Building Advantage partners finance $230 million for city development

Milwaukee’s skyline is changing once again with two landmark additions thanks to our union partner’s pension fund investments.

The recently announced Hines Third Ward apartment tower is moving forward after its $109 million construction loan was finalized through Ullico, a Washington D.C. based firm that invests with union building trades’ pension fund contributions.

The $190 million Couture is another major project in Milwaukee financed by union pension funds. The project is in part being financed with $104.5 million from the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) fund as well as a $17 million equity investment from a local union pension fund via WhiteStar.

The Couture and the Hines tower bring the total union pension fund investment to over $230 million in concurrent building projects. This is a historic amount, but we’re just getting started.

Milwaukee’s burgeoning skyline has plenty of room for more development projects that can take advantage of pension fund financing.

In major cities throughout the country, it’s more typical to see the use of union pension funds.

Investment in Milwaukee projects are a signal that our city can compete for financing in the national market.

After events like COVID and its effect on our economy, pension fund managers find it safer to invest in a broader range of opportunities, especially real estate. These project investments come full circle as they support the commercial construction industry and the tradespeople who rely on sensible pension fund investments.

With our support in reaching out to the more than thirty such types of funds, developers in Milwaukee can get connected to these capital dollars.

Building Advantage and our member unions and contractors aren’t just a partner on the construction side, we’re also focused on ushering in potential projects and helping developers put together a project’s capital stack.

If we can build successful partnerships on some of the largest landmark projects in Milwaukee, there’s nothing we can’t do together.

Learn more about Building Advantage and Milwaukee’s union commercial construction industry at https://buildingadvantage.org/.

 

Chris Mambu Rasch, Executive Director at Building Advantage
Chris is the executive director of Building Advantage. He advances the interests of union contractors and tradespeople in the Greater Milwaukee Area. By partnering with industry stakeholders and community leaders, Chris ensures that Building Advantage is at the forefront of crucial construction industry initiatives including workforce, business and economic development.