Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. plans to build a new office tower, housing hundreds of employees, at its downtown Milwaukee campus and is seeking $48 million in city financing for the $300 million project. The new building, with 840,000 square feet and more than 30 stories, would be among downtown's largest office buildings. It would replace Northwestern Mutual's 16-story building south of E. Mason St. and east of N. Cass St., and would be built at that location once the existing building is demolished, the company announced Wednesday. City financing would come in the form of a tax incremental financing district.
Denver Realtors
It would be Milwaukee's largest such tax district if the Common Council approves the proposal from Mayor Tom Barrett's administration. Northwestern Mutual would spend its money upfront and recover $48 million through property tax rebates over 25 years. Those rebates would reduce the higher costs that the company would face from building downtown compared with what it would cost to add offices to its Franklin campus at S. 27th St. and W. Drexel Ave.
The downtown project would retain 1,100 employees now housed at the building that would be razed, said company executives and city officials. Northwestern Mutual, which has 3,600 downtown employees, continues to grow and expects to add up to 1,700 additional downtown employees by 2027. "This will be a signature development that makes a huge statement about the attractiveness of the whole Milwaukee metro area," said John Schlifske, chairman and chief executive officer. "We are going to be here, and continue to play a vital role in this community for generations to come." The life insurance and financial services company also has 2,000 employees at its Franklin campus and expects long-term job growth to continue there, Schlifske said.
Denver Realtors
The office tower proposal "sends a tremendous message about the viability of downtown Milwaukee," Barrett said. Northwestern Mutual in September 2011 announced plans to demolish the 16-story building, which was constructed in 1979. The company said the 500,000-square-foot building, known for its brown color, faces extensive long-term maintenance costs.
The company plans to relocate employees who work there to other downtown and Franklin buildings. Northwestern Mutual is buying a building at 733 N. Van Buren St. to provide temporary office space during the project. The company will build a skywalk to connect that building to its historic headquarters building at 720 E. Wisconsin Ave.
The downtown campus includes buildings at 611 E. Wisconsin Ave. and 818 E. Mason St. Demolition would begin during next year's fourth quarter, and construction on the new building would start in 2014. The new building would be completed in 2017. Its design and specifications haven't been created yet, but it would likely be over 30 stories, Schlifske said. The company also is considering ways to create more parking spaces for its growing downtown workforce. Northwestern Mutual executives considered both Franklin and downtown as options for replacing the building, said Tim Gerend, a vice president who's overseeing the plans. The company chose downtown in part because Milwaukee "is a great place to live and work," Gerend said. "I grew up in Milwaukee," Schlifske said. "I love Milwaukee."
No comments:
Post a Comment