City Fears New Von Maur Development Would Hurt Brookfield Square

Wisconsin's first Von Maur department store would be the anchor of a sprawling retail and office complex built at the I-94/Barker Road exit in the Town of Brookfield, but city leaders objected to the plan Thursday, saying it might cannibalize a Blue Mound Road corridor already suffering high vacancies.

The so-called Poplar Creek project would be a financial boon to the town — adding more than $100 million in property value or 10 percent of the town's existing $1 billion tax base. 

But Mayor Steve Ponto said the project could harm Brookfield Square mall, which represents 3 percent of the city's $6 billion tax base and is one of the largest taxpayers in Waukesha County.

"The concern is that rather than create additional jobs, what this will do principally is shift jobs," prompting existing city and town businesses to move into the new complex, Ponto said.

"The mall is already feeling the effects of this proposal with some of their tenants being contacted with realtors in connection with this Poplar Creek development," he said. The Blue Mound corridor currently has vacancy rates of about 15% for retail and more than 20% for office, Ponto added.

But Town Chairman Keith Henderson said he believed a Von Maur would bring other tenants that also would be new to Wisconsin and would not merely shift city businesses into the town. That has occurred in other states where Von Maur was built, he said.

"I'm rather excited," Henderson said. "I think this is going to be a destination site for retail. This really is a good thing for all involved.  We're talking about an awful lot of jobs, which is definitely needed during the current environment."

Von Maur, based in Davenport, Iowa, is a high-end department store that has been called the "Nordstrom of the Midwest." The family-owned company operates 25 stores, the closest located in Glenview, IL. It is known for its trendy clothes and accessories.

The major project also raises old battles about whether the town should have the same powers as cities and villages, and whether the town should exist at all or be annexed by the cities of Brookfield and Waukesha.

Ponto traveled to the state Capitol on Thursday to object to a bill that would give the Town of Brookfield the power to create a tax incremental financing district to help fund roads, sewer and water for the Poplar Creek and Von Maur project. Towns do not have the power to create TIF districts; only villages and cities do.

The bill — approved 19-0 by the state Senate Friday — would give the town TIF authority for this one project only. The state Assembly's Committee on Jobs, the Economy and Small Business might vote on the town's request at a meeting Tuesday.

Also attending the Madison hearing to object to town's request were representatives of CBL & Associates Properties Inc, the Chattanooga, TN, owner of Brookfield Square mall. 

Just one year ago, Brookfield Square mall officials were talking about the possibility of building the first Von Maur store as a new mall anchor, albeit without all the office and retail Poplar Creek would add. 

Dan Ertl, the city's community development director, said Thursday he saw draft designs months ago of a plan that would have constructed Von Maur at the Sears end of the mall with a smaller Sears store. 

However, existing mall anchors such as Boston Store have opposed the move. Representatives of Von Maur and the mall could not be reached for comment Thursday. 

Ponto said: "I'm not opposed to a Von Maur at Brookfield Square. I think that's something that should very seriously be considered. It was (in the past) and I hope will still be."

He said he was more concerned about the 300,000 square feet of retail and office development that would accompany the Von Maur in the town.

Asked whether the city was getting into a turf battle rather than working for the betterment of the region to draw new businesses to the state, Ponto said the city is the only municipality other than Milwaukee that contributes financially to the Milwaukee 7, an economic development platform for seven Southeastern Wisconsin counties.

The Von Maur store would have a Brookfield address and not differentiate between the city and the town. The two municipalities share a common convention and visitors bureau.

"We're all for appropriate regional development," Ponto said, but added he must ensure the mall remains financially successful as the engine that drives the city's commercial sector.

Town Administrator Rick Czopp said he has been working with the Marcus Corp. on the Von Maur tenancy "for a few months already.

"They always wanted to come over here," Czopp said. "This is the location they want to be at."

Czopp said he believed the market could support Brookfield Square and Poplar Creek as opposite anchors of the three-mile corridor. "Don't you think that would make a great corridor?" Czopp asked.

The 19 acres involved are largely controlled by the Marcus Corp., which owns a vacant theater and has an option to buy the vacant Menards site immediately east. There also is a small shopping center with an Applebees. 

The redevelopment project would include at least 300,000 square feet of retail and office, plus a 150,000-square-foot, three-story Von Maur store with a parking deck.

Poplar Creek — named after a creek that runs through that area of the town, would tower over an area of the interstate dotted now with office buildings with tenants such as Red Prairie.

Documents say more than 750 jobs would be created for the project's development with another 400 jobs after the center would be operating.

Chairman Henderson said if the state gives the town tax incremental financing authority, he hopes to begin review of the project details by the end of March. If approved by the Town Board, construction could start this summer, with the goal to open the center in fall 2012 in time for holiday shopping.

Mayor Ponto said he is not opposed to development at the prime town site. But he said the state should not be subsidizing it by giving the town special powers no other town in the state has.

"Towns were meant to be a temporary form of government," Ponto said. "And by giving them this kind of unprecedented authority, (state lawmakers) are further perpetuating towns. That's not in the interest of good government."

The city has its own tax incremental financing district for the area around Brookfield Square mall. But only the mall anchors — and not the bulk of the mall — are in the financing district.

Ertl said the district has added $88 million in value since 2004, while other such districts in the state have struggled and been labeled as "distressed" districts. He said he wanted to ensure that does not happen in the city.