Chicago-based real estate investment firm Bentall Kennedy and Warba Bank, a Kuwaiti public shareholding company, has purchased the ManpowerGroup corporate headquarters building at the Schlitz Park complex in downtown Milwaukee, according to a news release.
Schlitz Park developers Gary Grunau and Scott Sampson developed the four-story, 280,000-square-foot building in 2007 for ManpowerGroup. It is located at 100 W. Manpower Place along the Milwaukee River and adjacent to the former Schlitz brewery complex, which Grunau and Sampson converted into an office park in the 1980s.
The building was sold by The Brewery Works Inc., an entity created by Grunau and Sampson for Schlitz Park. They were represented by CBRE, according to the news release.
The sale price was not disclosed. The ManpowerGroup building has an assessed value of $59.3 million, according to city records.
Warba Bank recently partnered with Bentall Kennedy to begin acquiring properties with strong and stable returns, according to the news release. The ManpowerGroup building purchase was their first joint purchase.
“The acquisition is a perfect fit for our first investment made in conjunction with Warba Bank. It is an exceptionally well maintained asset in a vibrant and growing urban submarket,” said Clint Hinds, senior vice president, Bentall Kennedy (U.S.) Limited Partnership. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Warba Bank as their selected real estate investment advisor in the United States.”
“We are glad to partner with Bentall Kennedy, one of the largest global real estate investment advisors, which will support the expansion of Warba Bank’s global real estate investment program throughout key and vital U.S. real-estate markets. This remarkable acquisition marks the debut of a long-term cooperation and is in line with our strategy of acquiring well-occupied properties, generating stable income in dynamic markets; the property is a great addition to our U.S. Real Estate portfolio,” said Shaheen Hamad Al-Ghanem, CEO, Warba Bank.
In February, ManpowerGroup, which employs about 900 people downtown, extended its lease at Schlitz Park through 2031. The lease will not be effected by the sale of the building.
Grunau decided to list the ManpowerGroup building this spring.
“As we continue to evaluate how to best reinvest in and grow Schlitz Park so we can continue to attract exciting new tenants to downtown Milwaukee, we are considering a possible sale of the Manpower headquarters,” Grunau said at the time.
Additionally, Grunau said he plans to refinance the main portion of Schlitz Park and separately the Stock-House Building, which will allow the Schlitz Park developers to pay off their public and other prior financing.
Since the 46-acre Schlitz Park was redeveloped in 1983, it has become home to 38 companies that employ more than 4,200 people.
