BMO Financial Group Debuts Milwaukee Tower

BMO Tower. Image courtesy of BMO Financial Group

After a delay earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BMO Financial Group has opened its new headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis.

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Located at 790 N. Water St., BMO Tower will accommodate approximately 600 employees. The 25-story office building is situated adjacent to BMO’s previous headquarters at 770 N. Water St. The new high-rise development reaches 336 feet and offers 362,203 square feet of office space through 25,849-square-foot floorplates, as well as 17,434 square feet of ground-floor retail. BMO Tower was also built with an indoor parking garage with 653 parking spaces, a fitness center, a coffee bar, an outdoor plaza, several meeting and conference rooms, as well as local art spread throughout.  

While serving as BMO’s Milwaukee headquarters, the office tower will also include a BMO branch that includes multiple ATMs that can be accessed from outside or inside the lobby and branch.

Patrick O’Herlihy, spokesperson for BMO, told Commercial Property Executive that construction began in 2017 and was completed in May of this year. BMO tapped the Milwaukee-based Irgens as developer, while Kahler Slater designed the property.

Delayed opening due to COVID-19

O’Herlihy also told CPE that BMO planned to celebrate the grand opening of its new headquarters earlier this year in late spring or early summer, but was delayed due to the restrictions from COVID-19. Now that BMO Tower is open, O’Herlihy told CPE that employees have been using the offices for a few months, but the building is only about 15 percent occupied, hosting between 75 to 100 employees.

David Casper, the U.S. CEO of BMO, said in prepared remarks that Milwaukee will always be an important market for BMO and that the newest headquarters represents part of BMO’s prospects for further growth in the city. In the neighboring state of Illinois, the company is also planning to anchor a 50-story office tower through a 500,000-square-foot lease. The Chicago building, also named BMO Tower, is expected to be completed in early 2022.