Rexnord Corp. plans to move some of its operations to a downtown Milwaukee office building at 111 W. Michigan St., according to a report today from Urban Milwaukee. Commercial real estate industry sources with knowledge of the move contacted today by BizTimes confirmed the plans.
The move by Rexnord is part of an overall redevelopment plan for the office complex at 105-111 W. Michigan St. According to a source, brothers Michael and Joe Klein are acquiring the property from its current owner, Towne Realty Inc., an affiliate of Zilber Ltd.
Cushman & Wakefield | The Boerke Co. confirmed the sale in a tweet this afternoon. The property was sold for $14.4 million, according to the tweet. John Kuhn, principal with Boerke, and David Tighe, Boerke capital markets specialist, represented the buyers in the transaction.
Value add opportunity at 105-111 West Michigan Street trades for $14.4M. Nice work by Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke Principal @johnbkuhn and Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke Capital Markets specialist @DavidTighe7 on representing the Buyer on the acquisition from Town Realty, Inc. pic.twitter.com/CODAUvOmsF
— The Boerke Company (@TheBoerkeCo) February 19, 2019
Industry sources said Rexnord would be a tenant and move some of its Milwaukee-area operations into the facility. One source said as many as 500 jobs could be moved there.
Neither Michael Klein, president of Klein Development, nor Joe Klein, a principal at HKS Holdings LLC, could immediately be reached for comment.
Milwaukee permit records show that Waukesha-based Integrity Environmental Services Inc. on Feb. 11 filed an application for asbestos-abatement work at the property. The application lists Klein Development, of Pewaukee, as the owner.
The city assesses the two buildings at a little more than $15.6 million. The building, consisting of three stories of office space on top of a parking structure and totaling 50,618 square feet, was built in 1967, while a second five-story, 100,250-square-foot office building went up in 1998, according to city assessment records.
This would not be the first time Rexnord has worked with Klein Development. The firm had a hand in developing the headquarters for the company’s Zurn Industries division in Milwaukee’s Reed Street Yards.
Rexnord, which last year was ranked in the Fortune 1000, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives of Zilber also did not respond to a request for comment.
Rexnord’s corporate headquarters are currently located in the Global Water Center building at 247 W. Freshwater Way, Milwaukee, which is in Walker’s Point and is adjacent to the Reed Street Yards. The company also has a campus in West Milwaukee northeast of West Mitchell Street and South 52nd Street.
The 111 W. Michigan St. building was formerly occupied by Fortis Management Group, until it closed down its operations there last year.
