The
Global Water Center building at 247 W. Freshwater Way in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood has been sold to an affiliate of SixSibs Capital Corp., an investment entity with ties to
Rite-Hite, for nearly $12 million.
Colliers helped broker the exchange and announced the sale via press release on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Rite-Hite said Thursday the company does not plan to operate within the Global Water Center. The sale closed Nov. 1, according to Colliers. That press release did not list the sale price of the building, but real estate transfer documents that posted to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's website on Monday list the sale price as $11.9 million.
“We are strategically trying to acquire and possibly develop real estate in the neighborhood to take advantage of the value we are creating with the Rite-Hite project," said Greg Spanos, SixSibs managing director.
Long home to the Milwaukee Water Council, the historic, 86,156-square-foot, brick and timber office building is 87.6% leased to 14 tenants. New tenants added since the summer of 2020 include Xylem Water Solutions, Beckhoff Automation, OpenGov, and Diverge Translational Science Laboratory, the press release states.
The building was originally constructed in 1904 for the Molitor Paper Box Company. After Molitor relocated, machinery manufacturer The Murphy Specialty Company occupied the structure until 1938, when the building shifted to a warehouse use.
In 2013, the building was completely redeveloped in partnership with the Milwaukee Water Council, a non-profit organization with the mission to enhance Milwaukee’s position as a world water hub for freshwater research and education. The Global Water Center received LEED Silver certification in 2014 and the Mayor’s Design Award in 2014. It was also the first commercial building in the world to receive the Alliance for Water Stewardship certification.
The building sits directly across from the new Rite-Hite global headquarters campus, and features amenities such as a 44-seat auditorium, state-of-the-art water testing and flow laboratory, and an executive conference room and community lobby.
The building was listed by Tom Shepherd, and Jennifer Huber-Bullock of Colliers | Wisconsin who represented the seller, a limited liability company affiliated with Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith Construction, Inc.
The buyer is 247 Freshwater LLC, whose registered agent is Antonio Catalano, chief legal and compliance officer at Rite-Hite. Catalano also serves as the vice president, general counsel and secretary for the Rite-Hite Holding Corp. The address for 247 Freshwater LLC matches the address of Rite-Hite's new headquarters.
The press release on the deal indicates 247 Freshwater LLC is an affiliate of SixSibs Capital Corp. The address for SixSibs matches the address of Rite-Hite's former headquarters in Brown Deer. Catalano is also the registered agent for SixSibs.
“We are not I any rush to develop anything or buy anything, but as opportunities in the neighborhood present themselves, we’re going to certainly pay attention to those and pursue those," said Spanos.
