Woodman’s shoppers in Waukesha will soon have the enhanced option of getting a freshly cleaned car on top of a trunk full of groceries and a tank of gas, all in one trip.
The Janesville-based supermarket chain has received approvals from the City of Waukesha for a tunnel-style car wash, accompanied by 14 vacuuming stations and six additional self-service fuel pumps, along its Main Street entryway just east of Les Paul Parkway.
The automated car wash is the kind increasingly offered by specialized businesses, with more cleaning and finishing options for cars that move along a conveyor belt through a long building.
Waukesha’s Plan Commission approved a final site plan and architectural elements of the new car-service amenities on July 23. No timeline was listed for when construction of the new facilities will start, but the approvals mean that Woodman’s can apply for building permits to begin the process.
According to city documents, the exterior of the roughly 4,800-square-foot car wash will match the colors (red, white and cream) of the 240,000-square foot store at 1610 E. Main St. that opened in 2013. The car wash would be located on a new outlot, split off from a previously larger vacant lot along Main Street and on the opposite side of the entryway from an existing fuel station, convenience store and oil-change service center. Those facilities will remain.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the old car wash, a two-bay facility typically operated by gas stations, will remain in operation. A store manager declined to respond to media questions, and Woodman’s corporate officials did not respond to email and phone messages or were unavailable.
Future plans for the adjoining 56,000-square-foot lot, one of the last two remaining undeveloped outlots spurred by the supermarket’s development, were not discussed. Other outlots were previously filled by Culver’s, Waukesha State Bank, Planet Fitness and a multi-tenant commercial building, among others.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Woodman’s in Waukesha will get a new tunnel-style car wash and more fuel pumps
Reporting by Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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