Construction Underway for New Starbucks in Sturgeon Bay

Construction is now underway to build a three-unit commercial development with more than 5,500 square feet of space. Photo by Kevin Boneske.

A DCMC clinic and an AT&T store will share the space

A Starbucks with a drive-through will occupy almost half of a three-unit commercial building that’s now under construction at the southwest corner of Highway 42/57 and Duluth Avenue (County S) in Sturgeon Bay. 

Richard Robinson, president of the St. Louis-based First & Main Properties, said the site will be the company’s first commercial development in Door County. In addition to Starbucks occupying 2,460 square feet of building space, along with the drive-through window and an outdoor patio, he said he also has long-term leases with Door County Medical Center (DCMC) for a 1,700-square-foot clinic and with AT&T for a 1,400-square-foot retail store.

Robinson said being able to build the project at that site hinged on Starbucks’ commitment to open a corporate-owned store, which should not affect the licensed Starbucks that continues to exist inside the nearby Target.

He said the new Starbucks drive-through lane, which will have a parallel bypass lane, will run counterclockwise to exit onto Duluth Avenue. The new building’s footprint is located where cottages were removed behind the Woldt’s Corner Pub building, which was torn down to create space for the parking that will be located in front.  

The 47,781-square-foot lot where the commercial building and related parking are under construction was separated from a 15,857-square-foot lot to the south – the site of a house Robinson said he is now looking to sell and where he intends to place a buffer of trees between the residence and the new development.  

Robinson said construction of the commercial building is on track to be completed early next year and turned over to the three tenants, who will get their sections of the building ready to open next spring.

Robinson said he was able to put together lease agreements prior to closing on the former Woldt’s Corner Pub property June 3 through real estate broker Tom Alberts of Great Lakes Business Group. Given the amount of traffic that goes through the intersection of Highway 42/57 and Duluth Avenue, Alberts said the lot was a prime business location.

“[Robinson] was looking for a site between the two [stop-and-go] lights from Target to County S, and when this became available, it doesn’t get much better,” Alberts said.

The City of Sturgeon Bay and the County of Door are looking to further develop the area, which could include extending the sidewalk south along Duluth Avenue to the Justice Center. The city and county approved an agreement this year with Robinson’s business group, known as 911 Green Bay Road Partners, to build a sidewalk on the redeveloped lot.

Robinson said he’s interested in starting a commercial development in Door County because he has visited in the past and wants to make the peninsula his second home. When asked, he said it would be premature to elaborate on any additional commercial developments he may be considering within the county.

DCMC West Side Clinic

Door County Medical Center CEO Brian Stephens said next May is the target date to open the new west-side clinic, which will be what he calls a “small, retail clinic” open seven days a week and able to provide basic urgent care services, such as for minor lacerations, upper respiratory infections and bug bites and stings, as well as labs.

He said DCMC wants to locate a clinic at the site on the west side because the traffic going through that intersection would make it a good option for tourists visiting the county. Patients who need a higher level of care could be referred from that clinic to another DCMC facility, such as the emergency room.

He said the clinic, which will be staffed with a nurse practitioner, will be a technological pilot program of sorts with patients self-registering with a walk-in kiosk or a QR code, and previous DCMC patients able to register in advance. 

Stephens said specific details about the clinic, such as the types of medical equipment onsite and the hours of operation, are still being worked out.