Mills Fleet Farm proposes store at Pabst Farms in Oconomowoc

Mills Fleet Farm is seeking to build a 218,000-square-foot store in the Pabst Farms development at I-94 and Highway 67 in Oconomowoc.

According to documents filed with the City of Oconomowoc, the store would be at the northeast corner of the highway intersection in the Pabst Farms Town Centre development.

The city has scheduled a special meeting of its Architectural Commission on Wednesday night to review the plans.

According to documents filed with the city, the proposal calls for a 218,628-square-foot store with an enclosed, partially covered outdoor materials yard, and a 4,900-square-foot convenience store with a car wash and gas station. The development would be on an 18.95-acre site within Pabst Farms.

The site is bounded by I-94 to the south and future retail development to the west, north and east with access via an entrance from Pabst Farms Blvd.

The store would create 150 to 175 new full- and part-time jobs, according to city documents.

Based in Brainerd, Minn., Mills Fleet Farm is owned by New York-based KKR, one of the nation's largest investment firms.

Mills Fleet Farm has a major presence in Wisconsin, with 17 stores across the state and major operations in the Fox Valley. The retailer is a corporate partner of the Green Bay Packers and sponsors one of Lambeau Field's entry gates.

Known by its orange and black logo, Mills Fleet Farm's Milwaukee-area stores are in Germantown and West Bend. The company also has stores in Antigo, Appleton, Beaver Dam, Clintonville, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Hudson, Manitowoc, Marshfield, Menomonie, Oshkosh, Plymouth, Stevens Point, Waupaca and Wausau.

The company traces its retail history to 1955 in Marshfield when members of the Mills family opened Fleet Wholesale Supply to sell merchandise directly to farmers.

Mills Fleet Farm primarily serves suburban and farm consumers. The retailer has merchandise ranging from farm and ranch supplies to sporting goods, tools, power equipment and automotive supplies and service. The company also operates stores in Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota. It currently has 37 stores.