Wauwatosa-based commercial real estate development firm Irgens has a contract to purchase the 66-acre Ruby Farm site west of Calhoun Road between Bluemound Road and I-94 in Brookfield, said chief executive officer, president and manager Mark Irgens. He declined to disclose the sale price.
The property is owned by a subsidiary of BMO Harris. The bank took control of the property in 2010 from Brookfield-based V.K. Development Corp.
V.K. was the master developer for a $250 million mixed-use project, called Percheron Square, at the site that included plans for office space, retail space, a hotel, multi-family residential units and a health club. But that project never moved forward and it died during the Great Recession, leading to the bank taking back the property.
Irgens said his firm is formulating plans for a mixed use development of the property, but no details have been determined. The project will likely have retail space along Bluemound Road and office space along I-94, he said. The project also could include a health care component, a residential component and a senior living component.
“We are going through our due diligence and planning,” Irgens said. “We’re trying to determine what would be the highest and best uses.”
The site is the last remaining large undeveloped property in Brookfield between Bluemound Road and I-94.
“It’s a good opportunity for our company,” Irgens said.
Irgens expects to close on the deal in the third quarter of this year and hopes to obtain city approvals for the development next year.
