TEMPO Milwaukee, the state's largest professional women's organization, has announced it will move its headquarters to
The Avenue development in downtown Milwaukee.
It is just the latest commercial tenant that has committed to the redeveloped former Grand Avenue mall in the Westown neighborhood.
In a news release, TEMPO said it will take over nearly 2,500 square feet on the second floor now occupied by Minneapolis-based Hempel Cos. Josh Krsnak of Hempel is a co-owner and co-developer of The Avenue, along with Tony Janowiec of Milwaukee-based Interstate Development Partners LLC.
TEMPO will move into the new space by early fall. It moved out of its offices at Schlitz Park in May 2020, and employees have been working remotely since.
Jennifer Dirks, president and chief executive officer of TEMPO, said the organization outgrew its space at Schlitz Park and The Avenue office will give it some room to grow in the future. It will also provide a temporary workspace for TEMPO members who work outside of the city but are downtown for an event or meeting.
Dirks said TEMPO selected The Avenue for its new offices because of the role it is playing in revitalizing downtown.
"We did look at several locations throughout the city but our final decision was just the revitalization, the transformation The Avenue is bringing downtown, and TEMPO wanted to be a part of that," she said.
The project, and others such as the the
Bradley Symphony Center, are often cited by city leaders and industry professionals as catalysts for the revitalization of Westown.
"We are thrilled to be moving into this incredible space and joining the impressive mix of Milwaukee businesses and organizations that have recently taken up occupancy," Dirks said. "This is the perfect location for our growing TEMPO team and our membership base of nearly 800 women to gather, network and attend events."
TEMPO was represented by Michael Streit of JLL in the lease. The Avenue owners were represented by Jenna Maguire of Milwaukee-based Founders 3. Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects will oversee tenant build-out work.
The TEMPO news comes about two months after Good Karma Brands
officially announced it is relocating its offices and four Milwaukee-based radio stations to The Avenue.
Other office users at The Avenue include Milwaukee-based
Graef-USA Inc.,
Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District No. 21 and the
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
The Avenue also features a first-floor food hall known as 3rd Street Market Hall and the Plankinton Clover apartments. The food hall is being led by The Avenue business partner and restauranteur Omar Shaik. In addition to the 24 food vendors, 3rd Street Market Hall has attractions like a Topgolf golf simulator, pickleball court and a selfie museum.
TEMPO strives to empower women to achieve and sustain leadership roles. It is composed of nearly 800 members representing diverse industries, functions and companies throughout southeastern Wisconsin. The organization serves its membership of executive, senior, C-level and emerging women leaders through educational programming, professional development, networking and mentoring.
