The State of Wisconsin is seeking development proposals for an office-focused mixed-use building on a vacant property on Milwaukee's Near West Side, which could help revitalize the surrounding area while optimizing the state's office footprint.
The request for proposals (RFP), issued Tuesday, is for the 2.6-acre, state-owned site at 2701 W. Wisconsin Ave., a full city block southwest of Wisconsin Avenue and 27th Street that the state cleared in 2022.
According to the RFP, the state is looking for a developer to purchase the site and develop an office building with about 72,000 square feet of office space to house several state agencies, which would also require about 300 parking spaces. Developers can opt to include more office space in the proposal for other tenants as they see fit.
Further, the state is seeking options to add other uses to the site to help with neighborhood revitalization.
Responses are due on Feb. 28 with a decision expected by April, state documents show. The building should be substantially completed by summer 2027, according to the state's most recent timeline.
The state's 10-year leases are to begin in August 2027. There will be options for renewal after the initial lease period.
Both Democrat Gov. Tony Evers and his predecessor, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, have called for the project to replace an outdated nine-story state office building, located in downtown Milwaukee at 819 N. 6th St., which was built in 1963 and houses many of the agencies slated to be moved into the new building.
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819 N. 6th St. Image from Google Maps[/caption]
State looking to optimize its office space
Construction of the office building is part of a state effort, called Vision 2030, to reduce costs by optimizing its workplace footprint, according to a press release from the Department of Administration (DOA).
Vision 2030 calls for shedding underutilized state-owned real estate, which can save maintenance costs, and decentralizing state employees, which can open employment opportunities to more people, according to the DOA.
“Vision 2030 not only helps us modernize where and how work gets done at the state level, it also has provided more opportunities to develop and grow our Wisconsin workforce talent across the state - a win-win for taxpayers and state workers,” said Kathy Blumenfeld, DOA secretary.
Project has previously faced financing snags
The plans outlined in the new proposal call for a much smaller building than initially envisioned.
The state's 2019-'21 construction budget included $4 million to buy and prepare the development site. That plan called for a $98.5 million, 200,000-square-foot building − which wasn't funded.
The Republican-controlled Legislature also rejected Gov. Tony Evers' proposal to spend $163.6 million to construct a 283,000-square-foot building, with a 1,000-stall parking structure, during the 2021-'23 budget period.
Evers' 2023-'25 capital budget proposal didn't include funding for the building.
