Brookfield-based Bader Rutter & Associates, a public relations, advertising and marketing firm, is evaluating its future office space plans and is considering plans to relocate to downtown Milwaukee or areas near downtown such as the Third Ward, according to numerous commercial real estate sources.
The firm is represented by Marianne Burish, principal of Siegel-Gallagher. Representatives for the firm declined to comment and referred questions to her.
“We’re exploring options,” Burish said. “We’re truly in the exploratory stage of things.”
Bader Rutter has more than 200 employees, according to its website. The firm currently occupies about 55,000 square feet of office space at its current headquarters at 13845 Bishop’s Dr. in Brookfield, according to a real estate source. The firm’s lease there expires in a little more than 18 months, according to another source.
The firm is seeking 60,000 to 70,000 square feet of space, Burish said. It is considering locations in the downtown area, including areas near downtown, and the western suburban area, she said. Staying put in the firm’s current location is also an option, she said.
The firm will issue a request for proposals seeking proposals from existing building owners and developers that could build a new building or redevelop an existing building, Burish said.
“We expect to be issuing RFPs imminently,” she said.
One commercial real estate source said the firm has been “out looking all over the place” for office space in the downtown area and in suburban areas. “I heard they’re attracted to coming downtown,” the source said.
Another source said the firm is focusing on the Third Ward and Walker’s Point.
“I think they want to be in the creative district,” the source said.
Some sources said the firm has been examining a possible development for a vacant site near Café Benelux at 346 N. Broadway in the Third Ward.
