A prime site in the Park East freeway corridor in downtown Milwaukee is being pitched as a potential site for RedPrairie Corp.’s new corporate headquarters, according to commercial real estate sources. RedPrairie is based in the Town of Brookfield, but company leader John Jazwiec has said the firm may relocate its headquarters. Although Milwaukee officials have courted him to move his company downtown, Jazwiec has been critical about Wisconsin’s business climate and has said the company may move out of state.
Real estate sources told SBT that RedPrairie has been approached to move its headquarters to a Park East corridor site at the northwest corner of North Water Street and East Knapp Street that would be developed by Brookfield-based MLG Commercial Inc., which acknowledged that it is planning a much larger development for the site than the company had indicated it was working on a year ago.
Last year, MLG submitted the only proposal for a 16,340-square-foot, triangular-shaped lot at the corner that is owned by Milwaukee County. The company submitted a proposal to the county indicating that it planned to build a four-story, 44,000-square-foot building on the site with retail space on the first floor and office space on the upper floors.
MLG also said it planned to develop a parcel of land located between the county property and the Milwaukee River, and owned by the Willard Isaacs family, with a 90-unit condo building that would also include some retail space.
However, MLG now is planning a much larger development for the site with a prominent high-rise building that would include office space, residences and retail or restaurant space said MLG principal Bruce Westling.
“We feel the site deserves a development of more critical mass,” Westling said.
The property is ideally located for a major development, Westling said. Water Street is one of downtown Milwaukee’s busiest streets and Knapp Street leads directly to Interstate 43. The property also has a large amount of frontage on the Milwaukee River and sits just across the river from where Manpower Inc. is building its new corporate headquarters.
“The site can accommodate a very significant mixed-use development,” Westling said.
MLG is working with Eppstein Uhen Architects on the project, he said.
“They’re trying to get RedPrairie,” said one real estate source, who asked not to be identified for this report. “I saw a rendering of the building with RedPrairie’s name on it.”
J.J. Berrall, director of marketing for RedPrairie, declined to comment about the downtown site, but when asked, she did not deny that RedPrairie is negotiating over the site.
RedPrairie is evaluating its future plans for its corporate headquarters location, Berrall said.
RedPrairie is a software company owned by Franciscan Partners, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based technology-focused private equity funds group. Jazwiec said he plans to take RedPrairie from a $200 million company today to a $500 million company in the next 18 months and a $1 billion company within the next three years, after which he plans to transform the firm into a publicly held company.
MLG is working with Eppstein Uhen Architects on the project, Westling said. Eppstein Uhen recently posted images of the project on its Web page showing what appears to be a building 20 to 25 stories tall. After being contacted about the rendering by SBT, Eppstein Uhen removed the images from its Web site.
“(The rendering) is just an opportunity to show what can be done with the site,” Westling said.
A dense development with a large office component would boost the daytime population of the area, which would benefit hotels, restaurants and stores that are expected to be developed in the Park East corridor, Westling said.
The city’s Park East Redevelopment Plan indicates that a landmark building could be built on the 2.5-acre MLG site up to 20 stories tall. MLG is trying to convince city officials to support a prominent building for the property, which could be even taller than 20 stories high, Westling said.
“(City officials) should want this site to be developed as densely and as intensely as it can be,” he said. The development is still in the conceptual stage. “It’s all over the place,” Westling said. “It’s very fluid.”
MLG needs to obtain an anchor office tenant to build a major, mixed-use development at the site, Westling said.
However, that will not be easy as downtown Milwaukee’s office market is struggling. According to a recent report from Boston-based Colliers International, the downtown office vacancy rate increased from 11.8 percent in the second quarter to 18.4 percent in the third quarter. Several office buildings have been proposed downtown in recent years but have not been built because they have not yet secured an anchor tenant.
A handful of large office tenants are considering moving to other buildings. Robert W. Baird & Co., a financial services firm located in the U.S. Bank Center at 777 E. Wisconsin Ave., and Cramer-Krasselt, an advertising agency located at 733 N. Van Buren St., are thinking about moving to different downtown Milwaukee locations. Either could be an anchor tenant that would trigger construction of a new building.
More Milwaukee news
Anytime Fitness, a 24-hour fitness and tanning center, will open a 3,860-square-foot facility on March 1 in the Kenilworth building at 1920 E. Kenilworth Place on Milwaukee’s east side. The gym, owned by John Mathie, is a franchise chain, with locations in West Bend, Pewaukee and northern Wisconsin. Mathie plans to open four other Anytime Fitness locations in the Milwaukee area. He said he chose the Kenilworth location in large part because of the demographics surrounding the area, the recent arrival of Whole Foods and other developments on and near North Ave. “In addition, there isn’t a true east side fitness center,” Mathie said. “I have a lot of interest so far. Some from in the Kenilworth Apartments and then local residents are very excited about having a facility here.”
Sheboygan
David Altmeyer plans to build a two-story, 16,000-square-foot mixed use building in the South Pier District. The South Pier District, a former brownfield located between the Sheboygan River and Lake Michigan, is being redeveloped by the city. It was once owned by C. Reiss Coal Co. which stored large piles of coal there years ago. The property has attracted the Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center hotel, the Triple Play Family Fun Zone, and some other small stores. Altmeyer’s building would have retail space on the first floor and four condominiums on the second floor.
Mequon-based Bayside Development plans to build a three-story mixed use building at the southwest corner of Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Sheboygan. The building would replace a vacant former M&I Bank building and a lot formerly occupied by a tavern that was torn down. The proposed three-story building would have commercial space on the first floor and condominiums on the upper two floors.
Kenosha
Another proposed Wal-Mart store is having difficulty gaining approval. This time, it’s in Kenosha, where the city’s Plan Commission recently rejected a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter store at 3111 80th St. City officials say they are concerned that a massive new Wal-Mart store would lead to other retailers going out of business, resulting in several vacant commercial buildings in the community. Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart also wants to build a Supercenter store at Green Bay and Washington roads, which is just outside of the city of Kenosha in the Town of Somers. Wal-Mart has struggled to gain approval for new stores in other communities. The company gave up on plans to build a store in Franklin because of community opposition. A proposed Wal-Mart store in Hartford has generated significant opposition in that community. Wal-Mart plans to begin construction soon on a store in the Town of Sheboygan, which was a very controversial project that was only approved after about two years of debate.
Bayside
Carlson Wagonlit Travel recently opened a new travel agency in the Audubon shopping center at 333. W. Brown Deer Road, Bayside. Minneapolis-based Carlson Wagonlit Travel Association has more than 1,700 travel agency locations, including travel agencies in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brookfield, West Allis, West Bend, Menomonee Falls, Cedarburg, Oconomowoc, Hales Corners, South Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Mequon and Delafield.
Wauwatosa
West Allis-based HomeSale Realty recently moved its Wauwatosa office from 11717 W. North Ave. to 2200 N. Mayfair Road. “The facility on Mayfair Road gives us more room to expand, it has underground parking and it is a high-exposure location with about 70,000 cars going by every day,” said Roy Scholtka, president of HomeSale Realty. “We will be the only major real estate company on Mayfair Road.” HomeSale Realty has seven other locations in West Allis, Hales Corners, Mukwonago, Oak Creek, West Milwaukee, Waukesha and Menomonee Falls.
Leases
Boerke Company
Wisconsin Health & Fitness Centers LLC leased 8,847 square feet of retail space at Bay View Commons, 2121 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee, from BBD Bay View Commons LLC.
CB Richard Ellis
IMS LLC leased 123,000 square feet of industrial space at 11100 W. Cleveland Ave., West Allis, from JDN West Allis Associates LP.
Shorehaven Behavioral Health Inc. leased 1,831 square feet of office space at 3900 W. Brown Deer Road, Brown Deer, from Diverse Interests.
Dickman Company
A True Family Corporation d.b.a. All My Sons of Milwaukee leased 4,700 square feet of industrial space at 5120 S. International Dr., Cudahy, from DSBL LLC.
Gerald Nell Inc.
Hartland Mortgage Centers leased 1,615 square feet of office space at 2525 N. 124th St. Suite 230, Brookfield, from Sunset Investment Co.
MJ Supply Corp. leased 3,200 square feet of industrial space at 3695 N. 126th St. Unit G, Brookfield, from Sunset Investment Co.
Judson & Associates
Midwest Mobility leased 5,450 square feet ofspace at W223 N798 Saratoga Dr., Pewaukee, from OHM Saratoga.
State Farm Insurance leased 1,500 square feet of space at 10817 Lincoln Ave., West Allis, from Dr. Jordan.
CQ Nails leased 1,536 square feet of space at N79 W14749 Appleton Ave., Menomonee Falls, from Vision Properties.
All Solutions Inc. leased 42,020 square feet of space at 4856 W. Basswood Dr., Franklin, from Yellow Rose Enterprises.
Bloedow’s Carpets leased 2,920 square feet of space at N53 W24950 Corporate Dr., Sussex, from
KJ Development.
Dalton Enterprises leased 16,500 square feet of industrial space at 301 Wilmont Dr., Waukesha.
Laser Life leased 12,770 square feet of industrial space at 1421 Pearl St., Waukesha.
Mid-America Real Estate
Euphoria leased 1,265 square feet of space at V. Richards Plaza, 17115-G W. Bluemound Road, Brookfield, from Inland Commercial Property Management Co.
Anytime Fitness leased 3,860 square feet of space at The Kenilworth, 2170 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee, from Weas Development.
Marble Slab leased 1,400 square feet of space at Renaissance Shopping Center at Highways 20 and H in Sturtevant from Spectrum Renaissance LLC.
Maurice’s Inc. leased 4,393 square feet of space in Delavan Retail III at Highway 50 and I-43 in Delavan from Delavan Retail III.
Golf Tec leased 3,711 square feet of space in Mequon Court II at 1300-1400 W. Mequon Road, Mequon, from Court Properties.
Ogden & Company
Germanischer Lloyd Industrial Services USA LLC leased 4,148 square feet of space at 2345 S. Commerce Dr., New Berlin, from Lincoln New Berlin Property LLC.
The National Guard leased a 2,069-square-foot space in the Southtown Mall Shopping Center at 3321 S. Business Dr., Sheboygan.
Daymon Worldwide leased 1,380 square feet of office space in the U.S. Bank Center at 777 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee.
Fund Development Corp. expanded their space in the Oaks Building at 8112 W. Bluemound Road, Wauwatosa, to 3,160 square feet, leasing the space from Lessor 8112 LLC.
Sales
Dickman Company
CBA Tire purchased 50,845 square feet of industrial space at 10930 W. Lapham Ave., West Allis, from Michael Polsky.
Schlueter Number 3 LLC purchased 50,000 square feet of industrial space at 6900 S. 10th St., Oak Creek, from Joseph T. Ryerson & Son Inc.
Fountain Investments LLC purchased 23,500 square feet of industrial space at W142 N9041 Fountain Blvd., Menomonee Falls, from Port Washington State Bank.
Judson & Associates
CT Properties purchased 5,888 square feet of space at 8661 N. 107th St., Milwaukee, from Body Crafters Inc.
Hide House 2007 purchased 223,000 square feet of space at 2625-30 Greeley St., Milwaukee, from Alton Enterprises.
Sentry Equipment purchased five acres on Blue Ribbon Circle in Oconomowoc from Pabst Farms.
Local Union 2150 purchased 12,000 square feet of space at N58 W13777 Silver Spring Dr., Menomonee Falls, from Pak Investments.
Ogden & Company Inc.
Ampco Pumps Real Estate LLC purchased the 41,400-square-foot multi-tenant building at 2005-75 W. Mill Road, Glendale, from Glendale-Mill Road Property.
New construction
Campbell Construction BBG LLC, Waukesha, was awarded the interior expansion and renovation at Fastsigns on Port Washington Road in Milwaukee. Campbell was also recently awarded the build out for Dinner by Design in Bay View.
PDC Midwest Inc., Hartland, recently completed the design and construction of a new, 33,000-square-foot, 40-unit assisted living facility in Waterford, called Waterford Senior Living.
Keller Inc., Milwaukee, is designing and building a 4,000-square-foot convenience store and car wash at 8200 W. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, for Pryia Corp. The building is an existing three-story glass building. All of the glass will be removed and new masonry, glass and façade will be added, along with a two-bay car wash. A bank with two drive-up lanes will be on the first floor of the building. Keller is also designing and building a 2,279-square-foot convenience store build-out for Jeji Family Inc. at 8712 W. Lisbon Ave., Milwaukee.
Suburban Construction Inc., Richfield, was awarded a contract to build a 33,600-square-foot warehouse addition for Richter Industries in Kenosha and a 27,000-square-foot addition for City Wide Recycling in Milwaukee.
Briohn Building Corp., Brookfield, recently completed the design and construction of a 5,250-square-foot addition for the Edgewood Center and the design and construction for the interior build out for the new 8,500-square-foot facility for Home Care Medical, both located at 4818 S. 76th St. in Greenfield.
Berghammer Construction Corp., Butler, recently completed construction of a new, 10,800-square-foot Milwaukee Pain Treatment Center facility at U.S. Highway 45 and Silver Spring Drive.
MEDC Loans
Milwaukee Fence Inc. received a $148,000 MEDC loan to purchase the building at 1630 S. 38th St., Milwaukee.
Bodies In Motion Inc. received a $216,000 MEDC loan to purchase the building at 2499 S. Delaware St.
Botanas LLC, a restaurant located at 816 S. 5th St., received a $247,000 MEDC loan to purchase the building at 814 S. 5th St. for expansion.
Woon Chough LLC received a $300,000 MEDC loan to purchase the building at 5428 W. Fond du Lac Ave. to operate a clothing store.
