[Tom In Chicago]

I'm going to start a thread here for some of my home-town P&Ds. . .

Abbott will unveil plan for new site
3/24/07 - Kenosha News
Pleasant Prairie to hear proposal for site Monday

When Abbott Laboratories' property in Pleasant Prairie is fully developed, the campus will include 3.5 million-square-feet of office, research and manufacturing space in a development a village official likens to a college campus.

Abbott will present conceptual plans for their approximately 500-acre site to the Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission Monday, seeking to have the property rezoned to allow the planned development.

Despite the move to rezone the land, Abbott still has no timeline for building on the property, saying only that it is readying the site to accommodate future expansion, according to Abbott spokesman Jonathon Hamilton.

When the development is complete, Abbott projects its value will be $1.2 billion, said Village Administrator Michael Pollocoff. That compares to a total current assessed value for the entire village of Pleasant Prairie of $2.4 billion, $600 million of that attributed to LakeView Corporate Park.

Pollocoff said the planned development zoning agreement to be unveiled at the Plan Commission meeting Monday is the result of more than two years of work on the site.

The planned development zoning district, which must be accepted by the plan commission and formally adopted by the village board, is tailored specifically for the property.

Village staff worked with architects and planners from Abbott to devise an overall zoning district for the land that lays out roads, buildable areas, open space and conservation areas, along with a guide for what types of buildings and business uses will be allowed on the site. The 140-page document spells out everything from the acceptable building designs to allowable delivery hours.

Abbott also owns an adjacent 40 acres in the town of Bristol that is expected to be part of the overall development. Bristol Administrator Randy Kerkman said the town and Kenosha County planners plan to adapt Pleasant Prairie's zoning once the village's process is complete.

The village's goal in creating the special zoning district is to ensure the property - a valuable tract bounded to the north and south by county highways with interstate access - will be developed as a high-quality medical industry research and development site whether or not Abbott is the future builder.

"Everyone says 'What happens if Abbott doesn't come?" Pollocoff said. "Well, then we still have this (zoning in place)."

Still, he said, he is confident that Abbott or an associated pharmaceutical-medical industry company will build the campus. "All I can tell you is that given this level of work that they've done ... we believe they have every intention of building here."

Like Abbott Park in Lake County, Pollocoff said he expects the site to develop slowly over years, perhaps decades.

The site is being designed to accommodate 12,000 employees in a campus of glass, steel and masonry office and research facilities, along with manufacturing facilities. Although heavy manufacturing will not be permitted on the site, Pollocoff said, up to 1.4 million of the 3.5 million-square-feet of building space can be manufactured under the proposed zoning agreement.

Maps of the site show an oval roadway linked by gated entries to the west frontage road and from Highway Q. Pollocoff said the buildings, four of them up to 12-stories tall, will likely be clustered around the interior of that roadway.

The exact number and layout of buildings expected has not been determined, Pollocoff said. About 40 percent of the property will be devoted to open space.

That oval campus will be bisected by a long, natural open area, with four man-made lakes on the campus. The buildings will look out on the open space. "They are very conscious of creating a visually attractive place to be," Pollocoff said.

In addition to the main campus, the planned development would allow other types of business development on several parcels fronting Highway Q or the frontage road that are outside the gated ring road. Those sites would likely be developed, either by Abbott themselves or by outside developers, as shopping, hotel and restaurant areas that could serve the campus and other people in the area.

The property also includes a site for a future fire station, with Abbott agreeing to donate property for the station on Highway Q. Pollocoff said that future station may be operated as a joint station for both Pleasant Prairie and Bristol.

Pollocoff said the site is designed to have minimal traffic impact on the surrounding area, with the main entrance off the frontage road.

The village and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation are rebuilding the frontage road as part of their redevelopment plans for the area, a road plan that predates Abbott's interest in the land. However, Pollocoff said, the village will not spend additional money extending sewer or water for the development until Abbott commits to building there.

The plan commission will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at the Pleasant Prairie Village, Hall, 9915 39th Ave.

[Tom In Chicago]

Here's another - albeit forgettable - development in Kenosha. . . this one's currently under construction. . . for better or worse. . .

Virginia Towers
http://mindmatrix.net/knowletcontent/images/91508.jpg

Sheesh! What a disaster!!!

[Steely Dan]

^ wow................. i'm totally utterly speechless.

[trvlr70]

Here's another - albeit forgettable - development in Kenosha. . . this one's currently under construction. . . for better or worse. . .

Virginia Towers
http://mindmatrix.net/knowletcontent/images/91508.jpg

Sheesh! What a disaster!!!

Gross! It looks like a cheaper Excaliber in Las Vegas.(Perfect for Kenosha)

[Marcu]

Is Kenosha preparing for Blagojevich's tax increase to go through? What's with all the sudden development.

[Tom In Chicago]

Well the development in Kenosha isn't really "sudden". . . back in 1987 the city annexed a lot of (at the time) unincorporated sections of Pleasent Prairie, Bristol and Salem. . . at the time the major employer in town was AMC which had just been bought by Chrysler. . . the AMC lakeside plant was old and outdated as it was originally built by Nash Motors back in the early part of the 20th century. . . after Chrysler announced it was closing all but the engine plant in Kenosha, the city zoned two major tracts of annexed land in the south (Pleasant Prairie) and north (Salem) to encourage light industry. . .

That was the best thing the city did because the economy of Kenosha almost imediately diversified itself away from automotive and it was quick to accomodate new businesses. . . Abbott's announcement seems to coincide with the fact that most people who work for Abbott live in Kenosha County to begin with. . . I don't know the details of the tax structure, but perhaps Blago's attempts at boosting Illinois coffers with corporate revenues has something to do with it. . .

[the urban politician]

I love the Kenosha trolley. I've gotta get out there some day and take that sucker out for a ride. A true trolley experience--something I've been deprived of because the era I live in

[Tom In Chicago]

Abbott makes zoning request
3/27/07 - Kenosha News
Few project details emerge at Pleasant Prairie hearing

Abbott Laboratories officials spoke publicly for the first time Monday about their proposed corporate campus in Pleasant Prairie, but their plans remain an enigma.

Representatives of the pharmaceutical giant appeared before the Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission for a public hearing on the zoning for the approximately 500-acre property Abbott purchased west of Interstate 94 between highways Q and C.

"It's still a work in progress," said Marilyn Kasko, divisional vice president of corporate real estate for Abbott, saying the Pleasant Prairie project has been one of the largest and most complex of her more than three years with the company.

"Developments like this don't happen overnight; they take place over a 10-, 20-, 30-year period," said Chrisopher Groesbeck, Abbott's architect and planner for the project. "This is how companies like Abbott, all over the United States, create strategies for their future growth."

Groesbeck made a presentation that included Abbott's philosophy in its plans for the property - the creation of a pedestrian-friendly, cohesively designed corporate campus with wide expanses of open space - but not the purpose of the development.

The Plan Commission unanimously recommended approval of the zoning request. The specialized planned development zone will guide development of a sprawling community of offices, research and development buildings, distribution centers and manufacturing buildings designed to accommodate up to 12,000 employees.

When complete, Abbott expects the project to be valued at $1.2 billion, according to Village Administrator Michael Pollocoff.

The zoning request must now go to the Village Board for final approval. The board is expected to consider the issue April 2.

But while the 140-page zoning ordinance guides future development of the site, it does not spell out what the development will be. And village officials said Monday they have no idea what Abbott's exact plans are for the property.

"We have not been privy to any information on how they are going to develop this property in terms of (corporate) divisions, or anything like that," said Jean Werbie, Pleasant Prairie's director of development.

Werbie said village staff has been working for nearly two years with representatives of Abbott, including the Chicago architectural and planning firm VOA, on developing a plan for the property that would safeguard the village's concerns for the site while giving Abbott long-term flexibility.

Both Kasko and Groesbeck, VOA principal, praised the work of the village staff, saying they have held "marathon" meetings that stretched into late nights and weekends in their efforts to come up with a plan that worked for both the village and the corporation.

"It was just a Herculean effort," Kasko said. "I cannot tell you how impressed I am and how wonderful it is to say the name Pleasant Prairie."

The resulting plan creates a large zoning district that would allow for the creation of a pharmaceutical or medical industry campus within a private ring road accessed by three, and eventually four, gated entry roads.

Although Abbott is expected to develop the site, the corporation could sell some or all of the property to another pharmaceutical or medical industry company.

On the outskirts of the property, along Highway Q and on the northeast boundary of the property along Highway C, the property would be developed outside the gated campus with businesses that would both serve employees on the site and the public, with plans calling for one or two hotel-conference center developments, as well as businesses such as retail stores or day-care centers.

At the packed village hall, not everyone was pleased with the plan. The property is bounded by residential properties and hobby farms, as well as farmland and some businesses. Homeowners expressed concerns about whether there would be berms or fences screening the campus from neighboring properties, and about the siting of as many as four 12-story buildings on the land.

But the primary worry of neighbors is the impact of a campus with 12,000 employees on traffic in the area.

"I'm concerned about the traffic on Highway Q and Highway U. Both of them are country roads with residential driveways," said resident Mary Ellen Pearsall.

Pearsall, who has lived near the intersection of highways U and C for 13 years, said her property borders Abbott land that extends into the town of Bristol. Although she said she was "semi-relieved" when she heard Abbott had purchased the property because she believes they are good neighbors in Lake County, Ill., she worries about the impact of the traffic and other issues on her home's value.

Werbie and Pollocoff said that Abbott has done studies on the project's traffic impact, and said that improvements are planned to highways Q and U, as well as the frontage road. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is also planning to improve the Highway C interchange.

According to Werbie, the town of Bristol is looking at as many as 16 different roadways that may need to be improved to accommodate growing traffic related to the development and other growth in the region.

[Tom In Chicago]

Well??? Anyone??? Bueller??? Bueller???