The Chicago developer who captured the city’s attention last year by purchasing the downtown Milwaukee post office complex has made another Wisconsin purchase.
R2 Companies purchased a 20,000-square-foot retail center at 10940-10950 W. Capitol Drive in Wauwatosa for $1.9 million from Petroff’s Plaza, LLC, according to state records.
Matt Garrison, managing principal, of R2 Companies, said he plans on making some cosmetic improvements to the property and then keeping it as is.
A Columbia St. Mary’s clinic occupies 80 percent of the building. A Subway restaurant and a vitamin store are also in the building, which is 95 percent occupied, Garrison said.
“We like to buy Columbia St. Mary’s credit,” Garrison said. “We own another single-tenant Columbia St. Mary’s (building) in Saukville, we think they are a great tenant. We’ll talk to them, see what we can do (with the building) to make them happy. If they’re happy, we’re happy.”
In October, R2 Companies purchased the 1.1 million-square-foot downtown Milwaukee post office at 341 W. St. Paul Ave. with the intent of redeveloping it into a mixed-use development with retail along the street, a riverwalk and entertainment along the 1,500 feet of frontage on the Menomonee River.
The U.S. Postal Service has another four-and-a-half years left on its lease in the building and an option to renew.
In 2008, the U.S. Postal Service purchased 64 acres at the southwest corner of East College and South Pennsylvania avenues in Oak Creek with the intent to develop a new 820,000-square-foot mail processing and distribution center.
At the time, the Postal Service announced it would work with Milwaukee developer Cobalt Partners to build a more efficient building and vacate the downtown facility, which was said to be obsolete. However, the project never moved forward.
Garrison said he has had little contact with the post office officials since the purchase of the downtown Milwaukee facility, but he is hopeful they will consider relocating to the Oak Creek site.
“To me that’s a viable alternative since it was an enormous process for them to select that site,” Garrison said. “With four-and-a half years left on the current term, if they are going to do something, now is the time – they would probably want to start moving.”
