Brookfield trustees have had the first of what may be many discussions on the future of the Brookfield Theater building that the village recently acquired.
At their committee of the whole meeting on Sept. 23, trustees and village staff invited Brookfield residents to give public comment on what they hope to see go in at the Brookfield Theater building, which the village bought early last month. Staff started the discussion by explaining the current state of the building before turning it over to public commenters, who largely spoke in support of ideas for community or arts spaces that could draw out-of-towners to patronize other businesses in downtown Brookfield.
While the board did not take action, Village President Michael Garvey said at the end of the discussion that village staff had a good sense of what public commenters wanted, although there may be other residents who could not attend the meeting. He said staff would take the public’s feedback and bring the discussion back at a future committee of the whole meeting, likely with a formal request for proposals from interested developers.
To start the discussion, Village Manager Tim Wiberg explained the disused state of the theater building. Since the original theater closed in 1952, the space has been used as an office as well as storage space, but Wiberg said a new owner would need to put in the time to rehabilitate the building.
Community Development Director Libby Popovic gave trustees a virtual tour of the Brookfield Theater building’s interior. This image shows the immediate entryway. | Courtesy of the Village of Brookfield 
This picture shows the open spaces that have been divided within the building. The door in the back leads to the kitchen and entryway. | Courtesy of the Village of Brookfield 
The theater building’s attic, built on top of preexisting roofs, can be seen here. Popovic said the center pillar is held up by a pile of scrap tiles underneath it. | Courtesy of the Village of Brookfield
“We did have a structural engineer take a look at it. He verified that there are four walls and that the walls are probably relatively secure, but I don’t want to give anybody the idea that the building is [in] moving condition, because it’s not,” Wiberg said at the meeting. “The building is very dissected and very split up, and it’s going to take a fair amount of work and effort to get that building into some type of usable format.”
Using pictures, Community Development Director Libby Popovic walked trustees and the audience through the building’s interior space. From the entrance, she said, there’s a small office in the back and a kitchen and bathroom off to the right. From that kitchen, the theater widens into two open spaces with a small balcony overlooking them. There is also a staircase in the entryway that leads to the balcony; Popovic said, as far as she knew, the stairs were the theater’s original staircase leading to the theater space. There is also a staircase leading up to a deck and then an attic above the original roof now that additional roofs have been put in over time.
Behind the garage, Popovic said there is “an underground cavern” partially filled with water. Jeff Kepler, an architect at Dewberry who was at the meeting, said the pit could have been used for storage space or even ventilation for the original theater.
Public comment
After hearing about the state of the property, the village board opened the floor to public commenters to give their thoughts. Some commenters spoke at length with a specific vision for the property while others only briefly spoke to suggest what kind of business they’d like to see go in.
John Dumas, of the Share Food Share Love food pantry and Glaser Players community theater troupe, spoke for 15 minutes about his group’s plan to restore the theater to its roots by turning into a theater space. The group would use the space to rehearse and host performances, a first for Brookfield; Dumas said they would also aim to partner with other groups who need a space, especially those focused on the arts, as well as with local businesses for concessions.
Dumas and other members of the Glaser Players made one of the two offers on the property when it was up for sale earlier this year; in an interview, he told the Landmark the group is still hopeful about buying the Brookfield Theater from the village so they can create a permanent space for community theater in Brookfield.
Other public commenters who spoke threw out a number of ideas for the space, including a puppet theater, a space for musical lessons and performances, a warehouse for residents to store and exchange recyclable materials, a second museum, a music venue and more. Despite the breadth of ideas, most speakers emphasized their support for some kind of arts and community space that could serve children, adults and seniors alike and draw new people to Brookfield.
After public commenters said their piece, the trustees discussed their thoughts on the property, both in terms of what they would like to see go in there and of the village’s fiscal responsibility to select a business that will contribute to Brookfield’s downtown tax increment financing district, allowing the village to continue to improve the area. The board members agreed they were excited to see the property be developed and become a new draw for downtown Brookfield.
“I also had a sigh of relief that we were able to [buy] this, because it’s something I’ve looked at and walked past a number of times and hoped that it wouldn’t demolished,” Trustee Katie Kaluzny said. “Being able to acquire that property and listen to all of you and hear what people would like to see, and then [being] able to move forward with that direction, is really exciting.”
