Amid troubling economic times on both the national and local levels, three business and property owners along Broadway Avenue in Brookfield are investing in the hope that a turnaround may be in the offing.
The most visible example of change is the work being done at 9201 Broadway Ave., which is at the southwest corner of Broadway and Maple. The building that most recently housed the Euro Restaurant was purchased in August 2008 and is being gutted in order to transform the interior into a dental office.
Vic Poskus, who bought the building last year, said he is following a formula that has been successful for him in Chicago where he has done similar conversions.
“Right now the economy is terrible and if you try to rent it, nobody will take it,” Poskus said. “Only a doctor could rent it. Otherwise it would be a disaster.”
Poskus said that the 1,400 square feet corner building was too small for a restaurant, and that when he’s completed the dental office build out, he’ll be able to attract a tenant. Right now, Poskus said he does not have a tenant lined up.
While the renovations at 9201 Broadway Ave. point toward a possible recovery in that area, the building’s sale also gives an indication of the state of the commercial real estate market in the past year.
Poskus purchased the corner building in August 2008 for $294,000. In 2004, the building sold for $357,000.
Next door to the west, another new business is on the way and should be in place by Memorial Day weekend.
In March, the storefront at 9207 Broadway Ave. was purchased by a company called For the Birds Inc., a business is owned by longtime Riverside resident Keith Brennan.
Brennan’s business, which specializes in bird-related items such as feeders, houses and yard decorations (it does not sell birds, however), has been located for two years in the Village Market shopping center on LaGrange Road in LaGrange Park.
Brennan, who was previously in the moving and storage business, thought the LaGrange Park location looked promising, but it hasn’t panned out.
“We’re kind of tucked back and weren’t seen,” Brennan said. “Foot traffic was not that good.”
He was also leasing the LaGrange Park location, but owns the new one in Brookfield. In addition, being located so close to S.E. Gross Middle School and a couple of restaurants could provide the kind of foot traffic Brennan said he’s looking for.
Further east on Broadway, improvements are in the works at Giron’s Italian Restaurant located at 9110 Broadway Ave. in the former Fingerhut Bakery building.
In April, the Brookfield village board approved a zoning variance and a new liquor license for the restaurant. The eatery will add a fenced-in outdoor seating area in what is an underused parking lot to the east of the restaurant.
The new seating area will be accessed from the restaurant through a new door that will be located on the east wall of the building and will be enclosed by an open 6 foot fence. The new liquor license will allow alcohol to be served in the outdoor café area.
Michael Giron told the Landmark on Thursday that the restaurant hoped to have the new seating area ready for use “in another month or so” after it finalizes plans for the fence and door with the village’s building department.
“The parking lot itself is not very apt for parking,” Giron said. “You can only get four or five cars on it, so it made no sense. We decided let’s see if we can work out something with the village so we can use it for something else.”
Giron’s has called the corner of Broadway and Monroe home for just over two years.