The bustling Blemound Rd. retail corridor in Brookfield, Wisconsin is receiving an invigorating boost. Calhoun Crossing (at the corner of Bluemound Rd. and Calhoun Rd.) will include 107,000 sq. ft. of retail space to serve the growing shopping needs of surrounding Waukesha and Milwaukee counties.
Project developer HSA Commercial Real Estate and its partner Innovative Capital Advisors (ICA) selected PREMIER Design + Build, LLC, with headquarters in Itasca, IL, to construct the project, and recently celebrated the groundbreaking of this much-anticipated retail complex.
In an effort to be environmentally conscious and cost-efficient, Calhoun Crossing will be a redevelopment of an existing shopping center formerly named Plaza 173, Premier said in a news release. This newly energized development will include several premier retailers: Fresh Thyme Farmers Market will be an anchor store along with Men’s Wearhouse and Kesslers Diamonds. HSA Commercial will announce the other project anchors soon.
Calhoun Crossing will feature a new, primarily brick facade and metal paneling. New mechanicals will be added as well as 4 new dock positions. While the 107,000-sq. ft. space will be modernized, the existing superstructure and roof will be reused.
“Calhoun Crossing represents the future of retail developments in the Midwest,” said Alec Zocher, executive vice president of PREMIER Design + Build, LLC. “We see it as a community builder. It’s a reflection of what shoppers want, a destination, meeting place and natural evolution of Brookfield’s thriving business community. We’re particularly happy that it reinforces the commitment PREMIER has to adaptive re-use and green initiatives.”
“I grew up 2.5 miles away from here in Elm Grove,” said Paul Farrell, Waukesha County Executive and groundbreaking attendee. “I’ve watched Brookfield and Bluemound Road expand constantly as I’ve grown older. We talk about the Magnificent Mile in Chicago … we’ve got 2.5 miles that are going to be blowing it out of the water here [in Brookfield].”
Madison-based Capitol Bank will be providing the financing, and TOA Architects will be the project’s architect.
Brookfield Mayor Steven Ponto said he has “a lot of confidence that this will be a first-rate project.”
People of note who attended the groundbreaking included: Alec Zocher of PREMIER Design + Build Group, LLC; Mayor Ponto; Tim Blum, executive vice-president of HSA; Paul Farrell; and Tom Reedy, ICA principal.
