Meijer plans Bellevue store, too

Mega-retailer Meijer has identified and secured options on not one, but two Green Bay area sites for future stores.

The Michigan-based company has signed contracts to buy 15.75 acres of land near Shawano Avenue and Interstate 41 in the village of Howard and another parcel near the intersection of Brown County GV and Wisconsin 172 in Bellevue, said Frank Guglielmi, Meijer's senior director of communications.

"It's no secret that we have a contract on the Howard site," he said. "But we also have a site in Bellevue under contract as well."

The Bellevue site would put Meijer east of County GV and south of the Costco Wholesale that opened in October 2013.

Meijer stores include general merchandise, groceries and fresh produce, a full-service pharmacy and other offerings similar to Costco and Sam's Club. At more than 190,000 square feet, Meijer stores are larger than the 148,000-square-foot Costco across the street in Bellevue.

Guglielmi said the soonest either location might open would be 2017.

"The way our process works is we'll identify a site that's a good location for a Meijer store, execute a contract to purchase, then do our due diligence," Guglielmi said. "We'll buy the property and then, in most cases, we'll start construction immediately. We're there to build when we buy."

Guglielmi said the company will build six locations in the state in 2015 and 2016. Meijer opened stores in Grafton and Kenosha on Tuesday and plans to open locations later this year in Oak Creek and Wauwatosa.

Stores in Sussex and Waukesha will be completed and open sometime after spring 2016.

He said the company's distribution center in Pleasant Prairie has the capacity to serve the company's current and future stores in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Ultimately, Guglielmi said Meijer expects to invest about $750 million as it expands into Wisconsin. He said the company's current plans call for opening two or three new stores per year through 2019.

Guglielmi said each store costs about $20 million and employs 250 to 300 people in both part- and full-time positions. He said all employees have access to health insurance and retirement benefits.

– jbollier@pressgazettemedia.com or follow him on Twitter @GBstreetwise