Core Creative Inc., an integrated marketing communications agency, plans to move its offices from the Warehouse No. 1 building at 126 N. Jefferson St. in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward to the Atlas Building at 600 W. Virginia St. in The Tannery, an office complex in the city’s Walker’s Point neighborhood.
Core Creative recently signed a lease for 9,680 square feet of space, which will occupy the entire seventh floor of the Atlas Building.
“We’re thrilled to take this leap,” said Ward Alles, president of Core Creative. “We have worked diligently on the plans and are developing and constructing a completely new design. We’re featuring the latest technologies and a well-appointed space to continue to nurture the collaborative environment that not only makes us strong, insightful and creative partners for our clients, but also an attractive ‘Best Place to Work’ employer for our current team and the excellent creative marketplace in Milwaukee.”
Kevin Armstrong of CBRE represented Core Creative and Ned Purtell and Scott Revolinski of RFP Commercial represented the owner of the Atlas Building, LCM Funds 20 LLC, in brokering the lease.
Core Creative, which has 27 employees, said it had a “record year” in 2011, with 33 percent growth in year-over-year sales.
The space at The Tannery will be similar in size to Core Creative’s space at Warehouse No. 1, Alles said. But the new location will be built to the company’s specifications and will be more efficient, he said. The cost to build a brand new space at The Tannery was about the same as the cost of remodeling the company’s existing space, he said.
The more efficient layout will allow the company to accommodate 40 to 45 employees in that space. “We are growing and are adding employees as client needs demand,” Alles said.
For Core Creative, the move to The Tannery is a return to the company’s roots. It was founded in 1994 and originally located in the Trade Center building at The Tannery. The company moved to the Warehouse No. 1 building in 1997.
The Tannery is an office complex development in a former Pfister & Vogel tannery complex. It has about 325,000 square feet of office space. The complex struggled with rising vacancy in recent years, but has added several tenants since Aurora Health Care announced moved its headquarters there. Other tenants that have signed leases since late 2010 include: M.E. Dey, Bridge Healthcare, Rising Medical, U.S. Billing, JUTO LLC, Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training and Support Inc., Hatch Staffing, ISM and Environmental Resources Management.
