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A two-story public market is proposed for the former Boston Store site at Brookfield Square
A two-story public market is in the works for Brookfield's former Boston Store site on the north end of Brookfield Square mall.
Irgens development firm is working with Visit Brookfield and the city to create the Brookfield Public Market as a major tenant of its current development plan for the 16-acre site it owns at 15875 W. Bluemound Road.
Irgens purchased the property in 2021 and has since razed the site. The Boston Store closed in 2018 after nearly 60 years.
The plan would rely on approval and creation of a new tax incremental financing district, as well as the expansion of an existing TIF district, according to Dan Ertl, director of community development for the City of Brookfield.
The Milwaukee Business Journal first reported the concept, which was shared at a city meeting June 11.
The market would include at least 12 food and retail vendors, a bar, space for private events and public seating. An "independent, iconic grocer and a Milwaukee-area cultural group" are in talks to become a major tenant of the space, Tom Irgens, executive vice president of Irgens, said in a news release from the developer.
Visit Brookfield would purchase about 2 acres of the property from Irgens to become owner and operator of the public market and gathering space, according to the release.
Feedback from a feasibility study and tours of public markets around the country over the past year cemented that a public market is exactly the venue needed for the space, Nancy Justman, CEO of Visit Brookfield, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"We heard loud and clear that (residents) are looking for a community gathering space," Justman said. Residents had also voiced in surveys that they're looking for more locally-owned options, she said.
The public market could serve as an incubator for smaller operators, like those with food trucks, to have a home base, according to Justman.
The public market will need to go through a number of public meetings to gain city approval and secure tax incremental financing.
First the plans must be submitted to the city for review and approval by various city committees and the Brookfield Common Council, and a Joint Review Board. Irgens also must make a formal request for tax incremental financing.
A TIF district would create a revenue stream to help pay for the market and improvements to aging water utilities, according to Dan Ertl, Brookfield's director of community development.
The public market could give Brookfield Square the economic jolt needed, he said.
"For our taxpayer, it means it will maintain, and over time increase, the commercial tax base to help offset the tax burden for residents, Ertl told the Journal Sentinel.
"It's really prime land that deserves some really interesting businesses," City of Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto said.
"We're trying to come up with a proposal that doesn't encounter significant opposition from the mall itself, yet offers the kinds of things that will be attractive to residents of not just Brookfield but the surrounding area," Ponto said.
After purchasing the site in 2021, Irgens shared plans for a hotel, apartment building and office buildings. But the initial concept was met with resistance and challenges, including the aging watermain utilities.
The new plans, announced in early 2025, include a two-story medical office building called Bluemound Medical Commons.
Bridget Fogarty covers Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be contacted at bfogarty@
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Public market with food, retail and a bar eyed for Brookfield Square
