It wasn’t surprising when Madison-based American Family Insurance announced plans to sell the former Mandel printing building near downtown Milwaukee, which it bought in late 2019 with intentions to establish an office there with 400 employees.
That was exciting news at the time for Milwaukee.
But then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing many businesses to operate with employees working at home. American Family put its plans to renovate the building on hold as it said it needed to evaluate its future office space needs. Those plans never moved forward.
Some employees at many businesses enjoyed working remote during the pandemic and have been eager to maintain that arrangement. Many employers are still trying to figure out how to provide flexibility for those employees while also fostering a collaborative and creative workplace culture.
Some companies are investing in new office spaces to help attract employees to come in and work in person. Fiserv recently announced plans to move its corporate headquarters from Brookfield to downtown Milwaukee. The company plans to eventually have 780 jobs in the office, which will be located in the building formerly occupied by a Boston Store and the corporate office of its parent company, before it went out of business in 2018.
Brookfield-based Milwaukee Tool earlier this year opened an office in downtown Milwaukee, in the former Assurant Health building. The company could eventually have 2,000 employees there. Assurant exited the health insurance market in 2016 and vacated its downtown Milwaukee building.
But other companies are taking a different approach.
In October, Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz told Bloomberg that the company is planning to repurpose its corporate headquarters in Milwaukee as the company moves to embrace remote work. Just four years ago, the company had more than 1,000 employees there.
Each company has to do what’s best for its interests and for its employees. But these decisions impact local communities and their economies. Companies that have employees living and working in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin clearly make a more positive impact than those with employees that don’t have to be here.
The moves by Fiserv and Milwaukee Tool will provide a major boost to downtown Milwaukee.
Harley says it plans to invest in its Milwaukee headquarters and the near west side of Milwaukee. But it remains to be seen what they will actually do and how much it benefits the community.
In announcing plans to sell its Milwaukee building, American Family emphasized that its commitment to the city “remains strong” and emphasized its sponsorship of American Family Field, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater and Summerfest, and its support of other local programs and organizations.
All of that is great, but it just doesn’t amount to the economic impact of having a Fortune 500 company with a downtown office staffed by hundreds of employees.
