of consumers passing your storefront and the popularity of going to the mall just to browse (even though you end up buying something).

Little did any of us know just how high rent is at Southridge, even today. 

Yesterday was the first meeting of the MAHDPRC

I was in attendance last night for the Mayoral Ad-Hoc Development Process Review Committee meeting, which lasted 2 hours on the dot (thank goodness for Plan Commission meetings at 7pm!). The first meeting covered several issues, but was dominated by the concerns of hometown developer Mark Carstensen. Carstensen's frustration about the development process in Franklin led up to a point where he mentioned that our community is referred to, at times, the "People's Republic of Franklin" due to our complications and strictness.

Good news for those who are tech gurus (updated)

OnMilwaukee.com and the Journal Sentinel are both reporting that Ultimate Electronics is looking for a location in the Milwaukee area. The JS article, backed up by the store's career page, is confident that the retailer has its eyes set on the former Circuit City location in Greenfield, across from Best Buy.

Is Southridge improving?

It looks like the former Linens n Things space has found new life after all. Doris Hajewski of the Journal Sentinel is reporting that Glow Golf, which is glow-in-the-dark miniature golfing, is operating in the space. This comes around the same time that Jump Zone is entering the region with its first location in the Garden Plaza shopping center in Franklin, across from Menard's on Hwy 100.

All of this news is also coming up when the Village of Greendale is considering a TIF District for the southern parking lots of Southridge to encourage additional development. According to one of the comments on Hajewski's JS blog post about Glow Golf, the numbers are around $4.1 to $5.7 million which will be paid back within 20 years.

An update on the Fountains

The Journal Sentinel late Friday evening provided a more in-depth article on what is happening with the Fountains of Franklin parcel, which is now being hit with a foreclosure suit.

Fountains of Franklin faces foreclosure suit

News broke early this morning that the parcel that long promoted the site for the future Fountains of Franklin development is now under a foreclosure lawsuit from M&I Bank. You may recall that this site was proposed for upscale retail and dining several years ago, and the label of the Fountains extended all the way east to Andy's back in 2007.

Have you noticed the activity near Loomis & Rawson?

Over the past few months, dump trucks have been regularly seen going to and from a large parcel of land long rumored to have major development potential near the Loomis & Rawson area, directly behind Pick n Save. Many residents have been making remarks about the constant in and out flow of these trucks for quite some time, and were curious about what was going on with the site.

Dave & Buster's comes to Milwaukee March 1st

While not located in Franklin, I'm sure Dave & Buster's will be a hit with many Franklin families. The Journal Sentinel reports they will open their new Wauwatosa location, near Mayfair Mall, on March 1st.

As our senior population continues to grow, are we ready for them?

Last night, United Financial Group came before the Environmental Commission to request a special exception to fill in a small portion of wetland for two proposed apartment complexes for senior citizens. Forest Hill Highlands, as the entire project is called, is expanding in Franklin with these two new structures. There are already four structures that are part of this complex, and there could be almost a half-dozen more once the expansions are complete.