IndependenceFirst leased 40,000 square feet of space (with an option to buy) in the former Karp Bakery Warehouse at 544 S. 1st St., Milwaukee, from 544 South 1st Street LLC. IndependenceFirst is a nonprofit organization that works to help empower people with disabilities through education, advocacy, independent living services and coalition building. Kevin Armstrong and Steve White of CB Richard Ellis represented IndependenceFirst in brokering the deal. The agency will move to the building from a 30,000-square-foot space at The Tannery complex at 600 W. Virginia St., Milwaukee, in the fall.
IndependenceFirst spent three years looking for a new office location. "Our facilities committee considered dozens of locations with a specific criteria for a 40,000-square-foot configurable office, ample free parking, convenience to bus routes and a flexible developer who was interested in working with us to promote the highest caliber of accessibility at a location that employs and serves people with disabilities in our community," said Scott Luber, director of administration at IndependenceFirst. "The new location affords us the space we need to grow and a unique address on First Street, which will be helpful aid in finding the new IndependenceFirst office for our customers, donors and volunteers."
One of the most important plans for the new office is making it very accessible for people with disabilities. More than 50 percent of IndependenceFirst’s onsite staff, manage,ent and board of directors are people with disabilities. "We plan on our offices serving as a model of accessibility to other businesses who are interested in replication the concepts and for use in their planning, as people with age-related or other disabilities will be a new workforce option and a customer base that may not yet be fully appreciated in Milwaukee," Luber said. "Accessibility is one of the things our organization is all about and we truly walk (or roll) the talk."
