Milwaukee-based Inland Companies Inc. plans to move its downtown Milwaukee office from 839 N. Jefferson St. to the Boiler House building in the former Pabst brewery complex, according to real estate industry sources.
Inland Companies is a full-service commercial real estate company that provides brokerage, property management, investment sales, development, construction and facility maintenance services.
Joseph Zilber, founder of Milwaukee-based Zilber Ltd. who is redeveloping the 20-acre Pabst complex into a mixed use neighborhood, announced Thursday that he had closed on the sale of the former boiler house building to Boiler House LLC, a joint venture of Milwaukee developers Charles Trainer and Max Dermond. Zilber is cleaning up and gutting several of the buildings in the Pabst complex and plans to sell them to other developers. Zilber also will likely redevelop some of the buildings in the complex himself.
The former boiler house is a three-story, 55,000-square-foot building located on the west side of North 10th Street.
Boiler House LLC plans to convert the building into office and retail space. Previously, Trainer and Dermond announced that Albion Group Architects plans to occupy 4,000 square feet of office space in the building.
"We anticipate making a major announcement on a significant space commitment in early January," Trainer and Dermond said in a news release. "The response to this building and the plans that have been developed for it by one of our tenants, The Albion Group, has been phenomenal. It is clear from our leasing efforts that The Brewery is gong to be a major anchor neighborhood, not only in the downtown area, but for the city of Milwaukee as a whole. People are excited about what’s going on here, the speed at which this project is being developed and Mr. Zilber’s commitment to have it both historic and sustainable."
The Boiler House is expected to be ready for occupancy by this time next year.
Several other tentative building sales are in the works for the brewery complex.
A group of investors, including former Green Bay Packer Mark Chmura, is buying a three-story, 28,000-square-foot building in the brewery complex. Chmura, his brother Matt Chmura and Sonny Bando (a developer and son of former Milwaukee Brewer Sal Bando) are the principals of BC Pabst Holdings, which is purchasing the former research lab building (also known as building 14) in the brewery complex. The 94-year-old building features a 1,200-square-foot penthouse with city skyline views. BC Pabst Holdings plans to convert the building into office space. The penthouse will be converted into a conference room.
Urban Spaces, a partnership of Milwaukee residents Christopher Dobs, Damingo Jones and Daniel Block, is buying the three-story, 14,000-square-foot historic blacksmith, wagon and paint shop building next to the former research lab building. They plan to move their upscale European flower shop, Urban Sense, from 5911 W. Vliet St. in the Washington Heights neighborhood to occupy half of the space on the first floor of the building. They also plan to create four two-story loft condos in the building.
Madison-based Gorman & Co., plans to convert the 138,000-square-foot former keg house in the Pabst complex into the 95-unit Blue Ribbon Loft Apartments.
Plans also are in the works for other buildings in the complex.
Zilber’s plans include an International Trade Center, which would occupy a 30-year-old warehouse building on the brewery property at 824 W. Juneau Ave. The Milwaukee International Trade Center would be the home to as many as 100 businesses from throughout China that are interested in selling their products directly to buyers for distribution throughout the United States.
Cincinnati Restaurant Group Inc. is considering plans to open a Hofbrauhaus microbrewery and restaurant in the former gift shop, visitor’s center and corporate offices at 901-17 W. Juneau Ave., which are owned by Brew City Redevelopment Group LLC. Those buildings will also be the home to the Museum of Beer and Brewing. Talks with city officials, Zilber and Cincinnati Restaurant Group are ongoing and the Hofbrauhaus could open in the spring of 2009 said Jim Haertel, president of Brew City Redevelopment Group.
