The 750,000-square-foot The Corners of Brookfield town center announced Wednesday that it has purchased three parcels of land – 4.25 acres in all – at the southeast corner of Bluemound and Barker Roads in the Town of Brookfield in order to create a new West End mixed use development.
The West End will include a 140-room Tribute Portfolio hotel – a Marriott International brand – slated to open by summer 2024.
The new site is currently occupied by a shuttered La Quinta hotel, and KFC and Jose’s Blue Sombrero buildings, which are expected to be razed in April.
In the meantime, Town of Brookfield and Waukesha County first responders will use the site for emergency response training.
“This will be a one-of-a-kind hotel which aligns perfectly with our carefully curated tenant mix and will be a pivotal hub of the community,” said Robert Gould, head of IM Properties U.S. division and CEO of Brookfield Corners LLC, in the announcement.
“We are working with branding consultants to create something truly unique and relevant to the community and our customer base.”
The new land purchase means that The Corners now has more than a half-mile of prime I-94 frontage at a major on- and off-ramp.
“More than 200,000 vehicles pass this project each day, and assembling this land allows us to plan a more integrated, functional and sustainable mix of uses centered on The Corners, Town of Brookfield,” Gould added.
“This is a truly unique and strategically important site in this bustling corridor overlooking one of the most commercially important intersections on I-94 between Milwaukee and Madison. We have been looking at assembling the land to our west for some time as part of our strategy to further develop The Corners as a regional jewel and landmark.”
The Corners of Brookfield opened in 2017 and includes restaurants, shops and residential units.
“Having the opportunity to work with a company that has the commitment, vision, integrity, long-term outlook and financial strength of IM Properties has been very rewarding for the Town’s strategy of regenerating this important commercial corridor,” said Town of Brookfield Administrator Tom Hagie.
“This regionally important site provides a phenomenal opportunity for urban renewal that will benefit the residents of the Town, landowners, the tax base and wider community of Waukesha County. The Town looks forward to working with IM in the months and years to come.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
