Mortenson Construction plans to move its Wisconsin office to the Honey Creek Corporate Center on the west side of the city of Milwaukee, the Minneapolis-based contractor announced today.
According to a news release, the company will begin operating out of its new 21,000-square-foot office on Sept. 1. Mortenson has been at its current Brookfield office on West Sarah Lane for more than 20 years.
The office will serve as the “collaborative hub” for Mortenson’s nearly 300 craftworkers and professional staff, according to the release. Mortenson spokeswoman Bridget Kraus said the company will have 80 people with full-time desks there.
Specifically, Mortenson will reside on the top floor of the Honey Creek Corporate Center II building at 115 S. 84th St. An affiliate of Greywolf Partners purchased the building in April from a Dallas-based private equity firm. All four buildings in the corporate park are leased and managed by Greywolf.
Andre Wallace of Greywolf Partners represented the landlord and Andrew Jensen and Mike Keane of Cushman & Wakefield/The Boerke Co. Inc. represented Mortenson. HGA Architects is overseeing the design of Mortenson’s new office.
The contractor chose Honey Creek Corporate Center for its visibility, easy freeway access and added amenities for employees, such as an onsite cafeteria and fitness center.
“Our new office will reflect our expertise in corporate environments, our brand, and innovative, forward thinking,” said Scott Heberlein, vice president and general manager at Mortenson. “In listening to our team members, we selected a location that incorporates their ideas, which gives us the opportunity to create a workplace of the future that encourages collaboration with our team members, partners, and customers.”
The announcement comes as Honey Creek is losing some tenants to other location. For instance, Milwaukee-based engineering firm GRAEF-USA Inc. last year announced plans to move into The Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Engineering firm CH2M additionally has plans to move its Milwaukee office from Honey Creek to Schlitz Park, also in downtown Milwaukee, according to a source.
Similar to office buildings in the suburbs, Honey Creek Corporate Center has felt the side effects of more and more companies looking to relocate closer to downtown Milwaukee in efforts to attract younger workers, according to an industry source. However, he said Honey Creek should be able to attract tenants similar to Mortenson: those who are looking to move closer to downtown than they are currently, but also seek certain benefits like ease of access to the freeway, high visibility and ample parking. This is especially crucial for Mortenson when many employees are traveling to different job sites in the area.
