Developing stories

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Dec 15, 2004 | by Cahalan, Steve

HOLMEN, Wis. - Built about 30 years ago, the Holmen Square shopping center will have a fresh look by the end of next summer.

Since buying the center at 500 Holmen Drive N. last January, Mike Keil and Marvin Wanders have upgraded interior hallways with new tile ceilings, lighting improvements and new interior colors.

Most recently, trenches were dug and drainage pipes installed along the building's front to carry water from the roof underground, so it no longer pools and freezes in the parking lot in the winter.

Now it's time to give the building's front a new look, Keil said, as he and Wanders continue with their plan to make it more of a retail center. Exterior work will begin in the spring and be completed by summer's end.

Green canvas awnings will be installed on the front of the building. The main entrance will be remodeled and covered by a steel canopy similar to two others to be built outside the south end of the shopping center. Two more probably will be built outside the north end of the shopping center. Tables and chairs will be placed under the two canopies at the south end, and under the two at the north end if they are built.

"They'll provide shelter from the elements and an opportunity for outdoor seating," Keil said.

The band across the front of the building, where tenants hang signs, will be replaced by tan-colored stucco. "And then they'll have new signs that will be more uniform," Keil said. "Right now, there's a real hodgepodge of sizes and shapes."

Also, the tall Holmen Square sign next to Holmen Drive will come down. "We're going to replace it with a lowlevel sign like we did at Jackson Plaza," Keil said, referring to the La Crosse shopping center that he and Tom Bergamini bought in September 1999. Keil and Bergamini, who lives in Madison, have renovated and revitalized Jackson Plaza.

Like he did at Jackson Plaza, Keil and Wanders plan to put in trees, shrubs and grass along the front of Holmen Square next spring and summer. "There's no landscaping there now," Keil said. 'It's pretty stark out there."

Also, a new sidewalk and curb will be built, and the front parking lot will be repaired, resealed and restriped next summer.

The work planned for 2005 will cost more than $200,000, Keil said.

Longer term, Keil and Wanders are looking for someone to build or lease a national chain restaurant, such as an Applebee's or Chili's, on part of their parking lot. And they are considering constructing a new building for multiple tenants, each with its own drivethrough lane.

Keil and Wanders also want to reconfigure spaces inside Holmen Square so retail stores each have their own entrance from the front parking lot. Access to most stores now is from interior hallways.

The timetable for reconfiguring spaces depends on how soon new tenants are signed, Keil said. "There is interest," he said, predicting leases will be signed in the next few months.

"We're basically going to move the north-south hallway from the front of the building to the middle of the building" as part of the reconfiguring, Keil said. The east half of the building would be occupied by retailers, and the west half by offices and other tenants that don't require as much visibility.

"The only way to bring this property back to life is to have more of a retail component," Keil said. "We need tenants that bring more customers through the doors seven days a week."

That's why Keil and Wanders did not renew the lease for Banquets on the Square, which expires Dec. 31. Nancy Proctor, who operates the banquet business, will continue to operate her Village Cafe and Pizza restaurant in Holmen Square.

Proctor said she has "very mixed feelings" about not being able to renew her lease on the banquet hall. "In order to make (Holmen Square) profitable, they'll have to make changes," she said. "I understand that. It doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

The shopping center's largest tenant is Holmen Hardware Hank and Rental. Owner Bob Martin said his lease is up Dec. 31, 2005, and he isn't sure whether he can remain in the shopping center. Martin said his options appear to be moving to a different location in Holmen Square, moving to an existing building elsewhere or constructing his own building. "I wish them the best," Martin said of Keil and Wanders. "I think they will be successful. It's certainly not going to happen overnight."

Keil said he hopes to keep Hardware Hank in Holmen Square.