Northwestern Mutual plans a $500 million downtown Milwaukee office upgrade. Here are 4 things to know about the project.
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Thursday it will invest more than $500 million to redevelop its downtown Milwaukee campus and bring jobs downtown from its campus in Franklin.
Here are four things to know about the numbers behind this huge project.
That $500 million will completely transform an existing building
The company will do a gut revamp of its 18-story office building, 818 E. Mason St., down to its foundation, center core and steel frame, said Northwestern Mutual Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer John Schlifske.
That building will be redeveloped to resemble the design of the company's 32-story office tower and commons just to its south, at 800 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Northwestern Mutual spent $450 million to build the tower and commons, which opened in 2017. The company has annual revenue of $34 billion.
Northwestern Mutual's plans are tied to receiving $30 million from the city
The downtown campus project is to include $30 million provided to the company through a new tax incremental financing district proposed by Mayor Cavalier Johnson's administration.
That city grant would come through annual payments for up to 23 years from the transformed office building's higher property tax revenue. That TIF district needs Common Council approval.
Northwestern Mutual is still receiving annual payments from the tower and commons development's property taxes that will eventually total $50 million. Those TIF payments are to be completed by 2029.
Northwestern Mutual's office complex could some day hold up to 9,000 employees
Northwestern Mutual is downtown's largest employer with 4,480 full-time workers. The company plans to shift nearly 2,000 employees to its downtown campus from its Franklin operations over the next three to five years.
The city financing proposal requires the company have at least 5,375 employees assigned to its downtown campus at the project's completion, and at least 5,750 employees there by 2030.
That employee count will not include contractors and consultants who work at the downtown campus. However, it can include employees who work remotely but reside in Milwaukee.
The downtown complex could some day accommodate up to 9,000 employees, Schlifske said.
City of Milwaukee financing comes with strings attached on hiring, charitable giving
The city financing proposal says Northwestern Mutual must use small business enterprises for at least 25% of construction and supply costs and at least 18% of professional services costs on the project's construction.
Also, the company will hire unemployed and underemployed Milwaukee residents for at least 40% of total on-site construction “worker hours,” and ensure a $15 hourly minimum wage with built-in escalators for the new building's janitors, security personnel and other vendor employees.
Finally, Northwestern Mutual and its foundation will provide $2.5 million during the TIF's first five years for "affordable housing efforts and/or efforts to improve the fitness, health or education of economically disadvantaged youth" in Milwaukee, the proposal said.
More:Northwestern Mutual is investing $5 million in two Black-led Milwaukee financial institutions
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Northwestern Mutual's $500 million Milwaukee project by the numbers
