MONROE - After standing empty for more than three years, the building that once housed the first Walmart in Wisconsin will have a new purpose.
John Baumann, president and CEO of Colony Brands, Inc., said Friday that the company has reached an agreement to purchase the property at 424 8th Street, on Monroe's far west side.
The building and surrounding parking lot will become the new Creative Merchandising Center for Colony Brands.
"That was a function spread out in buildings all across Monroe," Baumann said. "We're going to put it all under one roof, and this building serves that purpose very well."
The center is not a retail operation. About 30 to 50 employees will be working at the center, selecting and designing merchandise, checking quality assurance, photographing items for catalogs and "managing the flow," Baumann said. The center will also store sample merchandise, from which employees will create a selected assortment for sale.
Baumann said Colony Brands, Inc. has been hiring employees in all areas of the company, and their current locations are "bursting at the seams."
"We've had a lot of nice growth," he added.
Baumann hopes to close on the sale in about 30 to 60 days, after which the building will be immediately "retro-fitted" for offices and furnishings.
But, "we'll be moving product from day one," he added.
Colony Brands has been working to acquire the building and lot since September 2011.
Ryan Ziltner of Hedeman Realty, Monroe, who was managing and overseeing the sale of the property, said the current owners are investors and firms, who have been working through the terms of their own interests in the property.
Ziltner is happy the west entrance to the city will become active once again.
The empty parking lot and vacant building were unattractive, he said, and "not doing the city any favors."
Baumann called the sale that will to bring life and activity back to the property "long overdue."
Walmart built a new store north of their old location and moved in September 2009. The lot is more than seven acres. The eastern lots of the block, along 4th Ave. West, are not involved in the purchase agreement.
John Baumann, president and CEO of Colony Brands, Inc., said Friday that the company has reached an agreement to purchase the property at 424 8th Street, on Monroe's far west side.
The building and surrounding parking lot will become the new Creative Merchandising Center for Colony Brands.
"That was a function spread out in buildings all across Monroe," Baumann said. "We're going to put it all under one roof, and this building serves that purpose very well."
The center is not a retail operation. About 30 to 50 employees will be working at the center, selecting and designing merchandise, checking quality assurance, photographing items for catalogs and "managing the flow," Baumann said. The center will also store sample merchandise, from which employees will create a selected assortment for sale.
Baumann said Colony Brands, Inc. has been hiring employees in all areas of the company, and their current locations are "bursting at the seams."
"We've had a lot of nice growth," he added.
Baumann hopes to close on the sale in about 30 to 60 days, after which the building will be immediately "retro-fitted" for offices and furnishings.
But, "we'll be moving product from day one," he added.
Colony Brands has been working to acquire the building and lot since September 2011.
Ryan Ziltner of Hedeman Realty, Monroe, who was managing and overseeing the sale of the property, said the current owners are investors and firms, who have been working through the terms of their own interests in the property.
Ziltner is happy the west entrance to the city will become active once again.
The empty parking lot and vacant building were unattractive, he said, and "not doing the city any favors."
Baumann called the sale that will to bring life and activity back to the property "long overdue."
Walmart built a new store north of their old location and moved in September 2009. The lot is more than seven acres. The eastern lots of the block, along 4th Ave. West, are not involved in the purchase agreement.