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Developer planning to fill gap on Milton Avenue

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JANESVILLE — Milton Avenue in Janesville has a new hole that a developer hopes to fill in short order.

The Janesville-based Kaiser Property Group bought the land and building at 3502 Milton Ave. earlier this year.

Longtime Janesville residents will remember the property as the home of Country Kitchen.

That restaurant closed in 2006 and reopened shortly thereafter as CK Grill & Bar. CK closed the following year and the building became home to Road Dawg Saloon and Eatery.

That bar and grill has since moved to nearby Morse Street, and the Milton Avenue property then housed Sidekicks Saloon.

Sidekicks closed, and Kaiser Property bought the property. The company auctioned off restaurant equipment in September and demolished the building late last month.

"We could have gone either way on leaving the building up," said Todd Kaiser, owner of the development company as well as Kaiser Transport in Janesville.

Kaiser said he had people interested in the land and the building, but none of the projects were what he was looking for on a prime piece of real estate next to Interstate 90/39.

Kaiser said he's already had interest in the now-vacant parcel from four companies, even though the property is not yet listed anywhere.

He said the parcel probably would be best used as a restaurant site.

"In the end, I just decided that Janesville needed a little bit nicer-looking building at that spot," he said. "Newer buildings look better, and looks are important when you're trying to get people off the Interstate as well as those coming from in town."

City property records indicate the land and building were sold in 2011 for $476,000 as part of a sheriff's sale. Kaiser bought the land and building—which were assessed at $555,000—for $218,700 in January, according to city records.