Coming soon: Trader Joe's

Brookfield - The last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for Trader Joe's.

The city of Brookfield Common Council voted Tuesday night to approve the construction of a 12,500 square foot specialty grocer building at Underwood Crossing, a shopping center located on the 12000 block of Bluemound Road.

All that's left is for the developer to obtain building permits and construction can begin on the store. This would be the third Trader Joe's in the state, on top of the Bayshore and Madison locations.

"It expands our shopping venues for Brookfield and surrounding residents," said Dan Ertl, director of community development for the city, in a phone interview before the meeting. "It creates economic activity on our West border, it creates jobs and adds a nationally-renowned retailer to what Brookfield can offer."

The Common Council approved the permit without discussion.

Concerns were raised at the last Plan Commission meeting regarding architectural appeal of the south side of the building, which is the service side that includes the loading dock. It is also the side that faces Target, which is currently under construction at Underwood Crossing.

Over the course of the last few days, representatives from Ryan Companies have developed a revised plan for the architecture of the south facing wall, adding brick accents, a wall light accent and additional trees. Ertl said the aesthetic concerns were satisfied.

Trader Joe's will have a relatively typical commercial facade with taupe cast walls and reddish brick. The parking lot will accommodate 140 cars for Trader Joe's and a future building.