Posted: July 13, 2010 |(14) Comments

To big box or not to big box?

That is a question for the residents to answer.

Plan Commissioners on Monday didn't go easy on Ryan Cos. representative Tony Barranco, who was pitching plans for a 136,000-square-foot Target and other retail development at the former Quebecor World printing plant site at 12821 W. Bluemound Road.

They called the company's proposal a "significant deviation" from the city's various master plans for site. At least one of those plans included feedback from residents who made it clear they didn't want to see any development of more than 70,000 square feet in the area near 124th Street and Bluemound Road.

"This would be double that," Commissioner Jennifer Donze said. "This would not be compatible with the neighborhood."

Another sticking point is a residential component. The Ryan Cos. plan doesn't have one; the city's plan requires one at that site.

Plenty of questions

Barranco conceded the company's plan calls for a retail anchor larger than what is outlined in the city's planning documents and doesn't include multifamily housing.

Because of the dynamics of the site - wetlands to the south, a single-family neighborhood to the west and road access - Barranco said multifamily housing won't fit. As a tradeoff, he said, the plan incorporates 6 acres of park and open space, not counting a detention pond.

As for the size of the store, city planners and commissioners asked why the Target couldn't be two stories tall. Barranco said Target representatives only use that type of building in dense urban areas.

The proposed Brookfield Target would sell groceries and general merchandise, and would have a pharmacy. The store would be located on the southern portion of the site.

The three proposed retail facilities along Bluemound Road, in front of the Target store, could include a bank, a sit-down restaurant or a specialty store.

Commissioner Kevin Wahlgren asked for a more creative site plan. He said the one presented looked like something from the 1960s - a big box surrounded by a sea of asphalt.

Commissioner and Alderman Gary Mahkorn said it is hard to get beyond the big-box concept. "This is a huge deviation" from the city's plans, he said.

Alderwoman Lisa Mellone, who represents District 7, where the site is located, said the city can't reject what's in its planning documents.

"There is a lot of objection," she said of the Target plan.

A financial benefit

The proposal didn't quite strike out, however.

Brookfield planners looked at the fiscal impact of the 25-acre project on the city and determined it would generate about $111,000 more in revenue than it would cost to provide city services to the development. There also is environmental contamination at the site. The site, which has been vacant since 2006, contains underground fuel tanks, contaminated soils, multiple forms of asbestos and abandoned wells.

Because of those problems, city staff asked commissioners whether they would be willing to bend a bit from the city's plan and allow a big-box store on the property - particularly in light of a recent history of failed redevelopment and reuse efforts of a brownfield site by several parties.

Ryan Cos. estimates the cleanup to cost $1.1 million. The city has obtained a $100,000 state grant to contribute to the cleanup efforts.

"Maybe we can swallow a big box store to get rid of a brownfield site," Commissioner Paul Wartman said.

Another consideration is the current economic climate. Some commissioners questioned whether the city's plan for a mixed use development in the area is a concept that may never be realized.

"Our plan may not work, it may never work," said Commissioner and Alderman Mark Nelson. "It was the ideal."

He could support the Target plan, if the public supports it.

"This is going to be a significant development," he said, one that doesn't require any financial assistance from the city.

And while the city might not want a big box, he said, it doesn't want what's there now - an eyesore.

They all agreed they need to hear from the neighbors. The resident feedback for the planning documents is about four years old and maybe things have changes since then, officials said.

The commission didn't act on the plan Monday.

Ryan Cos. likely will ask city planners to petition the commission so it can go directly to the neighbors to get feedback on the plan. Because of the city's planning process, the company couldn't go to the neighbors before its initial presentation to the commission.