The Marcus Center has hired Bill Bonifas of CB Richard Ellis to find either a tenant interested in occupying a mixed-use development on the parking structure or a developer for the project.
The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts has shifted gears in its attempt to bring a major development to the site of its parking structure at the northwest corner of Water Street and State Street in downtown Milwaukee. The Marcus Center has hired Bill Bonifas of CB Richard Ellis to find either a tenant interested in occupying a mixed-use development on the parking structure site or a developer for the project. "We have had meetings with developers that have different concepts for that location, as well as users," Bonifas said. "He is getting interest," said Paul Mathews, president and chief executive officer of the Marcus Center. However, no deal is imminent, he said.
The Marcus Center’s decision to hire CB Richard Ellis is a shift from its previous approach to attract a development to the site. In August, the Marcus Center issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking developers that would build a mixed-use development on the parking structure site. Several proposals were received, however, "none of them looked viable from our perspective," Mathews said. "After issuing the RFP, we weren’t satisfied with the results."
Prior to issuing the RFP, the Marcus Center worked for a few years with Wauwatosa-based Irgens Development Partners LLC on a mixed-use development for the site. However, Irgens was unable to attract an anchor tenant for the project, prompting the Marcus Center to take a new approach and issue the RFP. Now the Marcus Center is again taking a new approach by using a real estate broker, Bonifas, to work on finding a tenant that could anchor a development on the site or a developer that has a viable project for the site.
The Marcus Center wants to see a mixed-use development with about 1,000 parking spaces (at least 700 are needed to replace the spaces in the existing structure) and first-floor retail space. A new skywalk to the Marcus Center also must be part of the project, Mathews said.
Office space would probably be the most complementary use for the bulk of the building, Bonifas said, because office workers will use the parking spaces during weekdays, and visitors coming to the Marcus Center will usually be there at night and on weekends.
