Irgens Snags $80M Financing for Milwaukee Office Tower

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

833 East Michigan in Milwaukee

Irgens has received an $80 million, non-recourse loan for 833 East Michigan, a 359,000-square-foot, LEED Silver-certified, Class A+ office building in the central business district of Milwaukee, Wis.

Walker & Dunlop Inc. secured the loan for the development firm through PGIM Real Estate Finance. Some of the money will be used to refinance the property’s existing construction debt and portions will be used for future tenant improvements and leasing commissions.

“We were pleased to win this assignment on behalf of Irgens, a regional leader in the development space,” Andrew Schoene, Walker & Dunlop’s assistant vice president in its Capital Markets group, told Commercial Property Executive. “It is the newest multi-tenant Class A office building in the area, and the fact that PGIM invested in a mortgage loan on this asset is a testament to its strength.”

833 East Michigan boasts vast windows with waterfront views, marble-finished lobbies, a state-of-the-art fitness center and conference center. The tenant roster in the building currently includes PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Godfrey & Kahn and Rare Steakhouse.

Originally constructed in 2016, the 17-story lakefront property became the first significant multi-tenant office development in downtown Milwaukee in almost a decade. Schoene noted that thanks to a strong influx of tenants from the suburbs, the property has enjoyed a strong lease-up. 

“The overall level of investment activity in downtown Milwaukee is on the rise,” Schoene said. “The new Bucks Stadium entertainment district, the new Northwestern Mutual headquarters building, significant multifamily developments, and the planned streetcar are all breathing new life into the CBD, and tenant response is strong.”

The building is one of a collection of six office and hotel buildings positioned around the U.S. Bank Center, all of which are connected by a skyway or tunnels. The property is also adjacent to the planned Milwaukee streetcar route, which will offer tenants immediate access to the intermodal transportation station in addition to much of downtown Milwaukee.

Walker & Dunlop’s Jim Cope joined Schoene on the structure of the three-year, interest-only loan.

Making a name

Walker & Dunlop was named as one of Fortune’s Fastest Growing Companies, and last year, closed a record $7.3 billion in total brokered volume, up 75 percent from the full-year 2016 figure. 

Earlier this year, the 2018 CPE-MHN Top Mortgage Banking Firms survey ranked Walker & Dunlop at number two.

Image courtesy of Walker & Dunlop