ground in the spring.” A PLAN FOR EXPANSION New growth in Brown Deer, with the expectation of more to come, has followed the trajectory envisioned in the Village’s Master Plan, first promulgated in 2010, and updated in 2023. “It focused on utilizing our original village, which is an area just to the south and west of the intersection of Brown Deer Road and Green Bay Road,” Piotrowski explains. “It was the historic area of settlement in the community, where you have buildings from the turn of the last century: houses from the 1920s, a stagecoach inn from the late 1800s that was turned into a bar and restaurant. Our plan identified that neighborhood as the one to emphasize and build around. It was the only place that you could call Brown Deer’s downtown.” Redevelopment projects back then included redoing the streets, adding sidewalks and street lights, and moving the Village’s public works facility from the area and relocating it, which opened up land for housing, businesses, and green space. “We now have 134 apartment units; we have a new public green space called Community Square; and a community building that we’re looking to lease to a local bar/restaurant operator,” Piotrowski says. “Then, we had another location, an old church and school building from the 1930s that had fallen on hard times. It was dilapidated, so we worked with a local developer to raze it and put in townhomes and apartments – 175 units on that site.” RIDING THE WAVE Now, the Village continues to build upon that earlier momentum with plans to expand into surrounding areas. A major project contributing to the fulfillment of its growth agenda was a $20 million re-configuring of the intersection at Brown Deer and Green Bay Roads. “It was a freeway-style overpass with on-ramps,” Piotrowski recounts.“We worked with the Department of Transportation, and we were able to get them to put the intersection at grade, which opened up land 75 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 03 BROWN DEER, WI
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