Northwestern Mutual Kicks Off $500M Milwaukee Overhaul

The Northwestern Mutual Campus encompasses 2 million square feet. Image courtesy of Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual started construction on the redevelopment of the North Office Building in downtown Milwaukee. The structure is part of a larger, 2 million-square-foot campus.

The $500 million office project will gradually become home to the company’s 2,000 employees, currently located at Northwestern’s 880,000-square-foot campus in Franklin, Wis. The office building is slated for occupancy as early as 2027.

The 540,000-square-foot North Office Building initially came online in 1990 at 818 E. Mason St. Plans call for interior and exterior renovations, upgrading the property to similar standards to the company’s 1.1 million-square-foot Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons skyscraper. Other elements will include new amenities, the creation of an event space and the development of a pedestrian plaza at the intersection of Mason and Cass streets.

READ ALSO: Return-to-Office Push Meets Hybrid Work Era

In the second quarter of 2023, Milwaukee’s office market registered a vacancy rate of 23.6 percent, according to a JLL report. Despite economic headwinds, Milwaukee’s market is showing some positive signs, as tenants are moving back in their office spaces, keeping in line with a hybrid work model and focusing on Class A assets in urban areas.

Northwestern Mutual’s commitment to Milwaukee

The majority of Northwestern’s team that will redevelop the building already worked with the insurance company on the Tower and Commons project. Pickard Chilton and Kendall/Heaton are serving as architects, while Gilbane Building Co., in partnership with CG Schmidt, are the general contractor and construction manager. Local architect firm EUA is providing interior design services and Hines is serving as the project’s development manager.

Northwestern is also planning to work with small business enterprises for at least 25 percent of construction and supply costs and a minimum of 18 percent of professional services costs on the construction of the overhaul, as part of the company’s 2012 agreement with the City of Milwaukee. Northwestern also partnered with the City’s Residents Preference Program, which entails adding unemployed and underemployed residents to the construction team.

In February, the City of Milwaukee proposed a tax increment financing plan for the redevelopment project, to be structured as a developer-funded tax incremental district. The deal stipulates that Northwestern, after initially paying for all costs, will receive 75 percent of the tax increment, while the City will gain 25 percent, until a net present value total of $30 million is paid to the owner.