More shops on the way

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jun 01, 1998

ONALASKA, Wis.--Yet another retail center is under construction in Onalaska, where several other projects are under way.

Oak Forest Plaza is going up at the northwest corner of 12th Avenue South and Oak Forest Drive, just north of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealer.

The building will have nearly 31,000 square feet and will be anchored by The Red Giraffe, a 6,400-square-foot store that will sell items for babies and toddlers. There will be room for 10 to 15 other tenants, depending on how much space each needs, Derek Swanson said.

The neighborhood retail center is being developed by Three Rivers Inc., owned by Swanson and his wife, Jill, and his parents, Harold "Deak" and Jeaine Swanson.

Jill Swanson will own The Red Giraffe, and plans to open it Aug. 17. "It will have things like cribs, strollers, car seats, breast-feeding equipment, a lot of hard-to-find items," she said.

Derek Swanson said he and John Young of Coldwell Banker Barbour Realtors are handling leasing, and are talking to other prospective tenants.

"We're going to build it in phases, but it'll be one building," Swanson said. If he gets enough commitments from tenants, it probably will be completed this fall. If not, he expects the building to be completed next spring. The first phase, with 8,988 square feet, is under construction and Swanson said he expects to have commitments from some tenants in the next few weeks.

"Jill had planned to open her own business," Swanson said. "We looked at a lot of sites. Of the options that were available, this was the best one. We felt the best way to do it was to develop the entire site."

"It's in a highly visible area," Jill said.

With Oak Forest Plaza and other work, the amount of major construction projects under way or just completed in Onalaska is "a little above average," said Jason Gilman, Onalaska city planner and zoning administrator. He said other Onalaska projects include:

* The Hampton Inn motel, nearly completed in the Elmwood Business Center.

* Family Wealth Counselors office building under construction on Hwy. 16, west of French Road.

* The recently completed Coachlight Tower office building at 1840 E. Main St.

* A recently completed office building on Riders Club Road.

* A building under construction at 571 Braund St. for Misty Averill's Dance Unlimited studio and a second tenant.

* An arts and crafts shop to be built soon on Hwy. 16 west of French Road.

* Lovejoy Realty offices under construction on Hwy. 16 west of French Road.

* An 18-unit apartment building under construction on Pinecrest Lane.

* Onamain Apartments, a 20-unit senior citizen apartment complex on Main Street, recently completed.

* Stonefield Manor, a 39-unit senior citizen housing complex, nearing completion on old Hwy. PH.

* The third phase of Van Riper Park, a municipal park. The work, which is under way, includes parking, a picnic area, picnic shelter and nature trails.

* Eagle Bluff Elementary School, under construction at Theater Road and Hwy. OS.

In addition, Community Credit Union plans to build another office, at the northeast corner of 12th Avenue South and Oak Forest Drive, across from Oak Forest Plaza. A credit union official said groundbreaking is expected in July and that the facility tentatively should open about November.