On Monday, February 24, the Plan Commission approved Preliminary Site and Operational Plans for the proposed Kroger automated grocery and home delivery facility. The plans include mass grading, underground utilities, footing, foundation, and building shell for the development. The facility will be located at 9091 88th Avenue and known as the Pleasant Prairie Fulfillment Center. The request for approval was made by Ryan Price, with Whiting-Turner Construction Co. on behalf of the owner.
The proposed development plans for the 58.4 acre site include the construction of 30,000 square feet of office space, attached to a 300,000 square foot building that will be air-conditioned and used as a refrigerated product storage area. The site plans also include a delivery van maintenance building and fueling stations. The main facility will house grocery, dairy, produce, deli, health, beauty, and general store merchandise. Goods will not be manufactured on the site. The building will utilize robotic and manual processes to select products for delivery. Products will be stored, selected, and delivered to resident homes with vans from the facility. Final Site and Operational Plan approvals, including interior building plans, are required before the structure can begin to go vertical.
The facility will operate 24 hours a day with staggered delivery hours. At startup, the facility is expected to employ up to 400 people. In approximately five years, at full site capacity, the facility could employ up to 700 people working two shifts. There will be three access driveways to 88th Avenue. All entrances will be gated, and the entire site will be secured with a fence. At full capacity, there will be an average of 635 daily automobile trips, 290 van trips, and 30 truck trips to the site each day. A Traffic Impact Analysis was completed for the project and approved by Kenosha County for the proposed access points.
The developer plans to extend municipal sanitary sewer and municipal water laterals to service the site. Grading is anticipated to begin in spring 2020. The facility is proposed to be operational in the spring of 2022.