The redevelopment of a mostly-vacant Brown Deer shopping center is moving forward with the purchase of the property by its developer— and its anchor tenant, Target.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has purchased a 9.6-acre site located generally at 9020 N. Green Bay Road for $7 million, according to state property records.
The site, located northeast of West Brown Deer and North Green Bay Roads, is currently occupied by a nearly 300,000-square-foot retail center that’s vacant aside from a Michaels craft store and Bath & Body Works.
Late last year, Nebraska-based Woodsonia Real Estate submitted plans to demolish the 300,000-square-foot building and replace it with a new 128,000-square-foot retail space, which will be occupied by Target.
The Target project is part of a broader redevelopment that Woodsonia has proposed for the prominent 23-acre site, which the developer received municipal approval for in December.
To the north of the Target, Woodsonia is proposing a four-story building with three floors of market-rate apartments and 21,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. Plans estimate 124 apartment units, though an exact figure is dependent on a market study.
Kitchen & Kocktails, an existing restaurant on a commercial outlot on the western end of the site, would remain and be joined with three new retail sites. Tenants have not been named for these potential spaces, but plans show potential for restaurants with drive-thrus and other small retail spaces of various sizes.
Village documents indicate that the new Target store would be the first phase of the redevelopment project. Woodsonia and Target did not respond to requests for comment on a potential timeline for the project.
The development site is bordered to the north by more retail space that is vacant aside from a Pick ‘n Save store. There are currently no redevelopment plans for that portion of the shopping center, though city officials hope redevelopment at the southern end of the site will encourage investment to the north, city documents say.
A New York-based company called Namdar Realty Group, which owns properties globally, owned both properties before selling the southern 23-acre property to Woodsonia last week for $11 million. Woodsonia then sold a 9.6-acre portion of that property to Target Corp.
The development site is bordered to the south by a vacant office building, which the Village of Brown Deer is planning on demolishing later this year and is currently evaluating two proposals to redevelop the property.
