Owner/Developer: Joseph Property Development LLC
Architects: Rinka Chung Architecture
Contractor: Joseph Property Development LLC
Costs: Undisclosed
Year completed: September 2016
After spending nearly two decades on the 16th floor of the 1000 N. Water Street office tower in downtown Milwaukee, advertising and marketing firm Hoffman York Inc. switched gears and moved to a renovated Historic Third Ward warehouse.
“The way we work is different,” said Sharon Boeldt , partner and director of earned media.
Hoffman York no longer needed rooms for files, but rather convertible space, which it was able to find at 200 N. Water St. The space housed the William F. Eisner Museum of Advertising & Design before it closed in 2010.
Hoffman York hired Milwaukee architectural firm Rinka Chung to design the loft-style office space, creating collaborative work areas for the company’s 75 to 80 employees.
A once oversized mailroom at 1000 N. Water St. is now a quarter of the size in the Third Ward location.
Employees who have offices are on the interior of the building and the office spaces are smaller, see-through and don’t have ceilings.
Staff members often find a couch to work, or space in the large lunch room area, Boeldt said.
“We really got employees involved and engaged before deciding where to move,” Boeldt said. “There are also six other agencies in the Third Ward and we wanted to be part of this thriving area.”