Construction has begun on a 35,000-square-foot, five-story addition to the Mercantile Building in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
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The addition is connected to the existing building at 220 E. Buffalo St. and is being constructed on what was a surface lot at the northeast corner of Water and Buffalo Streets.
The new building will include tenants Hanson Dodge Creative, a marketing agency, which has been leasing space in the building, and Digital Measures, a software company focused on higher education.
Digital Measures currently leases 11,500 square feet of space at 301 N. Broadway and will be relocating to 22,000 square feet on the fourth and fifth floor of the new building addition and a portion of the existing building at 220 E. Buffalo once construction is complete.
The move will allow Digital Measures to continue to grow, said spokesperson Lisa Wright.
The company currently has 60 employees and plans to add 40 more people by 2019. Revenue has grown by 50 percent over the last three years, Wright said.
“We are proud to be part of the fabric of the Third Ward and it was important to our entire team to remain in this historic and vibrant area,” Matt Bartel, CEO and founder of Digital Measures. “We looked carefully at existing options for office space and decided to instead create for ourselves a new home that is an extension of our brand and culture.”
The building addition was designed by Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen. Construction is being led by Beyer Construction and interior design led by HGA and Herman Miller. NAI MLG Commercial is handling leasing for both office and first-floor retail in the expansion.
Completion is expected by the fall of 2017.
