Eaton Corp. to move Milwaukee operations to Wauwatosa

Wauwatosa-based Irgens Development Partners LLC plans to build a 90,000-square-foot office and laboratory building in the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa for Cleveland-based Eaton Corp.’s Milwaukee operations.
The Milwaukee County Research Park Board on Tuesday voted to sell a 9.6-acre site along the north side of Innovation Drive and southeast of the Children’s Court Complex in the Research Park to Irgens for the Eaton project. The sale price for the property will be $1,437,165, according to the resolution approved by the board on Tuesday.
The development will cost at least $15 million, according to the resolution. Irgens plans to obtain at least $5.5 million in tax incremental financing (TIF) from the city of Wauwatosa for the project and new market tax credits of at least $20 million.
Eaton’s Milwaukee operations are currently located at 4201 N. 27th St. in Milwaukee’s central city. The facility is used by the industrial control division of Eaton’s electrical sector. The company has about 145 employees at the facility. According to sources, the company wants to move the operation out of its current area, because it is difficult to attract employees to work in the neighborhood, which has a higher crime rate than a suburban location.