In the late 80's and early 90's the Village of Brokaw was dwindling, caused by Wausau-Mosinee Paper Corp. exercising its first refusal rights whenever a home came up for sale. The company plans to reclaim the original land for future mill expansions. So, the company has been buying the homes back and, one by one, tearing them down.
By the mid 1990's, Village officials reluctantly began thinking seriously about disincorporation. But there was a solution and the Village officials looked to the west, across the river for expansion. In 2002 the Village of Brokaw purchased and annexed 52 acres of farm land located across the Wisconsin River and west of Hi way 51 (formally the Lemke farm) for a residential subdivision. Adjacent to the North Side Business Park this land was subdivided into 86 residential lots with spectacular views of the valley and the bluffs surrounding old Brokaw.
Single family home and apartment buildings have been going up in the new subdivision as old homes continue to be torn down in old Brokaw.