Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren plans to purchase the 40,000-square-foot Buffalo Building at N16 W23250 Stone Ridge Drive in the City of Pewaukee and will move its Waukesha County office there in October of 2007.The Milwaukee-based law firm currently leases about 15,000 square feet of space in the Ruekert-Mielke building at W233 N2080 Ridgeview Parkway in the City of Pewaukee. That building is only about two blocks from the Buffalo Building.
"We’re committed to being the biggest firm in Waukesha County," said Timothy Nettesheim, managing shareholder of Reinhart’s Waukesha office. "We need space to grow. We’re here for the long haul."
In addition to the firm’s headquarters in downtown Milwaukee, it also has offices in Madison and Rockford, Ill.
"The philosophy that you can market to Waukesha County from downtown Milwaukee is a flawed philosophy," Nettesheim said. "They want to deal with people who are out here. People live here, they work here, they want you to be here. It’s a big difference."
The Buffalo Building was built in 1997 by Jim Heuler, the owner of several businesses, including Heuler Tile Co. Heuler is selling the building to Reinhart. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close on Oct. 1.
Heuler Tile Co., which installed the marble tiles in the Calatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, plans to move from the Buffalo Building to another location. Heuler needs about 30,000 to 50,000 square feet of space, with flexibility to grow. The company is looking for a location in Waukesha County. It also has other locations, where operations can be consolidated.
"They’ve outgrown the facility," said Ben Quinette of Quinette & Traudt Inc., which is representing Heuler in the sale of the property. "We’re in the process of working with them to locate new quarters."
The two-story Buffalo Building is a unique suburban office building. It was built in an architectural style similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie style. The building has granite tile on much of its exterior, a copper roof and a granite buffalo insignia on the floor near the main entrance. Granite tiles and wood trim are featured throughout the building’s interior. It is also located on a hilltop that provides attractive views of the area.
"It’s the most beautiful office building, I think, in Waukesha County," Nettesheim said. "It’s not a rectangular box. This footprint is more eclectic. It’s visually appealing on the exterior and the interior."
"This will be a signature office building for Reinhart," Quinette said.
The building’s location in the Ridgeview Business Park is ideal because of its easy access to Interstate-94 and close proximity to the Marriott and Radisson hotels, Nettesheim said.
Associated Bank and Associated Financial Group, the insurance arm of Associated Bank, will occupy about 15,000 square feet of office space in the building. Associated Financial Group currently occupies about 6,100 square feet of space in the Ruekert-Mielke building, and will move from there to occupy about 10,000 square feet in the Buffalo Building. Associated Bank will occupy about 5,000 square feet in the Buffalo Building.
The new, larger office space will provide a greater commercial banking and wealth management presence for Associated Bank in Waukesha County, said Steve Kleber, regional vice president of Associated Financial Group.
Reinhart also plans to create a 3,500-square-foot conference center in the building, which will be available to the general public for meetings. The conference center will be able to seat about 100 people and should expose more people to the law firm and the attractive Buffalo Building, which could help the firm gain new business and recruit new employees, Nettesheim said.
Reinhart will occupy about 21,000 square feet in the Buffalo Building. The company has plans to expand its Waukesha County presence, Nettesheim said. The firm opened its Waukesha County office about three years ago and now has about 15 lawyers working there. In seven years, the firm plans to have 35 lawyers in that office, Nettesheim said.
"Our goal is to be the No. 1 law firm in Waukesha County in size and revenue," he said. "To do that, you have to make a commitment to the area. I think this building is a step in the right direction."
The Buffalo Building is named in remembrance of Stephen Juech, a former partner of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek. He died in 1995 from kidney cancer. When he was diagnosed with cancer, Juech’s friends formed a support group called the Tosa Buffalos. Heuler was Juech’s brother-in-law.
Milwaukee
The City of Milwaukee has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a 79-year-old, 7,877-square-foot, three-story brick building at 821-29 W. Atkinson Ave. The building has seven one-bedroom apartments on the upper two floors and 2,600 square feet of retail space on the first floor. The city’s asking price for the property is $17,000. The buyers will be required to renovate the building.
Juli Kaufmann, president of Kaufmann LeSage LLC, has changed her plans to develop a vacant lot at the corner of South Second and West Bruce streets. Originally she planned to build a five-story building with office, retail and residential space. The building is being redesigned and the office space component has been dropped, Kaufmann said. The building will be three to four stories tall with about five residential townhomes and less than 2,000 square feet of retail space along Second Street, she said. The rest of the first floor will be used for garages for the townhouses on the upper floors. The building had to be redesigned to address parking issues, and because the site is so narrow, Kaufmann said. It will be a "green" building, with environmentally-friendly features. Marketing for the townhouses will begin in late August and construction of the building is expected to begin next spring, she said. The price for the townhomes has not been determined yet.
The Chiropractic Company recently opened its fourth office at 2332 N. Farwell Ave. In addition to chiropractic care, massage therapy is also offered at Chiropractic Company. The business has additional locations are in Shorewood, Glendale and Brown Deer.
Oconomowoc
Richard Shovick, the vice president of vendor relations for Oconomowoc-based Paragon Development Systems, plans to build an 18,500-square-foot, two-story restaurant, sports bar, comedy club and banquet facility at the southwest corner of Highway 67 and Valley Road, near the Pabst Farms development. It will be called Blue Ribbon. Shovick plans to demolish the decades-old Mr. Slow’s bar and restaurant building on the 1.4-acre site, to clear room for the new building.
Brookfield
Milwaukee-based Towne Investments recently purchased the 83,000-square-foot All State Insurance office building at 555 S. Executive Dr. from All State Insurance. As part of the deal All State signed a long-term lease with Towne. The acquisition also included vacant land adjacent to the All State building, where Towne Investments plans to build a 65,000-square-foot office building. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Muskego
Maritime Savings Bank plans to demolish the former Burger King restaurant building at S74 W17095 Janesville Road. Then the West Allis-based bank plans to build a two-story, 10,000-square-foot building in its place. The 5,000-square-foot first floor will be used for a Maritime Savings branch location. Maritime will move its Muskego branch from S6360 W137 W. Janesville Road to the new building. The 5,000-square-foot second floor will be leased out to an office tenant. Maritime has $315 million in total assets and six other locations in Milwaukee, Brookfield, Cudahy, Oak Creek, West Allis and Wind Lake. This will be the third new bank built on Janesville Road in Muskego in recent months. M&I Bank and Waukesha Savings Bank both entered Muskego earlier this year by building new branches on Janesville Road.
Oak Creek
City officials recently approved an agreement with IRG Oak Creek LLC, a consortium of the International Risk Group and the Industrial Realty Group, in which IRG will serve as the master developer for Oak Creek’s lakefront area, roughly the area bounded by Puetz Road on the north, Fifth Avenue on the east and Bender Park on the south. As master developer, IRG will investigate environmental remediation and prepare a master use plan for the area. IRG has been involved in redeveloping environmentally challenged properties across the country, including Downey Landing in the Los Angeles area, McClellan Park in Sacramento, Calif. and redevelopment of the Lowry Air Force Base in Denver.
Sheboygan
O’Malley & Associates, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based financial services company recently opened an office at 2124 Kohler Memorial Drive, Suite 110. The company was formed last year by Mike O’Malley, who was formerly the manager of Met Life’s Downers Grove office. O’Malley & Associates has also opened offices in Appleton, Madison and Crystal Lake, Ill.
Greenfield
Oak Creek-based Ener-Con Co. plans to develop seven single family home lots, four 24-unit condominium buildings, two 30-unit condominium buildings and a 15,000-square-foot commercial parcel on a six-acre site at 4475 S. 108th St., just west of the Budget Cinema.
Leases
Boerke Company
Advanced Manufacturing Technologies leased 12,148 square feet of industrial space at 900 Cheyenne Ave., Grafton, from Silver Creek Partners.
Hein Electric Supply Company Inc. leased 8,560 square feet of industrial space at N89 W14431-75
W. Patrita Dr., Menomonee Falls, from KMR Investment Company LLP.
Dickman Company
Total Comfort of Wisconsin LLC leased 21,556 square feet of industrial space at N29 W23721 Woodgate Ct., Pewaukee, from Points West LLC.
Advance America leased 1,700 square feet of space at Northgate Center, 2919 15th St., Sheboygan, from Inland Commercial Property Management.
Inland Company
Walker Forge leased 5,139 square feet of office space at 222 E. Erie St., Milwaukee.
Corporate Technology Solutions leased 1,579 square feet of office space at the West Allis Center, 1126 S. 70th St., West Allis.
T-Mobile leased 5,861 square feet of office space at Squires III, Ridgewood Drive,
Brookfield.
Advanced Register Solutions leased 2,700 square feet of office space at 9819 S. 13th St., Milwaukee.
F. Dohmen Company leased 6,011 square feet of office space at W175 N11120 Stonewood Dr., Germantown.
Mid-America Real Estate
Domino’s Pizza leased 1,266 square feet of retail space at Burlington Retail Center, an outlot to the Menard’s store under construction at Highway 36 and County Highway W in Burlington.
Orchard Cleaners leased 1,040 square feet of space in Greenwood Shopping Center at 80th Street and 39th Avenue in Kenosha from Greenwood II Limited Partnership.
NAI MLG Commercial
Uni-Price Cleaners leased 1,320 square feet of retail space in the East Town Plaza at 1434 E. Brady St. Milwaukee.
Milwaukee High Lift leased 12,000 square feet of industrial space at 309 Wilmont Dr., Waukesha, from Wilmont Drive Investments.
Sales
Colliers Barry
Donald R. Krause purchased the 61,000-square-foot industrial building at 12995 W. Lisbon Road, Brookfield, for about $1.6 million from BAMCO Investments.
Dickman Company
Oklahoma Chase LLC purchased 135,000 square feet of industrial space at 2969 S. Chase Ave., Milwaukee, from Vulcan Technology Leasing Company.
Donald R. Krause/National Graphics Inc. purchased 61,000 square feet of industrial space at 12995 W. Lisbon Road, Brookfield, from BAMCO Investments.
Mid-America Real Estate
MRED-Cummings Acquisitions Inc. purchased 2.3 acres at 680 N. Milwaukee, Ave., Burlington, from Saeed Saleh, for the development of a Walgreen’s store.
Legend Trail LLC purchased the former Burger King building at S74 W17095 Janesville Road, Muskego, from DBS Properties.
NAI MLG Commercial
Tucker Bay Energy LLC purchased four acres at the northwest corner of Highway 83 and Highway 50 in the Town of Wheatland from Clarence and Mary Daniels.
New construction
MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, was selected by Spectrum Development Group LLC to design and build a new 1,800-square-foot Starbucks café building at the corner of Highway 164 and County Highway VV in Sussex.
Briohn Building Corp., Brookfield, recently completed the design and construction of a 7,000-square-foot fitness facility for World Class Health and Fitness at W234 N2091 Ridgeview Parkway Ct., Pewaukee. In addition, Briohn has been selected to design and build a 3,955-square-foot tenant improvement for First Realty GMAC Real Estate in the Brookfield Towne Centre at 19115 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield.
Keller Inc. received a contract to design and build a 2,800-square-foot Citgo gas station and a Kaul Mart convenience store at 11131 W. Hampton Ave., Milwaukee, for Kaul Oil Company. The convenience store is being expanded to four times its current size.
Gerald Nell Inc., Waukesha, was selected by Gagliano’s Market to design and build an 11,000-square-foot upscale, full service, European-style produce and meat market at 627 Genesee St., Delafield.
Total Team Construction LLC, Brookfield, has been awarded contracts to complete the suite interior at the Foundations Bank & Executive Center at N35 W23877 Highfield Ct., Pewaukee.
MEDC loans
Only God Can Children’s Academy Inc. received a $125,100 MEDC loan and additional financing from Bank Mutual. The funds will be used to complete renovations to the property at 7626 W. Florist Ave.
Bar B Que Station Inc. received a $172,000 MEDC loan and additional financing from Legacy Bank. The funds will be used to construct a building at 4915 W. Hopkins St. and to buy equipment, furniture and inventory, and for working capital.
Python Products Inc. received a $260,000 MEDC loan and additional financing from M&I Bank. The funds will be used to purchase the building at 7020 W. Marcia Road.
Taylor Made Express Inc. received a $304,000 MEDC loan and additional financing from Associated Bank. The funds will be used to acquire the property at 6023 S. Howell Ave. for expansion.
OnCourse Information Services Inc. received a $720,000 MEDC loan and additional financing from M&I Bank. The funds will be used to purchase and renovate a 57,982-square-foot office and warehouse building at 4066 N. Port Washington Ave.
El Rey Mexican Products Inc. received a $2.2 million MEDC loan and additional financing from Park Bank. The funds will be used purchase the property at 916 S. Cesar Chavez Dr. and build a new 38,298-square-foot grocery store.
Soche LLC received a $235,174 MEDC loan and additional financing from Associated Bank. The funds will be used to establish an upscale restaurant and martini lounge at 2213 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
Andrew Weiland is the managing editor of Small Business Times. Send news about commercial real estate to Andrew.weiland@biztimes.com or by calling him at (414) 277-8181 ext. 120. News can also be sent to Andrew Weiland, Small Business Times, 1123 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202.
