Uncertainty Deterred Stein's From Pursuing Seasonal Garden Center

After six months of back-and-forth discussions about a proposed seasonal garden center in the rear Silver Spring Drive parking lot, Stein's Garden Center notified village officials last week it would not move forward with the proposal for the business, known as Stein's Just Plants.

On Tuesday, the the Village Board draft a lease with Stein's to open the garden center on the parking lot island behind Fitzgerald's, which would replace the grass and trees with wood chips to accomodate the operation. That night, Stein's notified the village it would not move forward with the project.

Stein's CEO Mark Birmingham explained the decision in an email to Patch.

"Unfortunately, after 12 months there continued to be uncertainty whether a permitting decision would be made, one way or another, in time for us to execute a plan for the upcoming spring season," he said. "As a result we needed to make a business decision to explore opportunities in other communities. Hopefully we will be able to revisit the concept with the Village at some point in the future."

The garden center approached the village with the proposal at the end of 2010, but it was unable to move forward due to the planned .

After receiving in July, the Plan Commission rejected the first proposal, due to the Whitefish Bay Business Improvement District's opposition to losing 14-16 parking spaces.

When the village to pave over a portion of the parking lot island behind Fitzgerald's and place the business there, trustees rejected the nearly $55,000 price tag and to save money. The Plan Commission , but Stein's withdrew the revised $37,000 proposal before it returned to the Village Board for final approval.

As part of the agreement, the garden center would have paid the village $15,000 in rent and donated 500 pumpkins for the Great Pumpkin Festival and flowers to the Public Works Department.

Stein's representatives previously said the company would likely consider a temporary location in Fox Point if the Whitefish Bay proposal does not come to fruition, but Birmingham did not say which community the company would explore next.

The garden center aims to open 10 to 12 Stein Just Plants locations in 2012. The flower centers first opened in 2010, and they expanded with five new locations this year.