An affiliate of Milwaukee-based
Northwestern Mutual has purchased the shuttered
University Club building in downtown Milwaukee for $4.25 million.
The six-story, 58,000-square-foot building located at 924 E. Wells St. has an assessed value of $2.88 million, according to Milwaukee County records.
The University Club had occupied the building since 1928, but the club
announced last year that it had closed its downtown location.
Northwestern Mutual, which is headquartered one block to the south, announced earlier this year that it had plans to purchase the building. The company has not released detailed plans for the building, but has said that many of the building's meeting, banquet and dining uses will be continued.
“There probably will be some element of dining, some element of guest accommodations, event space, meeting space,” said
Steve Radke, vice president of government and community relations for Northwestern Mutual, at a City Plan Commission meeting in May. “To the degree that they are utilized by Northwestern Mutual or utilized by the public is all still to be determined.”
In May, Radke said the company is planning to start with work on issues related to the 98-year-old building’s deferred maintenance, which include replacing the roof, facade work and upgraded windows. That work could take a year or more.
The University Club is designated locally as a historic property, so any major exterior changes or demolition would be subject to approval from the city’s Historic Preservation Committee.
In a December letter to University Club members, board president Jim Caragher noted deferred maintenance at the nearly 100-year-old city club facility as one of the reasons for closing and selling the building. Caragher also noted member attrition and increased competition from the city’s burgeoning restaurant scene among the driving factors.
