As many of us know, Brookfield is special.
This is confirmed by the City of Brookfield’s website, www.cityofbrookfield.com. The 2000 census shows that city residents are older, more educated, and have higher median incomes than those nationwide. Plus our homes are of a higher median value.
Other facts: Brookfield has the third highest equalized property value ($5.9 billion) in Wisconsin for its 39,800 residents. Milwaukee and Madison have higher property values and much larger populations (592,765 and 221, 735, respectively).
Many people complain about the traffic on the city’s roadways. Well, could it be due to the city’s daytime population of 75,000? Or to over 2000 businesses, 6 million square feet of corporate office space and 5 million square feet of industrial space in the city?
We’ve all noticed more and more commercial development. Over a ten year period (1996-2005) Brookfield added 4.1 million square feet of non-residential development on 164 properties. Thankfully, the city claims there are only 34 sites (with 258 acres) or about 2.5 million square feet yet to develop (based on “average development patterns”).
Brookfield is considered an “Edge City” to Milwaukee. Joel Galleau’s book, Living on the Edge: Life on the New Frontier, describes the concept. “Edge cities are perceived as ‘one place’ that ‘has it all’ – from jobs to shopping to entertainment.” Other requirements include:
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At least 5 million square feet of leasable office space;
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600,000 square feet (or more) of leasable retail space;
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More jobs than bedrooms.
Let’s hope one of the 2020 Master Plan’s goals – “for Brookfield to continue to lead the region in managed growth” is met.
