Two rival redevelopment proposals for 4000 W. Brown Deer Road: mixed‑use building vs. adaptive reuse and public market square

Two development teams presented competing concepts Tuesday for the village‑owned property at 4000 West Brown Deer Road: a mixed‑use plan that would replace the existing bank building with a five‑story apartment and retail project, and a reuse plan that would convert the existing structure to class‑A self‑storage and create a village market square.

The board had previously authorized solicitation of redevelopment concepts for the site near the Riverside Landing/Target project. Nate (village staff) introduced the presentations and said both proposers provided site plans, renderings and financial analyses from the village’s adviser at Baird; financial requests and negotiation details were discussed in closed session following the public presentations.

Mitch (representing the out‑of‑state developer working on the Riverside Landing extension) presented a five‑story podium‑parking building the team described as about 195 units with roughly 123 interior parking spaces, about 200 surface spaces and a 6,000‑square‑foot restaurant pad. The proponent said the design puts an open, covered breezeway and an internal courtyard at the intersection to create a destination for events such as farmers markets, concerts and community gatherings. Mitch said the proposal would “snuggle that building up to the right of way” to create a downtown‑style presence at the corner.

ICAP Development representatives — Jared Protaski, Bruno Haney and Scott Welsh — presented an alternative that preserves the existing roughly 82,000‑square‑foot bank structure and converts it to class‑A self‑storage. ICAP said reusing the building would free land for a new public market square and gateway features. Jared described the market square concept as intentionally designed to draw visitors and provide space for farmers markets, live music, car shows and year‑round programming; ICAP said its plan included provisions to make vendor access and parking convenient.

Both teams tied their concepts to the larger Riverside Landing momentum: the Riverside developer noted Target has closed on its site and construction is underway; ICAP said the growing multifamily demand in the area supports both storage demand and activation of a village gathering space.

Trustees asked detailed questions about parking, operations and long‑term maintenance of a proposed green or market square. ICAP said its preference is for the village to own and maintain the market square after development; staff said maintenance and ownership would be part of negotiations and potential redevelopment agreements.

Because both proposals include requests for public financial assistance, the board recessed into closed session under Wisconsin’s closed‑session statute to discuss negotiation strategy and terms. Staff and the board will resume public deliberations and any final decisions after closed‑session negotiations and financial review with the village’s consultants.