By Kim McDarison

The landscape is changing on Whitewater’s west side as the Hawk Bowl-DLK apartment complex, 1380 and 1398 W. Main St., undergoes demolition to make way for new construction, including an ALDI grocery store. 

Construction plans call for a “20,000-square-foot area,” which will include the new grocery store, along with a “broader development initiative,” encompassing the development of a second  “pad ready for development” adjacent to the much anticipated grocery and the existing Whitewater Culver’s Restaurant, according to information recently released by Whitewater city officials. 

Demolition of the Hawk Bowl-DLK apartment complex, which ultimately will make way for both development pads, began on Feb. 12.

In a telephone interview, Whitewater City Manager John Weidl said the ALDI store itself will be 20,000 square feet. The remainder of the lot, which was formerly among holdings of the Kachel family, known for the Whitewater-based company bearing its initials, DLK Enterprises, Inc., will be used primarily for parking. The portion of the combined demolition site where the grocery store will be built is owned by ALDI.

The ALDI lot is approximately 2 acres, DLK Enterprises spokesperson Michael Kachel, responding to questions by email, wrote.

A completion date for demolition has not yet been determined, both the city manager and Kachel said.

A second, adjacent, buildable lot also is undergoing demolition with ALDI serving as a general contractor during the demolition of the two buildable sites, Kachel said.

The second lot undergoing the demolition process is attached to a larger, more than 36-acre parcel which is owned by DLK Enterprises, Kachel noted.

A portion of that larger parcel will be used as a development lot adjacent to the ALDI site, Kachel stated, adding that plans call for the second buildable lot to be used for other retail or food ventures.

He said DLK Enterprises is “looking at one of many options,” for redevelopment of the second lot. The company continues to consider developing the lot “on our own” as one of the possible options.

Last July, the Whitewater Common Council granted a Class B liquor license extension to DLK Enterprises to allow the company time to develop the former Hawk Bowl site. The extension agreement stipulates that the license, which allows for open beer and intoxicants to be sold on the premises, must be made active by June 30 of this year or returned to the city for assignment to another vendor.

Language within the license agreement between DLK Enterprises and the city states: “The license use requirements set forth in Whitewater Municipal Code Section 5.20.032.B shall be waived by the city on an ongoing and continuing basis in order to allow for and encourage the necessary construction work and related activities to demolish and construct an ALDI Grocery Store and other redevelopment projects on the subject property.” 

In his email, Kachel said: “We have had discussions with possible food and or alcohol onsite entrepreneurs, but nothing has been placed under contract to date.”

Plans underway will transform the ALDI development into “a duel-project venture for the community,” Weidl was quoted as saying in the city’s recent release.

With the development of the second buildable pad, the city manager said in the release, “our community can look forward to not just one, but two new projects that will drive economic growth.”

He estimated the project’s value between $3.2 and $3.5 million,” further noting that the tax revenue anticipated to be generated by the completed development is between $700,000 and $1.1 million over the course of the next 15 years.

Waukesha-based Pinnacle Engineering Group is managing the ALDI construction project, the city’s release stated.

Contacted by phone, Pinnacle Engineer Mark Seidl declined comment, referring WhitewaterWise to the ALDI corporation. WhitewaterWise has contacted the company for comment. This story will be updated upon receipt of the company’s reply.

Weidl said that the company has, thus far, shared with city officials its plans to open the store this fall.

Typically, for a development similar to the ALDI store, shovels are in the ground three to four months before the building opens, Weidl added.

An 85-page document, offering project specs and schematics for the Whitewater ALDI store, is here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DIS-062328290_ALDI-Whitewater-WI_Building-Set-Conditionally-Approved.pdf. 

Whitewater has been without a dedicated grocery store since 2015, when the Daniel’s Sentry, then-located adjacent to Walmart, closed. The space is today occupied by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Engagement Center, 1260 W. Main St., Whitewater.

Additionally, Kachel noted, DLK Enterprises has a similar extension agreement with the city for a second Class B liquor license associated with a property at 141 W. Whitewater St., Suite B., Whitewater.

Language within the agreement states that the license must be transferred for use at the location by June 30, for the operation of the “Hawk Tails Arcade Lounge.”

“DLK shall commence work as soon as reasonably possible to remodel the building for operation of said business at that location, subject to compliance with all city development requirements and city codes,” the document reads, further asserting that the license will be surrendered to the city without need for further legal or regulatory action would the establishment fail to commence operation by June 30.

Responding to questions about the second venture, Kachel said: “We just cleared the planning commission with our plans for putting in an arcade and lounge at the former site of “Meeper Bots,” located at 141 W. Whitewater St.