Brown Deer’s long-vacant Marketplace site is heading for a much denser makeover, as Woodsonia Real Estate has filed new plans to boost the apartment count at its Riverside Landing project next to the planned Target to 178 units. The revised proposal marks a major jump from the mixed-use layout the village signed off on last year and keeps demolition and site-prep activity humming along on the property. Neighbors and officials say the goal is still to swap out the shuttered Marketplace of Brown Deer for a full retail-and-housing campus.
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, Woodsonia submitted updated architectural plans on June 5 that increase the number of residential units and pull the new building into phase two of Riverside Landing. The added apartments would sit next to the spot slated for a roughly 128,000-square-foot anchor store.
How the new plan stacks up to earlier approvals
Earlier site plans approved by the village contemplated roughly 124 to 128 apartments alongside a 128,000-square-foot anchor retail building. Those figures appear in official agenda packets and in the redevelopment summary Woodsonia submitted when Brown Deer entered the deal, per the Village of Brown Deer.
Who is on the ground and what they are doing
Site-preparation crews are already busy on the property. Greenfire Management Services reports it has been handling demolition, soil work and utility coordination to get the Riverside Landing parcel ready for construction. The developer has told village staff it intends to deliver a pad-ready site for the big-box store, with multifamily construction phased in behind it.
Timing, public subsidies and what comes next
Village documents show Brown Deer has agreed to about $12.84 million in pay-as-you-go tax-increment financing to support the redevelopment. Municipal reports note that commercial building plans and architectural applications for the Target at 9034 N. Green Bay Road are under state review. Village staff say construction for the commercial portion remains on track for a summer 2026 start, and the developer has been holding regular progress meetings with officials, according to the Village of Brown Deer.
What residents should keep an eye on
The project is expected to head back to the Plan Commission and Village Board for detailed site approvals and engineering signoffs before any vertical construction begins. Neighbors are likely to push for specifics on parking, traffic patterns and buffering between the project and existing homes. Local coverage has noted that the village signed off on the broader Riverside Landing site plan in early 2025, and residents who want to follow upcoming hearings can find agendas and meeting packets online, per FOX6 Milwaukee.
