Accounting firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP announced that it plans to move its Milwaukee office to the proposed Washington Square office tower in downtown Milwaukee.
The firm said it has signed a formal letter of intent for the project.
“We are now working toward a definitive lease agreement,” said Bill Wertz, partner and market leader of Baker Tilly’s Milwaukee office. “There are details that need to be working out with the final lease. We just wanted to make our commitment known so (the developers) can move forward with the city.”
The letter of intent is a 9-page document and a firm commitment to the project, Wertz said.
Washington Square is a 22- to 26-story building proposed for a vacant lot southeast of Mason Street and Jefferson Street downtown. A joint venture of Wauwatosa-based Irgens Development Partners LLC and Van Buren Management Inc. plan to build the building.
Baker Tilly said it will lease 60,000 square feet of space in the building. The firm plans to move its Milwaukee office from the Honey Creek Corporate Center at 135 S. 84th St. on the west side of Milwaukee to the Washington Square building in 2013.
“We considered a number of possible locations over the past few years and feel the downtown Washington Square project is consistent with our objectives,” Wertz said. “We have determined that downtown is where we need to be to meet our growth plans and to help develop our people. Washington Square provides an ideal location in the heart of the city’s business district.”
The Washington Square site is across Jefferson Street from the Pfister Hotel in the middle of the central business district. The location will help improve Baker Tilly’s networking efforts with the city’s business community, Wertz said.
Baker Tilly, which has about 200 employees in its Milwaukee office, is the second major tenant to commit to the Washington Square project. In January, the Godfrey & Kahn S.C. law firm announced that it will move its office from the Marshall & Ilsley Corp. headquarters building at 780 N. Water St. downtown to Washington Square, and will occupy 90,000 to 100,000 square feet of space.
But unlike Baker Tilly, Godfrey & Kahn has already signed a lease for the project.
With two anchor tenants committed to the project, Irgens and Van Buren hope to obtain additional tenants, financing and city approval for the project in time to break ground this summer and complete construction in 2013.
“We are thrilled with Baker Tilly’s decision and pleased with the confidence they have placed in our team,” said Jackie Walsh, executive vice president of Irgens. “This is an important step in making this a reality. We are eager to work together to take the project forward.”
Details for the Washington Square project have not been finalized, but initial estimates indicate the building will have 250,000 to 330,000 square feet of office space, 10,000 to 15,000 square feet of first floor retail space and 800 structured parking spaces.
Steve Palec, formerly of CB Richard Ellis, is the tenant representative for Baker Tilly.
The Washington Square building was designed by Milwaukee-based Rinka Chung Architecture. Rinka Chung principal Matt Rinka was the subject of a recent BizTimes Milwaukee cover story.
