March 16, 2021 – Hartford, WI – There was a brisk wind and temps hovered just above freezing as contractors began the demolition Monday morning of the old Petro-Q-Mart, 1502 E. Sumner Street in Hartford.
The first bite out of the building quickly ripped the name off the façade. The excavator tore through the walls of the small structure like it was slicing through wet paper.
It was December 31, 2020 when WashingtonCountyInsider.com first reported a new Starbucks would break ground in March or April 2021.
“Hartford is hot right now,” said Tom Hostad, executive director of the Hartford Area Development Corporation. “People are looking at what can come here and I do see 2021 as a good year for commercial development in Hartford.”
Real estate firm Mid-America posted designs for the new store at 1502 E. Sumner Street; the property is formerly home to the Clark gas station and car wash.
That parcel was posted for sale in February 2019. It featured 8 pumping stalls, 38-feet of frontage on Highway 60, the car wash and convenience store. The building dated to 1980 and the property assessment was $563,800.
According to Mid-America the new construction would feature a side-by-side development with Starbucks opening to the west with a drive-thru. There would be additional 1,800 – 2,300 square feet available for lease on the east portion of the building.
City Administrator Steve Vokert said the construction was approved in 2020 by the Hartford Plan Commission but “at that time they had not verified what beverage business it was going to be.”