Brookfield Corners development lands Silverspot Cinema, with mix of Hollywood, indie films

A cinema chain offering a mix of Hollywood and indie films in an upscale atmosphere plans to open its first Wisconsin location at The Corners mixed-use development in the Town of Brookfield.

Silverspot Cinema wants to open the nine-screen cinema by spring 2019 at The Corners, a new mix of stores, restaurants and apartments east of N. Barker Road between I-94 and W. Blue Mound Road, according to the Thursday announcement.

Miami-based Silverspot shows movies as well as screenings of live opera, theater and concert performances.

The $30 million cinema's amenities would include leather reclining seats throughout the theaters. Cocktails and food, such as sandwiches and small plate items, would be available in the theaters and at a bar and lounge area.

The 43,200-square-foot cinema would be built at the east side of The Corners, above retail space located south of Arhaus and north of Von Maur, and next to an apartment building.

Revisions to the development’s site plan to accommodate a theater tenant are being reviewed by town officials.

Plan Commission members in June had expressed concerns about whether The Corners parking garage, which is beneath the development's stores, restaurants and apartments, is large enough to also accommodate a movie theater.

However, the town Architectural Control Committee recently granted conceptual approval for the three-level addition. The Plan Commission is to again review the proposal at its Tuesday meeting.

Meanwhile, contract issues involving the development agreement between the town and The Corners were discussed in closed session at a joint Town Board-Community Development Authority meeting this week.

Tom Hagie, town administrator, declined to discuss the closed session. However, Hagie said town financing hasn't been requested for the proposed cinema project. 

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Construction is expected to start in February, according to the announcement from Silverspot and IM Property Investments (USA) LLC, which owns The Corners.

Silverspot was attracted to The Corners in part by a design that includes a public square in the middle of the development, said Gonzalo Ulivi, managing partner.

Also, Ulivi said the Brookfield area's affluence makes it a good location for Silverspot, which charges as high as $15 for an adult movie ticket.

Silverspot, launched in 2009, has just five other locations: three in southern Florida, and one each in Chapel Hill, N.C., and suburban Cleveland. One of those Florida locations, in downtown Miami, opens this fall.

The Corners site once included a cinema operated by Marcus Corp. That cinema closed when Marcus opened its nearby Majestic Cinemas and was later demolished to make way for the new mixed-use project.

Marcus was the original developer of The Corners. In 2015, London-based IM Properties and Chicago-based Bradford Real Estate Group LLC bought a majority stake in the project. That joint venture agreement resulted in Marcus Corp. retaining a 10% stake in The Corners.

That agreement includes an option for Marcus to sell its stake to IM Properties and Bradford Real Estate "for an agreed-upon amount one year after the project is open and has reached a specified percentage of space leased," according to the company's annual report.

Marcus Theatres dominates the Milwaukee-area cinema market, which also includes the AMC Theatres chain and art house chain Landmark Theatres.

Marcus is "an excellent operator," Ulivi said. But Silverspot can compete with the larger theater circuits by offering a sophisticated, upscale experience, he said.

"We are a different breed of theaters," Ulivi said.

The Corners began opening stores, including its Von Maur department store anchor, in April. The apartments began opening this summer.

Silverspot is the latest business at The Corners that would open its first Wisconsin location there, said Robert Gould, vice president of U.S. operations for IM Properties. Others include Von Maur, Arhaus and L.L. Bean.

The Town Board in February 2014 approved borrowing $34.4 million to help finance The Corners, which will have an estimated property value of $176 million.

Most of the town funds will pay for the project's parking structure. The town also could spend an additional $3 million, with the $37.4 million repaid within an estimated 20 years through new property taxes generated by The Corners.

Plans for The Corners first surfaced in early 2011.

Tom Daykin can be reached attdaykin@jrn.com