After months of collecting feedback from residents and the village board, Brookfield’s contracted firm for the project has finished a feasibility study for a potential community center at Ehlert Park complete with a gym, a fitness room, community spaces and even a rooftop terrace.
While Brookfield has not formally engaged any firms for work that would culminate in the construction or opening of a community center, the final presentation shown May 27 to the village board included renderings of the exterior and interior of the building and detailed information about the cost to build the center, expected membership pricing models and possible operations cost recovery over the first five years of the center’s lifespan.
The renderings, created by Williams Architects, show a center with tall glass windows and a minimalist, angular design that would face Shields Avenue from its location at Ehlert Park south of the existing fire station.
Travis Tranbarger, a senior project manager at PROS Consulting, one of Williams’ subcontractors for the study, told trustees at the committee of the whole meeting that 86% of the center’s revenue would be projected to come from admission fees, either in the form of monthly or yearly membership fees or at-the-door charges for non-members.
Slides shown at the meeting suggest membership fees of $30 monthly for Brookfield residents and $40 for non-residents, with discounts for seniors 65 or older and for families with bulk memberships.
For a yearlong membership, the hypothetical revenue model shows individual residents could pay $324, or $27 per month, while non-resident access could cost $432, or $36 per month.
A day pass could cost $5 for residents and $10 for non-residents, while a 10-visit punch card could cost $20 for residents and $30 for non-residents.
“We are estimating that members are about 85% residents, and 15% non-resident. This could change as time goes on,” Tranbarger said. “The fees that we came to are within market rate and, in some regards, lower than the current market rate. One of the important things to note, too, is, Brookfield has relatively lower fees across the board with current services, so we felt it was important to not take a huge leap from where you are now to where you may be when the facility opens with fees.”
He said the proposed cost recovery model — where revenues would be projected to pass 100% of the center’s operating costs in its fifth year — assumes the village would raise membership and admission fees by “at least 4%” each year. The center would be expected to recover about 93% of operating costs in its first year, with that figure increasing year over year until its operations are self-sustaining.
The presentation said the center, if Brookfield pursues it, could be expected to operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. The center would open 356 days a week, closing on Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as for one week over the summer for deep cleaning.
The center would have 123 parking spots, 68 to the east and 55 to the west, with two on each side featuring accessible parking.
Kim Nigro, a senior project architect at Williams, said the community center would likely cost about $27 million to build, including $2 million of escalation costs if construction starts in 2027 on top of $25 million related to the construction itself.
Based on Williams’ community engagement, the presentation showed more than 60% of surveyed residents were willing to pay an additional property tax of about $270 per year over 20 years so Brookfield could pay back the bonds it would have to take out for construction.
Andy Dogan, a managing principal at Williams, emphasized that many aspects of the potential center, from its location to its design, come from the Brookfield community.
“The building program and the design come directly from those features and amenities that the community told us they were looking for. This is not Williams Architects saying, ‘This is what we think would be great in a rec center.’ It really is driven by this engagement process that we’ve been going through with your community over the last few months,” Dogan said. “We are seeing a lot of support. We are seeing a lot of interest, and a very strong financial case.”
It remains to be seen if Brookfield staff and the village board will decide to pursue the community center as presented to the village.
