Brookfield Square Mall Redevelopment: What's Next for the Middle?

Erin Bubolz learned about the city's plans for Brookfield Square from her phone. "I got a text message and an email from the mall that they were going into an agreement with the city," she told TMJ4. Her store, Merle Norman, has been at the mall "since the 80s," and she believes it is the mall's longest local tenant. "I'm very excited. I was kind of thinking it is about time," she said.

The mall opened in 1967. Two pieces of news broke in the same October week. On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Common Council approved an agreement that lets the city buy a large part of the property. On Saturday, Oct. 10, the city and Visit Brookfield broke ground on the Brookfield Public Market. Together they fill in one plan. The south end of Brookfield Square has already been rebuilt, the north end is now under construction, and the city's option covers the stretch in between.

The South End Already Changed Hands Once

People who mostly come to Brookfield Square at night have been using the redeveloped part for a while. According to the mall's owner, CBL Properties, the former Sears space now holds WhirlyBall, Movie Tavern, OrangeTheory Fitness and Club Champion. Around the mall is a ring of sit-down restaurants: Uncle Julio's Mexican Scratch Kitchen, Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant, Bravo, Bar Louie, Wasabi Lounge, Red Robin, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. The Hilton Garden Inn and the Brookfield Conference Center sit next to the mall.

At the groundbreaking, Mayor Steve Ponto pointed to that corner as proof the approach works. WISN reported his comment that the convention center had helped renew energy on the south side of the mall and that he hopes the Public Market will do the same for the north side.

The Movie Tavern and WhirlyBall sites, which FOX6 describes as butting up against the mall, are not part of the city's purchase agreement. The block that already brings people in at night is left out of the deal.

The North End Broke Ground Oct. 10

The other end is the former Boston Store site at 95 N. Moorland Road. The building has been torn down. The Journal Sentinel announced the ceremony for 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, as a free event open to the public. WISN confirmed that evening that ground had been broken.

Here is what is being built:

• The building. A two-story structure of about 54,000 square feet with hot food vendors, grocery-style vendors and Wisconsin handmade goods. Upstairs there is meeting space, plus two bars and outdoor space, according to Visit Brookfield CEO Nancy Justman in the Waukesha Freeman.
• The owners. The project is a public-private partnership between the city, Visit Brookfield and Irgens Development. The city is a funding partner, and Visit Brookfield will own and operate the market. Before the land could be sold, Irgens had to split off a 1.3-acre lot for Visit Brookfield. The Freeman reported that the project will be financed through a tax incremental finance district.
• The tenants. Visit Brookfield told FOX6 that about 85% of the tenant space is already booked, and that the team studied roughly 45 other public markets around the country. No individual vendors have been named publicly.
• The opening. Earlier reporting aimed for late fall 2027. October coverage moved that back. FOX6 now gives the first quarter of 2028, and WISN says spring 2028.

Justman described the project to WISN as "an opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners to really just get a start." Visit Brookfield expects the market to draw one million visitors a year. For comparison, CBL's own page estimates about 1.37 million annual visits for all of Brookfield Square in 2025. That means one new building on a former department store lot is expected to bring in close to as many visitors as the entire mall did last year.

The Middle Is What the City Optioned

The space between those two ends is where the Oct. 6 vote applies. The city's press release says the agreement gives Brookfield the right to buy part of the mall but does not require it to. During a review period, the city will do its due diligence and work with potential development partners. It will buy only if a redevelopment plan turns out to be workable. Paying for any purchase or partnership would take further action by the Common Council.

The Freeman reported the price as $28 million and listed which parcels are in and which are out.

TMJ4 summed up the optioned area as running "from JCPenney all the way to the movie theater," with a small area near the theater left out. The station said that area includes interior stores such as Express and Bath & Body Works. JCPenney is still open. Its store page lists current hours for the Brookfield location.

Look at the table again. The parts of the mall that were already rebuilt are excluded, and so is the part being built now. The city's option covers the interior, where TMJ4 reported more dark storefronts and closed signs and FOX6 noted an empty food court.

The Tenants Inside the Line

That puts the businesses within the optioned area in an uncertain spot. TMJ4 reported that the city could not say what would happen to the rest of the mall or its tenants if redevelopment involved tearing down part of the building. The city said the review period has to run first. City Attorney Jenna Merten told the Freeman the city is using that time to find developers and talk with them. The Freeman added that the city has not decided what it would do with the property.

Bubolz's Merle Norman sits next to the movie theater, just outside the sale area.

The option also affects the Public Market, even though the market is a separate project on its own lot. FOX6 reported that Visit Brookfield is going ahead at full speed but said its plans for the outdoor spaces may change after the city's announcement. Visit Brookfield speculated that the mall could be turned into mixed-use space. Brookfield's community development director, Dan Ertl, told the Freeman that the land around the market is planned for an "experiential retailer." He did not name it.

What Brookfield Square Looks Like This Winter

For the rest of 2026, the mall will look much as it does now, because nothing changes hands until the review period ends. The Movie Tavern and WhirlyBall sites are outside the deal. So are the Chick-fil-A and U.S. Bank parcels. The mall directory still lists Cooper's Hawk, H&M, Barnes & Noble, Bar Louie, Uncle Julio's, Lou Malnati's and JCPenney, among others. The fencing at the north end around the former Boston Store site is the one visible change.

These are the dates to watch. The review period is counted from the Oct. 6 vote, and the Freeman gives its length.

1. About Dec. 5, 2026. The 60-day due diligence period ends, counting from Oct. 6.
2. About Jan. 4, 2027. The deadline moves here if the city uses its 30-day extension.
3. A later Common Council vote. Financing for a purchase or a public-private partnership would need further council action.
4. First quarter or spring 2028. The Public Market's current opening target.

The city has named contacts for questions. Development inquiries go to Dan Ertl at 262-796-6695, and other questions go to Jenna Merten at 262-787-3525.

If the city goes through with the purchase, the stretch between JCPenney and the movie theater will be the last major part of Brookfield Square without a set plan, with redeveloped space at the south end and the Public Market rising at the north.

Questions about what a redevelopment like this could mean for the streets around Moorland and Bluemound Roads are where zoning, land use and long-term property value start to overlap. Isaac Beckley follows that kind of change closely in his work with Brookfield homeowners and developers. If you want to talk through how the mall's next chapter fits into your own plans, Isaac Beckley is glad to help. Let's Connect.