Land sought for Foxconn factory site

Mount Pleasant property owners are asked to option parcels

As efforts build to lure Foxconn Technology Group to Wisconsin, real estate professionals have been seeking options on parcels of land that could be cobbled together to form a site for a massive electronics factory.

One spot that has seen a flurry of activity is along I-94 in the Village of Mount Pleasant.

There — in an area bounded by the interstate frontage road on the west, Racine County Highway H on the east, Highway 11 on the north and Braun Road on the south — four landowners said this week that they have been approached recently about optioning or selling their property.

All said they were contacted by Pitts Brothers & Associates, a Kenosha-based real estate firm. All asked that their names not be made public, with some saying they feared stirring bad feelings among neighbors.

One of the property owners said he signed an option contract last week, but not with Pitts Brothers. Unhappy with the terms proposed by the firm, he said, he turned to the village and was connected with Alan Marcuvitz, a prominent Milwaukee real estate attorney who has worked for the village.

Neither Marcuvitz nor representatives of Pitts Brothers could be reached for comment.

The landowner who optioned his property — the term is for six months, and he will receive an undisclosed payment no matter what happens — now is more than satisfied. While acknowledging that the Foxconn project may not materialize, he said he feels like he won the lottery.

But other, longtime residents of the area, are torn.

One couple, who have not yet decided what to do since being approached about a week ago, said they have been agonizing and thinking of little else since then. They fear that even if they don’t sign an option, they could be forced to sell if the major property owners do sign.

Another landowner wants nothing to do with a deal. She said she called Pitts Brothers and left a message saying she wasn’t interested in selling the property she inherited from her father.

“I promised my father that it would be