The Plan Commission, on Monday, May 11, conditionally approved Final Site and Operational Plans for the interior build-out of Kroger’s Pleasant Prairie Fulfillment Center. The development, located at 9091 88th Avenue, will become an automated grocery and home delivery facility that will serve customers in Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and northwest Indiana.
The Kroger facility will include a 30,000 square foot office space building, with an attached 300,000 square-foot fulfillment center that will be air-conditioned and refrigerated to store food products. The fulfillment of customer orders will be facilitated on-site by automated and manual product selection methods. The fulfillment center will not manufacture any goods; however, a manual deli service counter will be available to help fulfill online orders. The intent is to store grocery, dairy, produce, deli, health, beauty, and some general merchandise.
Completed orders will be delivered directly to customers’ homes by van. The fulfillment site will include a light maintenance building and fueling station for delivery vans, along with a tractor-trailer fueling station. Security will consist of badged gates and door entrances, with perimeter fencing, a security desk with central controlled alarm systems, and security cameras.
Grading activities on the 58.4 acre development site will begin later this month. When the fulfillment center is complete, it will operate 24 hours a day with staggered delivery hours based on customer demand. Company officials anticipate the facility will employ 350 to 400 people at startup. In three to five years, Kroger plans to hire 700 people working two shifts.
Due to the significant number of new jobs being created by this project, Kenosha County and the Village are aligning with Kroger to apply for a Transportation Economic Assistance (TEA) Grant from Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The TEA Grant will financially assist with the County Trunk Highway H transportation improvement costs associated with the development. On May 4, the Village Board adopted Resolution #20-14 to support the Kroger project and Kenosha County’s filing of the TEA Grant application.