Politics & Government

Aldermen Give Final Approvals for New Target Store

Target plans to break ground on a new store on Blue Mound Road next to Bluemound Bowl in August and open its doors in fall 2012.

After months of scrutiny and a lengthy debate Tuesday about hours of operation, aldermen granted final approvals for a new Target store and an associated larger retail complex.

Target has said it plans to break ground on the 140,000-square-foot store with grocery in August and open its doors in fall 2012.

Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to approve rezoning and preliminary and final plans for a 175,000-square-foot retail complex dubbed Underwood Crossing on the former Quebecor World printing plant at 12821 W. Blue Mound Road just east of Bluemound Bowl.

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In addition to the Target, the plans call for a yet-to-be-announced junior anchor store of about 18,000 square feet, as well as other smaller buildings fronting Blue Mound Road that could include a bank and restaurant.

A traffic signal will be added near Bluemound Bowl, which will remain open during the project and gain parking and improved lot lighting.

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Ald. Renee Lowerr said residents in her area of the district were excited to have a new Target closer to home. 

"This will be a very good thing for the City of Brookfield," Lowerr said.

Ald. Lisa Mellone, the other alderwoman representing the Target site and residential neighbors, said she backed the project because it would ban any vehicular connection to Columbia Boulevard to better protect neighbors from traffic in their subdivision.

She and Ald. Chris Blackburn said they supported the project in part because it would clean contamination on the brownfield site without city taxpayer funding. Blackburn said he preferred office development instead of retail there, but the market would not support anything but a big-box retailer to offset the cost of remediation.

"That's been an eyesore and a real problem for the city" since Quebecor closed in 2005, Mellone said. "(This is) maybe not our No. 1 choice."

But she added: "I feel that Target will be an amenity to the region as a whole. It's been fully vetted."

Asst. Police Chief Dean Collins told aldermen he believed Target's security plans were "above and beyond what other city retailers do."

The unanimous vote in favor of Underwood Crossing and Target as anchor were somewhat deceiving, however.

For more than an hour, aldermen engaged in a lengthy debate and a split 7-7 vote about whether the city should give Target flexibility in setting longer hours of operation during the big holiday shopping weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Mellone objected to language that would have allowed Target to be open from 4 a.m. to midnight during those weeks. 

Ald. Gary Mahkorn said the city shouldn't micromanage the store's operation during that limited, prime sales time. Kohl's in Brookfield is open later than some of Target's proposed closing times, and Ald. Bill Carnell said he has not heard any complaints from Kohl's residential neighbors about anything other than loud trucks behind the store.

The original proposal considered by aldermen would have allowed Target to be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. But from Thanksgiving to Christmas hours could be 4 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to midnight on Sunday.

An amendment by Mellone and Ald. Dan Sutton to slightly change the hours, including limiting the 4 a.m. start to weekends, not weekdays, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, failed on a 7-7 vote. Mayor Steve Ponto was not present to vote to break a tie. He is in Germany on a Sister Cities trip, and Ald. Mark Nelson chaired Tuesday's meeting.

After much debate Tony Barranco, retail development director for the developer Ryan Cos., said Target doesn't plan or need to be open at 4 a.m. daily during that period. 

He told aldermen Target's typical hours during the holiday season are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., except for Black Friday and the day after Christmas when Target opens at 7 a.m. for holiday returns.

Aldermen then voted 9 to 5 to approve these hours of operation for the new Target: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. Target could be open from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Black Friday. And from Thanksgiving to Christmas, hours could be 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Hours on Dec. 26 would be 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.


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