Brookfield Conference Center​

The Brookfield Conference Center project was part of a larger plan to revitalize the area at the south end of Brookfield Square and bring more business people into Waukesha County from the surrounding regions.

“The Brookfield Conference Center will stimulate economic activity throughout the region, especially the Bluemound Road corridor,” said Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto in a prepared statement. “The Conference Center mixed in with the entertainment, dining and shopping of Brookfield Square Mall will have a synergistic effect, with the Conference Center and the Mall each benefiting the other.”

The 57,000 sqft facility is located on a 9-acre parcel located just off I-94 and adjacent to Brookfield Square. It offers flexible meeting space, featuring an 18,000 sqft ballroom and a 6,000 sqft ballroom, which can be split into smaller configurations to accommodate groups of any size. It also includes a state-of-the-art boardroom and 9,000 sqft outdoor garden. A glass walkway connects the Conference Center and the 168 room Hilton Garden Inn/Brookfield Milwaukee, allowing seamless access to and from the two spaces.

THE CHALLENGE

The biggest challenge to overcome on this project was the tight timeline: we have 9 ½ months to build a 57,000 sqft building that included a plethora of custom finishes from all over the world, some of which had lead times of 26 weeks! And that does not even include the time for the approval process. Some of the custom finishes included:

• Die casted terra cotta from Germany, which included a multi-layered finishing and firing process that was first for the factory.
• Interior and exterior channel glass from Germany
• Bookmatched and blueprint matched Anigre wood doors and paneling specifically selected from Michigan; doors and panels sourced, prepared and finished from multiple vendors in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.
• Broadloom carpet that was one pattern (vs. a pattern repeat) from Thailand.
• State of the art, world-class kitchen with new technology kitchen equipment from local manufacturer Alto-Shaam.
• One-of-a-kind Animosa Limestone from Iowa.

With the selection and procurement of these materials, we played a lead role on determining how to manufacture and deliver these materials within the time frame that was needed.

THE RESULT

The team procured all of the custom material, including gaining approvals and met the project schedule, giving the staff time to ramp up their operations before opening to the public. This is just one of many developments in the area to bring new visitor and entertainment offerings to the south end of Brookfield Square. It will be a demand generator, helping to increase hotel stays, restaurant visits and retail expenditures in the area.