Brookfield-based Fiserv Inc. has confirmed it is evaluating three potential spots in the Milwaukee area for its new headquarters.
The Fortune 500 financial services technology developer is looking at The Corridor in Brookfield, the UWM Innovation Campus in Wauwatosa and Reed Street Yards in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood.
BizTimes reported last month Fiserv was looking at those sites, as well as Schlitz Park in downtown Milwaukee.
According to several real estate developers, the new Class A office building for Fiserv would be 120,000 to 150,000 square feet.
Fiserv confirmed in April it was considering moving its headquarters from its existing building at 255 Fiserv Drive in Brookfield. And in May, president and chief executive officer Jeffery Yabuki said the search was “primarily within the Milwaukee area.”
Fiserv said in a statement this morning it is “closely evaluating” the three sites, but did not say it is limiting its search to Wisconsin.
It’s possible the company could consider moving its headquarters out of state. About 1,600 of Fiserv’s employees were in Alpharetta, Georgia as of 2016, which makes it the third-largest employer in that market and one of the company’s largest operations.
Fiserv had $5.5 billion in revenue in 2016 and has about 23,000 employees at 120 global offices. Fewer than 4 percent of the company’s employees are in Brookfield.
Legislation currently being considered in the state Legislature aims to provide an incentive of up to $10 million over five years to Fiserv if it keeps its headquarters and 93 percent of its full-time employees in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. said Friday another $2.5 million would go to Fiserv for capital investment in the new headquarters.
“As we consider our options, our goal is to create an environment that best aligns our workplace strategy with our brand, associate and client experiences – a workplace that inspires collaboration and connection, with an unyielding focus on delivering an innovative and quality experience for our people and our clients,” said Britt Zarling, vice president of corporate communications for Fiserv.
Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto is lobbying the company to keep its headquarters in the city. The community development authority and common council held a joint meeting July 11 at which they started the process of developing a TIF for Fiserv to locate in The Corridor. He did not say how much the TIF is for, but it will run longer than the existing 15-year Corridor TIF.
“We’re actually ahead of the game by getting the process going and we’ve also got very strong support for our efforts, financial, to keep Fiserv here in Brookfield,” Ponto said.
He expects Fiserv to make a final decision about its headquarters this month.
“I think it’s getting very close and I know that there’s been significant discussions between Irgens (the developer of The Corridor) and Fiserv,” Ponto said. “I think that both Irgens and the City of Brookfield have made a very strong proposal for Fiserv to locate at The Corridor. I’m happy that we’re being strongly considered for this. I think we should be.””
