Gearbox Express Expansion
Photo By Carol Spaeth-Bauer
Mukwonago’s new business park ushers in opportunities for area residents
Village of Mukwonago — Trucks pulled in off Highway 83, south of I-43, moving behind the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking of the more than 40 acre Mukwonago Gateway Business Park on May 8. West of where shining shovels poised to dig into the dirt, work on the new site for the Gearbox Express expansion had already begun.
The development started 19 months earlier after a lunch meeting where Gearbox Express CEO Bruce Neumiller asked Village President Fred Winchowky and Administrator John Weidl if the village could find a site where he could relocate his business.
“He’s doing great and wanted to expand,” Winchowky told the crowd. “We made a decision at that time to see what we could do to meet his needs. The village board and staff went to work and as you can see, this is the result of those efforts.
Gateway business
Gearbox Express’ 82,500-square-foot facility will be located on 10 acres in the southwestern portion of the business park.
For the past few years, the village has become proactive in economic development, Winchowky explained, meeting with business owners to find out what they need and how the village can help.
Negotiating a land purchase with the Dick Greenwald family, the village burrowed through requirements from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, dealt with wetland, utility, and storm water highway access issues, among other tasks, to bring the project to fruition.
Total expenditures are estimated at $2.2 million. Capital from the project will provide infrastructural improvements needed to attract and retain business in the village, according to the village website. Improvements that can be anticipated include extending municipal water by nearly 3,500 linear feet, sanitary sewer extension of almost 2,000 feet, and street extension of more than 1,000 feet, along with additional amenities.
While working on the new business park, the village has also been working with the Lynch group, helping it move to a new location on Wolf Run, across from the Mukwonago YMCA, Winchowky said.
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