A long-vacant restaurant space in downtown Milwaukee will finally have a new use.
The former Moceans space at 747 N. Broadway will be leased by the Milwaukee Bar Association, according to commercial real estate sources familiar with the deal.
The 2,000-member non-profit group has been in the market since last summer for new space. The group has leased 7,000 square feet on the second story of the downtown building at 424 E. Wells St. since 1995.
The Broadway building has just over 6,800 square feet of leasable space.
The space has been vacant since Milwaukee restaurateur John Vassallo closed the Moceans seafood restaurant in August 2007 after three years of operation. Before Moceans, the building housed Grenadier’s for nearly 30 years.
The property is owned by Chicago-based real estate firms Fulcrum Asset Advisors and Millbrook Properties. The group, which operates Fulcrum 250 East LLC, also owns the adjacent 20-story office tower at 250 E. Wisconsin Ave.
In August, Sarah Martis, executive director of the Milwaukee Bar Association, told BizTimes, the group wanted to stay in the central business district so attorneys could continue to walk to the office.
The association’s lease with Cathedral Square Limited Partnership expires in July 2018. The group has been working with David Pudlosky, senior vice president with JLL, to find new office space.
Martis and Pudlosy did not immediately respond to comment.
