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One major hurdle still needs to be cleared before the University of Wisconsin can fully celebrate a new performance facility announced on Tuesday.

The complex containing Brothers Bar and Grill will need to be demolished to accommodate the performance center on its proposed location at the northwest corner of University Avenue and Lake Street.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said plans to develop the area were “not a closely guarded secret,” as the university identified the block for development in 2005.

The UW System Board of Regents voted to take the first steps in obtaining the property at its June meeting, Giroux said, which authorized the regents with power of eminent domain.

With power of eminent domain, any government entity — including UW — can obtain property rights with financial compensation without the owner’s consent.

Giroux said the university will use power of eminent domain only as a last resort and hopes to obtain the land through negotiating a fair price for owners and taxpayers.

“Ultimately, we’d like the property owners to get a fair price for the property, students to get new academic space they need and want and that taxpayers won’t pay a premium price for the property just because that is where the university needs to expand,” he said.

Giroux added UW last used power of eminent domain to obtain land in the 1960s. The Board of Regents last issued power of eminent domain in 1990 to obtain the land where Grainger Hall is currently located, although an agreement was reached before it was needed.

Brothers Bar and Grill will be able to retain their liquor license if they decide to move into a new location, although an alcohol license transfer will have to be approved by the Alcohol License Review Committee, said Madison Alcohol Policy Coordinator Katherine Plominski.

There are no guarantees of an alcohol license approval, Plominski said, as a transfer depends on many factors including bar’s capacity, location and density among other bars in the area.

The Board of Regents also obtained power of eminent domain for a hair braiding business called Styles 4 Us, also located where the proposed performance center will be built.

Real life brothers Marc and Eric Fortney own the Brothers Bars and Grill chain, operating 12 locations across the Midwest. Neither brother was available for comment Wednesday and a representative from Madison’s Brothers Bar and Grill declined to comment.