Could Cooney be the new home for Kohl's?

Mayor: We could be top contender

By Paige Brunclik

Posted: May 18, 2011

City of Oconomowoc - After the news surfaced of the North Hills Country Club deal falling through for a relocated Kohl's corporate headquarters, Kohl's Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mansell was reported as saying the company is reviewing other options for a new corporate headquarters, but he declined to say where. Could Oconomowoc be in the mix?

Mayor Jim Daley declined to say whether the city has contacted Mansell about considering Oconomowoc, but he said, "it would be wonderful if Kohl's would consider the community."

The deal to purchase North Hills Country Club for the new corporate headquarters fell through two weeks ago. According to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel business reporter Tom Daykin, the Village of Menomonee Falls announced it was no longer interested in purchasing the club for the corporate headquarters. When Kohl's began talking about needing more space and suggesting a move, the village began working to keep the corporate headquarters in its community. If the village had purchased North Hills, the deal would have enabled the country club to move its operations to up-for-sale Silver Spring Golf & Banquet Center, also in Menomonee Falls. However, Daykin quoted Menomonee Falls Village Administrator Mark Fitzgerald as saying there were many issues that the two parties were "struggling over," though he would not elaborate.
Even though the Falls is not working on a deal to buy North Hills, it could still work with Kohl's to relocate to the Woodland Prime business park north of Good Hope Road. The village owns 70 acres in the 220-acre corporate area.

Oconomowoc could be a prime contender for a new corporate center in Pabst Farms. According to its website, Pabst's Business Tech Core is 200 acres, with about 2 million square feet of office space available, surrounded by hospitals, restaurants, retail and housing.

Pabst Farms Spokesman Thad Nation said the 200 acres is available adding the infrastructure there and the road construction for the new diamond interchange at Highway P off I-94 that connects to Pabst Farms will be complete by November.

"Of course we would love to have Kohl's to come here," he said.

Online comments posted in reaction to recent stories about the Kohl's-North Hills deal suggest that Mansell consider downtown Milwaukee for a new Kohl's corporate headquarters. However, others argue that the area is too dense and might lack parking and other amenities. Mansell is quoted as saying he wants the location of the new corporate headquarters to be a place that attracts employees from around the country. Daley said Oconomowoc could do just that.

"We can compete with a high quality of life," Daley said of Oconomowoc's downtown and natural resources and other qualities that Oconomowoc cites when referring to the itself as "the heart of Lake Country." Daley has referred to Oconomowoc in the past as a "sleeping giant" for development.Situated between Madison and Milwaukee, the community is easily accessible and has lots of potential for growth, he said.
"I'm sure they will have other options to choose from, but I think it will be hard for other areas to compete" with what Oconomowoc's got to offer, Daley said.

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