Boston-based Veolia North America, plans to move its Milwaukee office from the west side of Milwaukee to downtown, according to commercial real estate industry sources.
The company will lease office space in the
ASQ Center at 648 N. Plankinton Ave., in downtown Milwaukee’s Westown neighborhood, according to sources.
Currently, Veolia has its local office at the
Honey Creek Corporate Center at 125 S. 84th St. on Milwaukee’s west side. The company has locations in Germantown, Menomonee Falls, Greenfield and Milwaukee.
A source said that the company will lease a floor of the ASQ Center on the north side of the building.
Veolia was represented by JLL and the ASQ Center was represented by Colliers | Wisconsin, according to sources. Veolia and Colliers did not respond to requests for comment on the transaction and JLL declined to comment.
According to a brochure from Colliers, the ASQ Center has 3,400 square feet of office space available on the first floor, 17,800 square feet of available office space currently split between two suites on the second floor and 32,000 square feet of available office space on the third floor.
Veolia employs 260 people in information technology, industrial and environmental services and support functions at its sites in Germantown, Greenfield, Menomonee Falls and Milwaukee, the company’s website says.
A subsidiary of Veolia group, Veolia North America (VNA) offers water, waste and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery.
Veolia Water Milwaukee, a subsidiary of VNA which is not part of this move, is contracted by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to operate and maintain its regional wastewater treatment system, including the Jones Island and South Shore water reclamation facilities, conveyance system and deep tunnel. The company has operated MMSD facilities since 2008 through a public-private partnership. In 2016 MMSD extended its agreement with Veolia under a 10-year, $500 million contract, according to a
press release.
Formerly a Gimbel’s Department Store, the ASQ Center was converted to a mixed use commercial development in 2001 and now includes office, retail and hospitality. The eight-story building has 240,000 square feet.
In 2018, Minnesota-based Hempel Real Estate and Milwaukee-based Interstate Development Partners LLC purchased a portion of the building for $19.9 million. The sale excluded the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel or the space occupied by the American Society for Quality (ASQ), which owns its portion.
Sources say the move downtown by Veolia represents the flight to quality trend as more companies opt for higher-quality office space to help them attract employees to work in the office.
According to second quarter data from the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin, the Milwaukee region’s class A office real estate market has had positive absorption of 234,412 square feet of space so far this year, while the region's class B office market has had negative absorption of 109,396 square feet.
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