Showcasing Wisconsin: Prominent Commercial Properties Shaping the State’s Skyline

When searching for the perfect location for your office, you have a list of criteria to fulfill:

•  It has to be located where everyone on your staff can easily get to it from their home
• It needs to either have amenities, such as a gym and a daycare, or be near a gym or a daycare for employees who have small children or like to get a workout in on their lunch break
• The office needs to be functional, but should also be beautiful
• Stunning views from your conference rooms make a great impression on clients, prospects, and partners when they come to your office for meetings

If you think finding an office that meets all of these criteria here in Wisconsin is going to be a challenge, we have a few reasons you should think again.

As our population has grown, our downtown areas have become more refined, and they have increasingly become preferred locations for large corporations who need a regional headquarters to maintain a footprint in the Midwest.

For those who don’t want to pay Chicago prices, Milwaukee is just up the lakefront, and while we might not have a Willis Tower, our commercial properties are just as stunning.

Here are just a few of the most prominent examples:

1) U.S. Bank Center

The U.S. Bank Center is the tallest building in Wisconsin, standing at 601 feet and 42 stories tall. It was completed in 1973 and is located in downtown Milwaukee just steps from the lakeshore.

The U.S. Bank Center was designed by two architects: Bruce Graham and James DeStefano of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
The U.S. Bank Center covers a full block, between North Cass and Van Buren Streets, and East Michigan Street and East Wisconsin Avenue. The tower features a steel frame sheathed with a white-aluminum-and-glass facade.

You might not think of wildlife when you think of downtown skyscrapers, but the U.S. Bank Center is one exception to that rule. In July 1987, a hacking box was installed outside the 41st floor to allow peregrine falcons to nest as part of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Peregrine Falcon Recovery Plan. The goal of the recovery plan was to reintroduce peregrines into Wisconsin after their whole population in the state were killed off due to the widespread use of DDT in agriculture following World War II.

The location atop the U.S. Bank Center was chosen for the hacking box because it created an environment where the birds were less susceptible to disease and their natural predators.

One year after the project was initiated, a pair of peregrine chicks were hatched atop the tower. The hatchlings were the first born in the wild within Wisconsin since the 1960s. Since the launch of the program, 67 falcons have fledged from the hacking box atop the
tower.

The building also has an observation deck on the 41st floor. Since it’s the tallest building in Wisconsin and so close to the lakeshore, there’s no better view in town.

2) Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons

Northwestern Mutual’s former 16-story office building was demolished to make way for this skyscraper, which stands at 550 feet and 32 stories. It was designed by Pickard Chilton, and is the second-tallest building in Milwaukee, and was completed in 2017.

The tower is one of the most modern buildings in downtown Milwaukee, and it looks like it. It has sleek lines, and a curved, glass-fronted outer wall to provide an exceptional view of the lakefront. This building was designed to be as beautiful as it is functional,
and its architects achieved that goal.

Like the U.S. Bank Center, the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons is located just off the lakeshore, providing stunning views of Lake Michigan from its east facing, floor-to-ceiling windows.

3) The Associated Bank River Center

The Associated Bank River Center is 426 feet and 28 stories tall. It’s a postmodern high rise located in the heart of Milwaukee, and was designed by the architecture firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
The building, originally named the Milwaukee Center, was completed in 1988, during a building boom in Milwaukee that also included 100 East Wisconsin, which was built as an office building, but is currently in the process of being converted into a residential
building.

Until 100 East was completed, the Milwaukee Center was the second tallest building in Milwaukee. The peaked tower, red brick, and the use of green near the top pay homage to the style of the Milwaukee City Hall.

Associated Bank bought the building in 2016 and renamed it Associated Bank River Center.

At Compass Properties, we’re proud to work in an area with such a rich history. But we also know that Wisconsin is moving into a bright, new future. Our goal is to help our clients and partners meet that future, while retaining the best parts of the past. If you
want to learn more about what that looks like, please get in touch.