The Mall at Pabst Farms

Will the Mall Come to Pabst Farms?

Recently in the local paper here in Oconomowoc an article mentioned that the mall at Pabst Farms may be in question. I would like to weigh in on this topic. Just because I am a Realtor does not mean that I am always for growth, in fact I like to think that I am in favor of "Good Growth". Good growth is development that makes sense and is not development for the sake of development.

Pabst Farms originally indicated to the community that the mall would be a regional pull. I think most everyone knows what a "regional pull" entails. This would be stores that will pull shoppers from the region to Oconomowoc. I know that is a little sarcastic, but let's be serious--Kohl's is not a regional pull store. I like Kohls and I know my wife shops there quite a bit. I have nothing against Kohl's, but let's face it, the folks from Mequon are not going to hop in their cars and drive 60 minutes to go to Kohl's when they can visit one in their own backyard. However if Nordstroms were located in Oconomowoc you can safely bet that they will make the 60 minute drive to Oconomowoc.

If the city allows the mall that features tenants that the local market will use and enjoy, then I think the hope that so many retailers have put in the mall, and its efforts to revitalize downtown Oconomowoc, will not materialize. If Oconomowoc is going to be on the map for a destination city for retailing then we must hold out for a mall that will have a larger draw than the city itself. We have lived with driving to Delafield for Kohl's and other stores and we can certainly live a little longer with this fact. But if we settle for second best now, the ability to attract stores that will draw from the region, in my opinion will be limited. Pabst only has so much land to develop, let's do it right from the get go and not settle for second best.

So to all the folks at Pabst and the City, for the sake of our community let's push for the best mall development that has been promised to our area.