Wauwatosa to redevelop 15-acre Boston Store Mayfair space acquired last year

Wauwatosa officials want to redevelop the former Boston Store property at Mayfair Mall and zoning allows for mixed-use projects like retail and housing.

Wauwatosa officials announced Tuesday they intend to redevelop the former Boston Store property at Mayfair Mall  acquired last year.

Under the current plan, the 15-acre lot will be redeveloped “to its full value,” Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride told The Daily Reporter. The property is zoned for multiple possible mixed-use projects which could involve demolishing the former department store.

The city’s Community Development Authority (CDA) bought the lot for $3.9 million in 2022 to take control of the property’s destiny, McBride said. The owner of the space (Bon-Ton Stores) put the store up for auction after it filed for bankruptcy back in 2018. The owner experienced two failed offers from outside bidders, so the city of Wauwatosa jumped on the opportunity, McBride said.

Some companies have reached out with interest to rebuild or rehab the former department store, but McBride said he wasn’t able to divulge which ones because the city was still negotiating with Mayfair Mall owner Brookfield Properties.

The building could be used in its current state, be remodeled, partially demolished, or even completely knocked down while a company builds anew over the foundation, he added.

Because the property sits on a C2 General Commercial zone, there are no height restrictions for a principal building, Wauwatosa’s code showed. This opens opportunities for future housing projects, McBride said.

“All options are open from a construction viewpoint,” McBride said. “If the plan comes into fruition, construction companies will be happy for the opportunity.”

A Wauwatosa assessment valued the property to be worth $11.8 million in 2022. However, a separate assessment by the Milwaukee County Treasurer valued the vacant store at $12.1 million, according to the Milwaukee County Web Portal.

“The owners didn’t get the price they wanted in the previous two auctions. They put it up again and at that point, because the City of Wauwatosa wanted to control what took place at Mayfair, we bought the 15-and-a-half acres there,” McBride said.

Now, the city will work with Brookfield Properties to redevelop it into something else, McBride said. City officials were open to retail and housing options, but whether they would demolish the building or not was unclear. Brookfield Properties was talking to an anchor tenant to decide what to do with the building.

“Everything’s on the table, but it would be up to the anchor tenant and Brookfield Properties to decide” whether to keep the building, renovate it or demolish it, McBride said. The mayor said his goal with buying the former department store was to maximize its value for the city’s tax base.

A developer’s agreement between Brookfield Properties and the city had to be taken off the Common Council Agenda while parties held final negotiations, Wauwatosa Communications Administrator Eva Ennamorato told The Daily Reporter. The item will return when they finish negotiations, and then the council will decide whether to approve a developer’s agreement and start the redevelopment process.

It’s likely the next developments to come out of the former Boston Store will be reviewed in the city’s Plan Commission, Design Review Board or both, city officials said. There will be public comment sessions during Plan Commission and other committee meetings. The city doesn’t take public comment at full Common Council meetings unless a zoning change is involved.

“There will be many opportunities for public input,” McBride said. “This isn’t a process that will happen once and be over, there will be multiple development proposals on different parts of the 15 acres. They will take place at different times.”

Chicago-based analytics firm SB Friedman Development Advisors released a study on Feb. 7 that said recent population growth was “faster than expected” and average household sizes increased from 2010 to 2020. The study found 92% of workers lived outside Wauwatosa and the number of people who live in work in the municipality increased by 550 from 2016 to 2023.

Mayfair Mall previously was owned by Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. before Brookfield Properties’ Acquistion. The site was originally developed by industrialist Kurtis Froedtert in the 1950s.