Until we actually see a cubic foot of earth moved, following the development of the two "big box" stores is going to be pretty boring. But because both the Menards and Wal-Mart locations are visible from the major highways, Wisconsin 11, 89 and 69, there's no doubt we'll be able to watch the projects from start to finish. Maybe sometime around Christmas, we'll starting nosing around the big boxes and try to guess when we'll get to open them.
In the meantime, there's no reason Monroe needs to go giftless. Surprising things come in little boxes.
A four-mile trip around Monroe this week yielded a visit to no fewer than nine new or expanding business construction sites. The fun part was watching the faces of contractors tell me when the business owners are expecting to open.
These five sites are just some on the west side of town.
Located in the 200 block of Eighth Street, in the Pick'n Save shopping strip, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches is expecting to open in two weeks. Hard at work, the crew from Faulkner Construction, Freeport, were doubtful they could finish in time. Floor tiles are almost laid, but still need to be grouted, and bathroom fixtures still are missing.
St. Vincent de Paul at 501 1st Ave. is expanding its building and parking lot and making room for housing a mobile food pantry. The site is starting to be prepared, with excavation to the north, south and west of the current building. Labor Day is the expected finish date.
Retail store space will be doubled, and employees will have a safer working environment for sorting donations on the expanded north end of the building.
A new shelter canopy area for item drop off will be on the west side. Vehicles can enter from the east on First Avenue, as they do now, circle the building on the north end, drop donations on the west side and exit from a new driveway onto West Sixth Street.
In the case of the Super 8 addition, co-owner Richard Thoman is not as confident as his partner Art Bartsch that construction crews can finish in time for the anticipated August opening.
Super 8, on the corner of Sixth Street and Fourth Avenue, is expanding out the back with 11 guest rooms, a meeting room, exercise room, business lounge, pool and hot tub. The addition is waiting for siding, but is soon to be shingled. The interior still is in its raw, see-through, stud stage, but the walk-in showers for some rooms on the ground floor have been delivered. The pool is not quite finished - but already half-full of water. Unfortunately, it's all rain water.
Walgreens is getting cement curbs along Eighth Avenue and walkways. City Inspector Dave Powers was on site Wednesday to do an inspection on electrical wiring, and reported ceiling tile grids were going up inside.
Construction Manager Kurt Habeck, Draven Construction, Green Bay, said the project was "doing well" despite being "slightly behind" schedule about one week because of the rain. Habeck said stone will be laid in the driveway Saturday, and next blacktop and landscaping. He expects to turn the building over to Walgreens June 26.
Mike Kaspar, of Kaspar Murphy, which owns the building, said Walgreens will open in mid-July.
That's impressive, given the building footings are cast onto 17 foot-deep Geopiers, which had to be put in during the worst winter in Wisconsin memory. That set the project back about 25 days.
Supposedly less expensive and quicker than any alternative method, Geopiers are built by compacting thick layers of aggregate in drilled or excavated holes with hydraulic rams. Powers said the soil in the area was not sufficiently dense for normal poured footings.
Next door to Walgreens, Brennan's Country Farm Market on the corner of Eighth Street and Wis. 69 is getting six garage doors installed this week and next. But they won't open automatically.
Assistant Ron Schmid sighed.
"Wouldn't that be nice? Just push a button," he said.
Still to come is the brick facing, columns and new signs on the front. And on the west side, a permanent greenhouse gets started in two weeks.
Next time, we'll look at some sites downtown and in the North Industrial Park.
In the meantime, there's no reason Monroe needs to go giftless. Surprising things come in little boxes.
A four-mile trip around Monroe this week yielded a visit to no fewer than nine new or expanding business construction sites. The fun part was watching the faces of contractors tell me when the business owners are expecting to open.
These five sites are just some on the west side of town.
Located in the 200 block of Eighth Street, in the Pick'n Save shopping strip, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches is expecting to open in two weeks. Hard at work, the crew from Faulkner Construction, Freeport, were doubtful they could finish in time. Floor tiles are almost laid, but still need to be grouted, and bathroom fixtures still are missing.
St. Vincent de Paul at 501 1st Ave. is expanding its building and parking lot and making room for housing a mobile food pantry. The site is starting to be prepared, with excavation to the north, south and west of the current building. Labor Day is the expected finish date.
Retail store space will be doubled, and employees will have a safer working environment for sorting donations on the expanded north end of the building.
A new shelter canopy area for item drop off will be on the west side. Vehicles can enter from the east on First Avenue, as they do now, circle the building on the north end, drop donations on the west side and exit from a new driveway onto West Sixth Street.
In the case of the Super 8 addition, co-owner Richard Thoman is not as confident as his partner Art Bartsch that construction crews can finish in time for the anticipated August opening.
Super 8, on the corner of Sixth Street and Fourth Avenue, is expanding out the back with 11 guest rooms, a meeting room, exercise room, business lounge, pool and hot tub. The addition is waiting for siding, but is soon to be shingled. The interior still is in its raw, see-through, stud stage, but the walk-in showers for some rooms on the ground floor have been delivered. The pool is not quite finished - but already half-full of water. Unfortunately, it's all rain water.
Walgreens is getting cement curbs along Eighth Avenue and walkways. City Inspector Dave Powers was on site Wednesday to do an inspection on electrical wiring, and reported ceiling tile grids were going up inside.
Construction Manager Kurt Habeck, Draven Construction, Green Bay, said the project was "doing well" despite being "slightly behind" schedule about one week because of the rain. Habeck said stone will be laid in the driveway Saturday, and next blacktop and landscaping. He expects to turn the building over to Walgreens June 26.
Mike Kaspar, of Kaspar Murphy, which owns the building, said Walgreens will open in mid-July.
That's impressive, given the building footings are cast onto 17 foot-deep Geopiers, which had to be put in during the worst winter in Wisconsin memory. That set the project back about 25 days.
Supposedly less expensive and quicker than any alternative method, Geopiers are built by compacting thick layers of aggregate in drilled or excavated holes with hydraulic rams. Powers said the soil in the area was not sufficiently dense for normal poured footings.
Next door to Walgreens, Brennan's Country Farm Market on the corner of Eighth Street and Wis. 69 is getting six garage doors installed this week and next. But they won't open automatically.
Assistant Ron Schmid sighed.
"Wouldn't that be nice? Just push a button," he said.
Still to come is the brick facing, columns and new signs on the front. And on the west side, a permanent greenhouse gets started in two weeks.
Next time, we'll look at some sites downtown and in the North Industrial Park.