Big Boxes May Not Draw Big Highway Bucks

Disappointed that the reconfigured Pabst Farms 'upscale' mall may be anchored by a Target, and not a trendy IKEA, for example, some Waukesha County Supervisors are hinting that they may not fork over the County's $1.75 million share to pay for the mall's controversial interstate interchange.

The mall's store mix is still up in the air, its first developer pulled out, and subdivisions at Pabst Farms are on hold as the subprime lending crisis has cooled the housing market.

It may be that the entire exurban, regional-mall model is a thing of the past, as gasoline has run up to $3.19 a gallon and urban development looks more efficient and sustainable, experts say.

And it seems like some County supervisors are not as free-spending as the state department of transportation, which has promised $21.9 million of the interchange's $25 million pricetag.