Development planned on Waupaca’s west side

By Angie Landsverk

The vacant Pizza Hut property on West Fulton Street will be redeveloped into a coffee shop.

“They did a very nice job putting the site plan together,” City Administrator Aaron Jenson said of the upcoming project.

He said it is great to see a vacant building on one of the city’s main corridors being redeveloped.

The current structure will be removed, with the redevelopment taking place from the ground up.

John Holborow of Acapauw LLC in Milwaukee owns the property at 1080 W. Fulton St.

He requested a conditional use permit for the project.

The common council approved it last month.

“We’re eager to get started. The tenant is eager to get into Waupaca and get open,” Holborow told the council.

The name of the “national coffee tenant” was not shared during the meeting.

A press release formally announcing the tenant is expected.

Holborow said they hope to be in the ground and under construction in May.

The tenant plans to open this October.

Adam Stein is the architect for the project.

He presented details about the project in a letter to the city’s zoning administrator.

New building’s design

The submittal was for the building shell only, Stein explained, as the national coffee tenant will submit interior buildout drawings, occupancy applications and signage approvals.

The approximately 2,200-square-foot building will have a drive-thru and an approximately 500-square-foot outdoor patio area.

The indoor seating capacity is expected to be about 38 people, Stein wrote.

The outdoor seating capacity will be about 19 people.

Its proposed business hours will be 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

That may vary on weekends.

He said the tenant anticipates employing between 25 and 30 people, with a maximum of seven employees per shift.

The Plan Commission approved the site plan earlier last month.

Jeff Sanders, the city’s zoning administrator, said they did an exceptional job with the landscaping plan.

The site will feature about 316 individual plants of diversified species, he said.

Sanders described the manner in which they will be placed on the site as “remarkable.”

Director of Public Works Justin Berrens agreed, saying he was very impressed with the landscaping plan.

Mayor Brian Smith said it is nice to see green space in plans.

“Given the location of the property, it is almost the front door of Waupaca,” Sanders said.

He said those who did the plan are creating quite a welcome to the city.

The mayor said the city is open for business, and it feels good when they have a great project.

Holborow said city staff have been great to work with throughout the process.