Milwaukee developer Brandon Rule, in his contract with the city of Madison, had until Jan. 16 to secure an anchor grocery store for the project he’s proposing on South Park Street, or the development would go to the next developer in line.
Rule, owner of Rule Enterprises, selected Luna’s Groceries — a Latino-owned grocery store that opened just a year ago across town — as the new grocery anchor for the city-owned Truman Olson site, according to a report from the Wisconsin State Journal.
In January 2019, entrepreneurs Mariam and Joe Maldonado opened the 2,300-square-foot store in the Allied Drive neighborhood, saving the area from being a food desert.
Their future store, at 1402 S. Park St., will be much larger — about 24,000 square feet — replacing a Pick’n Save that will be demolished during construction. Luna’s has signed a five-year lease and could open in 2022.
Rule is planning to build a $41.3 million, six-story project that will also offer 150 mixed-income apartments and a parking ramp for 345 vehicles. In phase II, the builder plans a five-story building (costs unknown) with 80 housing units.
