Easterseals Southeast Wisconsin has sold its West Allis headquarters and relocated to a smaller nearby space in the Summit Place office complex.
The organization announced it moved into its new headquarters, a 7,070-square-foot suite in the Summit Place office complex at 6737 W. Washington St. in West Allis, earlier this week.
The new office houses Easterseals SE Wisconsin's senior leadership team, program managers and program support personnel and includes a conference room and drop-in space for the organization's staff.
As the organization has shifted to a remote model for some of its services, Easterseals president and chief executive officer Peter Engel said it became apparent the organization’s 26,000-square-foot headquarters at 2222 S. 114th St. was no longer needed.
The organization had already moved to a remote model for some of those services prior to COVID-19, but the pandemic reinforced the decision to expand that model moving forward, Engel said.
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Peter Engel[/caption]
The move reduces Easterseals’ ongoing operating expenses and eliminates its mortgage obligation, for a projected savings of about $60,000 per year, Engel said. Those savings will allow the organization to invest more of its fees-for-services revenue and donations into its programs, and less on overhead and operating costs, he said.
“It is our mission to make profound, positive differences in people's lives every day,” Engel said in an email to supporters this week. “I believe that responsibly managing our resources is a key component of fulfilling our mission. To that end, after careful analysis, we explored steps to reduce our operating expenses with the goal of putting more of our limited resources to work for our clients.”
Easterseals has
pared down its services in recent years to focus on the organization's core programming, which include adult day services, care management, guardianship, individual placement support, adult recreation, summer camps and Safe Babies Healthy Families.
The organization is now close to its multi-year goal of being debt free, Engel said.
Easterseals owns locations for its adult day services in Waukesha (201 Wisconsin Ave.), which has undergone renovations this year, and Wauwatosa (7111 W Center St.). It also operates a Kenosha adult day services center at 7101 53rd St. in Kenosha.
The West Allis Adult Day Services Center, which operated at the former Easterseals Southeast Wisconsin headquarters, was recently consolidated into the Wauwatosa location.
Easterseals plans to renovate the Wauwatosa ADS center, including adding a new kitchen and serving areas, expanding a respite space, building a sensory room and constructing a new entrance area.
The organization raised $70,000 over the summer for the project. Demolition is expected to begin this week.
When completed, the Wauwatosa ADS center will be able to serve 45 people. All staff from both the West Allis and Wauwatosa centers were retained in the transition.
