The vacant former Toys “R” Us store property south of Brookfield Square could be redeveloped into a 231-unit luxury apartment project.
If approved, the development would bring high-density residential near Brookfield Square, adding what the city says is an “unmet use” for the area that will create a customer base for neighboring commercial uses.
The vacant former Toys “R” Us store building at 355 South Moorland Road, would be torn down to make way for two new buildings, according to plans filed with the city by Mount Prospect, Illinois-based Wingspan Development Group LLC. The buildings would house all 231 units, and would be connected by a sky bridge.
Site amenities would include a pool, fitness center, yoga studio, community clubhouse, pet spa and “creative working spaces,” Wingspan wrote in a letter to the city.
It would be build next to the Sheraton Hotel and the new 168-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel and attached 54,000-square-foot Brookfield Conference Center.
Wingspan also pointed out that housing is “one of the key uses” cited in the city’s comprehensive plan that doesn’t exist in the Brookfield Square area. The comprehensive plan calls for a “fully mixed-use, interactive, urban infill district” in the general area. Most other uses identified in that plan, including retail, entertainment, office, housing, hospitality, convention, medical and public, already exist or are under construction, Wingspan noted.
“The abundance of retail and dining options in Brookfield Square Mall, employment opportunities along Executive Way, and adjacency to the highway create a highly desirable location that will draw new residents to Brookfield and provide a modern high-end housing option for existing residents seeking a more urban feel,” Wingspan wrote.
Similarly, the city notes several of these benefits in a public notice. The benefits, according to the city, include redevelopment of a difficult site “toward a currently unmet use recommended in the neighborhood plan,” increase in tax revenue and a significant increase in customer base supporting the evening and weekend market for Brookfield Square.
The project is slated for a public hearing on Tuesday evening. It was scheduled following authorization from the Brookfield Plan Commission back in May.