After village trustees previewed potential locations in October, Brookfield is continuing to pursue a potential indoor community center in town, and village officials would like your feedback on where it goes and which amenities are available.
On Jan. 22, the village is set to host an open house workshop for residents “to discuss and discover the possibilities” of what a community center could provide. At 6 p.m., representatives from Williams Architects and Hitchcock Design Group, the two firms Brookfield has hired for the project, will give a 15- to 20-minute presentation reviewing the process so far, including the results of a feasibility study.
At 6:30 p.m., residents will be able to travel between interactive stations where they can learn about and give feedback on specific potential sites, core elements of programming and ideas for the building’s layout.
In October, while presenting to the village board, representatives from Williams named five potential sites in Brookfield that were under consideration to host the site: Madlin Park, Ehlert Park, the St. Barbara Parish Center, St. Nikola Serbian Orthodox Church and the parking lot behind Brookfield Village Hall.
Parks and Recreation Director Luke Gundersen said residents will get the chance to review each potential site, including the hypothetical layout for the center in each location, at the workshop.
“The community open house is going to be more of a narrow focus on some of the locations,” he said. “It’s going to be very interactive. We’re looking for a lot of feedback and preferences on the potential sites.”
He said each layout will include gym space and a multi-purpose room alongside space that could be used for whatever programming residents are interested in.
Brookfield hosted a similar open house in October. Gundersen said all kinds of feedback are welcome at the upcoming open house, as they were at the previous one.
“With any kind of public meeting, you always get either positive or negative [responses], and we encourage both because we want to hear what the residents are saying,” he said. “We do encourage everyone to come out and help. This is a great opportunity for them to help guide the process and also provide their feedback.”
