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Politics & Government

Trader Joe's Gets Plan Commission OK; Eyes October Opening

City Council will also have to approve the planned development district that grants Trader Joe's exceptions to zoning codes.

With the unanimous approval of the Brookfield Plan Commission Monday, the proposed Trader Joe’s moved one step closer to opening this fall in the Underwood Crossing complex.

The request for exceptions to some city zoning rules still will have to be approved by City Council before Trader Joe’s can move forward with construction.

Architect Stephen Smith said Monday the company's goal is to open in October, just after PNC Bank and Target open in the shopping center at at 12821 W. Blue Mound Rd.

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“We view this as the gateway into Underwood Crossing and we’ve tried to design it as such," said Smith, president of Stephen Perry Smith Architects.

The 12,500-square-foot store would be the third Trader Joe's in Wisconsin, joining locations in Glendale and Madison. Several residents and public officials have voiced excitement for the California-based grocer's expansion to Brookfield.

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"All the time I’ve been alderman, if I could name 10 issues people have talked to me about, one of them would be: when are we going to get a Trader Joe’s?" Alderman Gary Mahkorn said.

The Plan Commission recommended approval of two elements of the design Monday that had been at issue, one being grocery cart storage in the parking lot - a topic hardly contested at the meeting. 

The other issue was the placement of a Dumpster, which Smith said would work best facing Bluemound Road. Generally the city avoids having Dumpster doors face roads, but the Plan Commission members agreed the placement was best, with the Dumpster being 250 feet back from the road.

"We’re certainly delighted to be presenting Trader Joe’s," Smith said. "We know it’s been a long time coming to the City of Brookfield."

Trader Joe's, founded in 1958, operates more than 350 stores in 31 states, including about six in the Chicago area. Both Wisconsin stores — at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale and in Madison — opened in fall 2006.

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