AmFam sells downtown Milwaukee building but real estate activity up 55%
MILWAUKEE - In November, American Family Insurance announced it is selling a downtown Milwaukee building instead of developing it, but the news isn't as bad as it may seem.
The AmFam decision hinges on the reality that a certain part of their employees will always work from home, but a closer look downtown tells a different story; that the recovery is faring a lot better than in other cities.
Three years ago, American Family Insurance saw an opportunity in brick-and-mortar, planning to renovate the historic Mandel building on Martin Luther King Drive into a new office space.
"As an organization, we are embracing new ways of working," said Kari Grasee.
Grasee oversees real estate for the company, and with close to 70% of employees fully remote, she sees another opportunity in a new space.
"We're really taking a step back and understanding what our needs are going forward, and then we're taking action as opportunities come up," said Grasee.
American Family is selling the Mandel building, but while they pull out, one expert is confident that space won't be wasted and that downtown is doing just fine.
"In the downtown market, activity is up 390% compared to June of 2020, and it's up 55% just from January of this year," said Andy Hunt, Marquette University Center for Real Estate director.
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Hunt said more tenants are seeking more space downtown, even with the rise of remote work.
"If you're going to be leaving your house where you're very comfortable with your office setup, you want to be coming to an environment that is exciting, that you want to be in," said Hunt.
Hunt said shorter commutes, paired with recent successful projects like The Avenue, still make downtown Milwaukee a working destination.
"We are lucky to be the size of city that we are," said Hunt.
The Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District also provided some data from its latest survey on the downtown workforce showing 50 downtown employers estimate that between 60% and 65% of their employees are back in the office, and they expect that number to grow by the end of the year.