By Marney Simon | Bugle Staff
One of Shorewood’s major shopping centers waiting for occupants will get a new tenant on one vacant space.
On Aug. 14, the Village Board approved the site plan and a conditional use permit for a new day care facility in the Shorewood Market Street subdivision. The new facility will sit in the northern corner of the lot anchored by Home Depot.
The 10,000 square foot building will be placed on 1.59 acres of land, and house “The Learning Experience” day care and early childhood facility.
“The site already has its storm water management provided in the existing pond for the Home Depot Center. They will have no direct access on Black Road, so they will access from the internal driveway within the shopping center,” explained village planner Rod Tonelli. “There is a six-foot privacy fence around the outdoor paly area for the children, and that’s segmented by an internal four-foot fence that segments them into different age groups.”
The site will hold a capacity of 183 children.
It’s an important development to the center, village officials said, adding some new life to a development that has multiple empty lots that have stood vacant for years.
“This corner, because it’s the furthest away spot from Route 59, is really like a second or third tier commercial corner,” Tonelli said. “So, it lends itself more to be something in the office or service area as opposed to retail. But, with lots available and inline space out there, getting anything happening out there is a good thing. So, this could be a catalyst.”
Trustees noted that their first impression was that a daycare center may not belong in a shopping center, however, trustees said they were satisfied with the plans as laid out.
“When I first saw this I thought, a daycare center out there? I thought about it for a little bit, and that corner is probably the best place up in that area for a day care center. It’s good to see a little something happening up there,” said Trustee Dan Anderson.
Regarding buffering between the entire business park and neighboring homes on Parkshore Drive, the village contacted Home Depot to address some maintenance issues, including spots where plants have died, or part of the berm has sunk or fallen away.
Village officials said Home Depot would be investing a significant amount of money to get the back side of the berm back to the way it was intended.
The board waived the second read on the ordinance and approved the conditional use permit and the site plan by unanimous vote.