West Bluemound Road / US 18 and South Moorland Road
Brookfield, Wisconsin
Planning for Greater Milwaukee's first interior mall got underway in 1963, under the auspices of Cleveland's Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs firm (the predecessor of today's Richard E. Jacobs Group). They acquired a 141-acre plot, located 9.3 miles west of center city Milwaukee, and hired three architectural firms to design the prospective facility; Cleveland's Peter S. Thomas & Associates, Chicago's Neil & Wennland, and the firm of Baxter, Hadnell, Donnely & Preston, of Cincinnati.
Ground was broken in June 1966. A single-level, fully-enclosed complex of fifty-seven stores and services was built. There were three anchors; a 2-level (189,400 square foot), Milwaukee-based Boston Store, 2-level (201,400 square foot) J.C. Penney and 2-level (224,100 square foot) Sears.
Governor Warren P. Knowles (R) officiated at the grand opening of the mall's first operational tenant, the Boston Store, on August 17, 1967. Thirty-three inline stores were dedicated on October 23rd. Sears followed, on October 25th. J.C. Penney was among the last stores to open, with its formal dedication taking place on January 18, 1968.
BROOKFIELD SQUARE, which encompassed over 1,000,000 leasable square feet, featured a 1-level (48,000 square foot), Milwaukee-based T.A. Chapman, 1-level (71,600 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and inline stores such as Walgreen Drug, Bresler's 33 Flavors ice cream, House of Nine, Spencer Gifts and a Kohl's Foods supermarket. The General Cinema Corporation Brookfield Square Cinema showed its first feature on November 15, 1967.
Shopping concourses at BROOKFIELD SQUARE were landscaped with 100 thousand dollars worth of tropical plants and trees. The Boston Store Court, on the north end of the complex, featured an upper level terrace restaurant. The Penney's Court, at the center of the center, had a falling glycerine ("Wonderfall") fountain. On the south end of the mallway, a huge, impressionist sculpture was suspended over the Sears Court.
Commercial competitors of BROOKFIELD SQUARE included CAPITOL COURT (1956) {7.3 miles northeast, in Milwaukee}, MAYFAIR CENTER (1959) {3.6 miles northeast, in Wauwatosa} and SOUTHRIDGE MALL (1970) {7.5 miles southeast, in Greendale and Greenfield}.
The first physical expansion of BROOKFIELD SQUARE was completed in September 1992, when the Boston Store was enlarged into a 208,000 square foot operation. The closings of T.A. Chapman (1986), Brookfield Square Cinemas I & II (1989) and F.W. Woolworth (1994) provided spaces for several new inline stores. Woolworth's area was rebuilt into a 15-bay Food Court. Work on the project commenced in June 1995 and was completed in September 1996. At the same time, the mall's interior was given a face lift.
In January 2001, BROOKFIELD SQUARE was sold to Chattanooga-based CBL & Associates Properties. They announced a major renovation in 2003. In the plan, 248,000 square feet would be added in a new Southwest Wing. A 150,000 square foot, Davenport, Iowa-based Von Maur was mentioned as a possible anchor, with twenty-two inline stores, and a 3-level parking deck, included in the project. None of this came to fruition.
However, CBL did embark on a multi-phase remodeling in 2004. A 2-level (35,600 square foot) Barnes & Noble opened April 13, 2005. This was joined by Bravo! Cucina Italiana (in a portion of the old Chapman's spot) in June. Courts and concourses were refurbished and a new Main Entrance built. Moreover, the Food Court was redecorated, with a circular fireplace installed.
Five freestanding structures were built in the periphery of the mall. The first of these, a (22,500 square foot) The Fresh Market Gourmet Grocery, welcomed first shoppers in March 2007. Next came Mitchell's Fish Market and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, which opened in the spring of 2007. A Claim Jumper restaurant served its first meals in June of 2008 (it would eventually morph into Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant).
Two other stores were built in the northwest corner of the site. Stir Crazy Fresh Asian Grill and an Ethan Allen Design Center opened for business in September and December of 2008. The mall renovation was completed with the grand opening of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, in November 2010.
This was built in part of the old Kohl's Foods space and joined the mall's new east-facing Streetscape of upscale restaurants. The revitalized BROOKFIELD SQUARE now encompassed 1,135,400 leasable square feet and housed 113 stores and services.
News of a future competitor surfaced in May 2011, causing CBL & Associates to plan further renovations at BROOKFIELD SQUARE. A lifestyle center, known as THE CORNERS OF BROOKFIELD, was envisaged for a site located 2.5 miles west of the mall (the first phase of THE CORNERS project would open in April 2017).
Modifications at BROOKFIELD SQUARE would be completed in several phases. The first reconfigured the east-facing facade of Sears. 20,000 square feet of the anchor store was sectioned off and worked into a 39,000 square foot Streetscape addition, which contained five tenant spaces. The first stores opened in late 2015.
The mall lost two of its anchor stores in 2018. Sears pulled the proverbial plug in March, with the Boston Store shutting down in August. The vacant Sears, and its freestanding Auto Center, were razed, leaving the recently-completed Streetscape intact. A new South Wing was built, which contained the following;
* An 8-screen, dine-in motion picture venue.
* WhirlyBall entertainment complex, with a 2-level restaurant, bumper cars game, laser tag and bowling alley.
* 26,400 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
-and-
* Hilton Garden Inn, an adjacent, 170-room hotel (built on the old Sears Auto Center pad).
Due to the bankruptcy of Bon Ton Stores, in 2018, the Boston Store building went through foreclosure. Ownership reverted to an affiliate of Bank of America, who sold it to Milwaukee-based Irgens Partners in 2019. In August 2022, a redevelopment plan was announced. The Boston Store will be torn down and replaced by a mixed-use facility that will include office spaces, with possible hospitality and retail components. A multi-level parking garage will also be included.
Sources:
The Milwaukee Journal
http://www.cblproperties.com (CBL & Associates Properties)
http://www.kainc.com (k a Architecture)
http://www.jsonline.com
Sources:
The Milwaukee Journal
http://www.cblproperties.com (CBL & Associates Properties)
http://www.kainc.com (k a Architecture)
http://www.jsonline.com
https://biztimes.com
http://www.allbusiness.com
https://www.bizjournals.com
http://www.elmgroupnow.com
http://www.allbusiness.com
https://www.bizjournals.com
http://www.elmgroupnow.com
"Brookfield Square" article on Wikipedia
