About The Villages of Brookshire

The Villages are located on the west side of Waukesha in Ward 39 of Aldermanic District 13. Visit the Waukesha Website for local government representatives. The Villages of Brookshire (see map below) is a mixed residential community consisting of...

Five condo associations:

• Brookshire is south of Madison St. at Merrill Hills Rd. with 34 Units in 17 ranch style buildings on 11.6 acres.

• Harrogate is north of Madison St. at Merrill Hills Rd. with 27 Units in 14 multi-level and ranch style buildings on 11 acres.

• Sutton Place is on N. Comanche Ln. on the west shore of Lake Brookshire with 9 Units in 5 buildings on 9 acres.

• East Sutton is on the east shore of Lake Brookshire with 51 Units in 13 multi-level buildings on 15.2 acres.

• Somerset Ridge is just east of East Sutton, overlooking Lake Brookshire with 52 Units in 16 multi-level buildings on 9.2 acres; 
  and the following...

Five single family subdivisions:

• Brendon Way is located further north of Madison St. along and west of Comanche Lane.

• North Burton is located between Comanche Ln and University along and south of Burton Drive.

• Kisdon Hill is located north of Harrogate along Kisdon Hill Drive and east of Merrill Hills Rd.

• Sterling Hollow is located north of Madison St. and west of University Dr.

• Walden Glade is located north of Madison St. and west of Comanche Lane.

Background/Development

Vision of growth:  Developer's dream takes shape

By Sam Martino of the Journal staff

The Milwaukee Journal Waukesha, Thursday, April 28, 1988

Waukesha - The names of the tiny areas overlooking Waukesha's hilly western landscape carry the ring of hamlets around Yorkshire. England. There's East Sutton, Somerset Ridge, North Burton Kisdon Hill, Harrogate and Brendon Way in a development called the Villages of Brookshire. The names may be familiar to those who have read the book "My Yorkshire" by James Herriot, a Scottish veterinarian who worked in the small villages around northern England.  L. Buzz Hardy of Waukesha, a real estate developer, has borrowed the names of some of the villages from Herriot's book to Identify his multimillion dollar condominium and single family home sites in the development.

The attractiveness of this development's nearly 400 acres and similarity to villages in England make the area stand out as one of the fastest growing developments in Waukesha County.  Hardy says 117 single faintly homes and homesites had been sold and 209 condominium units -- some of them are four unit structures overlooking a proposed lake -- have been completed or are scheduled for completion soon.

The cost of the condominiums range from $80.000 to $150.000. Single family homes are selling for more than $200.000. The Villages of Brookshire development compares in stature and size to the single family development in Canterbury Hills in Brookfield and the condominium projects of Wilderness North and Oakwood. also in Brookfield.

Three more condominium villages, another single family village and three or four estate type lots overlooking the lake are being planned. That will mem 15 more condominiums and 125 more homes in the next five years.  When the development is completed, about $55 million worth of real estate will have been built. The appeal of western Waukesha County was recognized earlier by Welsh settlers who founded farms around nearby Wales and Genesee.

The Villages of Brookshire development was Hardy's brainchild more than a decade ago. It has become so successful that observers say the area, including a large subdivision developed earlier by Hardy, might as well be called Hardyville because of Hardy's close attachment to the planned community.

Hardy & Co., with financial backing from First Financial Savings Association, first became involved in developing the area in the 1970s with an expansion or the Merrill Crest subdivision. The Merrill Crest subdivision, similar to more traditional suburban areas featuring two story colonial and ranch-style homes, has 327 homes on a quarter-acre to third-acre lots. All but five lots have been developed. After the Merrill Crest development, Hardy turned to planning the Villages of Brookshire development in 1980.

"We are selling the openness and the rural atmosphere of the area," said Hardy of his project. The developments are along Madison St. near Merrill Crest Rd. and adjacent to the Merrill Crest subdivision. Michael Hoeft, Waukesha city planner, said the Villages of Brookshire development stands out because of its uniqueness. "He decided to do things differently," said Hoeft of Hardy. "There's no standard grid pattern." Each area features a village like pattern with condominiums or single family homes built on hillsides along curving and winding roadways.