The Dohmen Co. has purchased the five-story, 27,000-square-foot Third Ward building where it was once based, at 215 N. Water St., and plans to re-establish the location as its corporate headquarters. Dohmen paid $3.4 million to purchase the building, according to state records.
The company was originally founded in the Milwaukee neighborhood in 1858, but the headquarters location has shifted several times since 1954. In 2009, the headquarters was at 215 N. Water St., and Dohmen has continued to lease the third and fourth floors of the building since that time.
In December 2014, Dohmen moved its corporate headquarters from Menomonee Falls to a one-story, 42,141-square-foot building at 190 N. Milwaukee St. in the Third Ward, which it purchased for $10 million and renovated extensively. The building was torn down to its shell and underwent a complete renovation at an undisclosed cost.
In October, the company purchased a 12,000-square-foot building at nearby 200 N. Jefferson St. for $1.65 million, which it is renovating.
Dohmen is a business processing partner for more than 300 biopharma and medtech companies that has the vision of creating an “efficient, effective and easy-to-use health care experience.”
It owns Dohmen Life Science Services, Red Arrow Labs, ChemWare and Siren. Dohmen has about 800 employees, about 185 of whom are based in Milwaukee. The others are in St. Louis; Denver; Memphis, Tenn.; Emeryville, Calif.; Ontario, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Chicago.
It has been president and chief executive officer Cynthia LaConte’s goal to unify all of the company’s Milwaukee operations in the Third Ward, as she detailed in a BizTimes Milwaukee cover story last year. LaConte has transformed the company over the past several years.
Twelve members of Dohmen’s corporate team will be based at 215 N. Water, as will its Dohmen Investment Group division and the Dohmen Company Foundation. The Dohmen Investment Group makes long-term, strategic investments in disruptive health care models and the Foundation advocates for social justice through health equity. The company also indicated it has room to grow in the new space.
All existing tenants will retain their spaces in the building, and Dohmen will renovate its third and fourth floor spaces, said Sarah Zwicky, director of public relations for Dohmen. The renovation costs were not disclosed.
The company’s Life Science Services division, a service provider for drug and device companies, will continue to be based in the building at 190 N. Milwaukee St. Red Arrow Labs, its health care software and application development arm, will be based at 200 N. Jefferson beginning this summer.
Dohmen now owns and operates 81,000 square feet of space in the Third Ward, and a total of more than 1 million square feet across its seven-state footprint.
Zwicky said the decision to move the headquarters was triggered by the need to free up space at 190 N. Milwaukee St. for Life Science Services’ continued growth.
“Each Dohmen business exists to improve the state of health care,” LaConte said in a statement. “From helping drug and device clients find more effective ways of reaching the patients they serve, to designing innovative new technology that improves the patient experience, our goal is greater efficiency. Our new Water Street building sets the stage for our corporate team to find new ways to realize our vision.”
