Brookfield7: How much to raze the Siepmann Home?

Original post date: May. 21, 2009

Siepmann Home & Stonewood Village, Brookfield

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A thought came to me yesterday (Wed. May 20th) about the Siepmann farm house. The developer offered the home to the Elmbrook Historical Society along with $10,000. But how much would it cost the developer to raze the building and dispose of it themselves? Anybody have an idea? I am thinking giving the building and $10,000 is a bargain for the developer?

Just for comparison, fourteen years ago, we remodeled. I think we saved about $3,000 in dumpster and some demo fees by hauling our debris ourselves--and that was just from part of a house. The farm house no doubt has lead paint on its walls. Does that mean another disposal fee?

I stopped at Stonewood Village Wednesday to see the home in question and took some pictures. (Get while the getting is good, I always say.) I have heard the home has been butchered over the years and its interior is no longer in pristine condition.

Stonewood Village was pretty empty when I visited in the afternoon --maybe 8 cars in the east parking lot including me? The west parking lot looked very empty too.

The developer is hoping to turn this around by transforming the Village into the Wedding Center. I hope he is successful. The home in question is on private property and the owner is the one in charge of such decisions as long as zoning does not need to be changed etc. The Common Council voted to table the issue until June 2nd.

I am always sad to see interesting older buildings go, but that is progress, I guess. It could be worse; the developer could be trying to put in high density apartments! I will have to take comfort in that.

But is there a way to keep the home AND add the connector road in front of the farmhouse? If there is, maybe this is where the Common Council could grant a variance? As I stated in the comment section on Brookfieldnow, it is ironic that the very structure that inspired Stonewood Village is now the one set for demolition.