On January 22nd the Village of Waterford will hold 3 groundbreakings for new developments all on the East side of the Village. Residents will be happy to know that the Dairy Queen Grill and Chill is among them. A new business park and condos will round out the groundbreaking adding new business tenants and residents alike. These projects will add an approximate value of $4.2 Millon to the Village.
Dairy Queen Grill & Chill
The New DQ Grill & Chill coming in Spring of 2020 to Waterford is like most small businesses, it is a family affair. Two brothers, Bill and Bob Kulesa, started a new business four years ago when they developed and opened a new DQ Grill & Chill in Stillwater, MN (east Minneapolis metro community next to the St. Croix River bordering Wisconsin). Bill who worked for American Dairy Queen for over 15 years, working in the areas of training, operations and new restaurant development.
Bill handles the day to day operations of the business. Bob and his wife Michelle who live in Green Bay, handle the business side of things. After the successful location in Stillwater, they looked to expand the business and developed a new entity, Wisconsin based Gold Star Development Group. The greater Milwaukee market is also a Star Market for American Dairy Queen as they look to fully develop this underserved area with their newest concept DQ Grill & Chill. Bill in his time at ADQ worked extensively on this important initiative.
To complete the circle with the next generation of the family Bill’s son Dylan who is the General Manager in Stillwater will be relocating to Waterford to be the GM at the new location. Dylan is excited about the opportunity to work closely with the community and be part of the smiles and stories of people who come to DQ to celebrate life’s moments with friends, families and neighbors. Because this Dairy Queen belongs to the community, as most people say about Dairy Queen “this is my DQ”. With Bill having been part of Dairy Queen for over 20 years, he knows how people feel about their DQ and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
ADI Business Park
Allesee Development Inc. (ADI) is a family owned and operated real estate and land development company, incorporated in 1988. Their first land acquisition in 1989 was an 18-acre soybean farm north of River City Marina. ADI brought in two other partners and formed Waterford Land Development, LLC. Upon Village approval and annexation from the Town, they designed a Planned Unit Development, allowing the creation of five parcels.
They started phase one in 1991 and built Marina Shores Apartments; in 1993 sold a parcel to BMO Bank (originally M&I Bank) and then built the Mixed Unit Building, two apartments upstairs and two commercial units on main floor. ADI then built on the final two parcels, Marina Cove Condos in 1994 and Docs on the Fox, Waterfront Bar & Grill, 2012.
In 1995 ADI purchased the 38-acre Halbach Estate and developed Fox Mead Crossing, a commercial and residential community, this project was anchored with Pick & Save Grocery Store and Pharmacy Station Drug Store along with side by side residential units.
In 1998 they purchased a 40-acre parcel from the Kaebisch Estate and developed Cornerstone Crossing, selling properties to the River City Bowling Alley, Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (currently Competitive HVAC) and the St. Vincent de Paul thrift. They also created the 14-acre Cornerstone Crossing nature trail in the center of this development. The remaining land was resold to Rex Runzheimer in 1999. In 2018 ADI purchased the Uncle Harry’s buildings and land with an eye on future downtown development.
And now, their latest project: ADI Business Park, located off of HW 36 north of The Equitable Bank will consist of four 10,000 square foot warehouse buildings divided into 2,000 sq. ft. insulated rentals units. Each unit will have an office, bathroom and a 16’ by 14’ overhead door. They will begin construction spring of 2020. Please see their website ADIBusinessPark.com for further information.
Deer Trail Condos
Paul VanAlstine is a local business owner who grew up in Waterford and still resides in the area. He attended St Thomas Aquinas School and is a 1994 graduate of Waterford Union High School. Immediately, upon graduation, Paul started his Sheet Metal apprenticeship. In 2003, Paul, along with Matthew Olson, ventured out on their own and became the owners of Competitive Heating & Air-Conditioning, LLC, which is still a local Waterford business.
At the age of 21, while working as and HVAC installer, Paul decided to take on the task of building and general contracting his first duplex here in Waterford. Over the years, on top of owning and operating Competitive Heating & Air-Conditioning, LLC, Paul has built no less than 10 two-family homes and 7 single family homes in and around the surrounding area.
When Paul is not running a small business, you can see him, his wife, Dawn VanAlstine, and their two children Parker (8) and Kendall (6) spending time snow skiing or water-skiing on the Fox River. Paul and Dawn are excited to start this new upscale multi-family venture here in Waterford, which will be a great benefit to the community.
The groundbreakings will begin at 1:30pm on S 7th Street off HWY 164, continuing respectively at 2:30 and 3:30. For any further information or questions please contact Colleen Schauer at 262-534-1851 or cschauer@waterfordwi.org.