Brookfield strives to keep Fiserv

Mayor disputes idea city doesn’t fit young workers

A trendy corporate headquarters setting like downtown Milwaukee might be good for recruiting young tech workers today, but Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto contends that to keep those employees happy over the span of their lives, his upscale suburb — where Fiserv Inc. currently is located — is a better place to be.

Portraying Brookfield as a community where workers will want to live and work as they raise families is part of the pitch being made by Brookfield officials as they attempt to keep Fiserv from leaving town for more modern facilities elsewhere.

The company, which provides technology for banks and credit unions, is looking for a new headquarters site that can offer the kind of open, collaborative spaces and facilities that millennials and many companies prefer.

Downtown Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and out-of-state venues — likely including Alpharetta, Ga., where Fiserv has a large presence — are believed to be competing with Brookfield to become Fiserv’s new home.

Last month, Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that it isn’t easy to recruit young people to its headquarters in a Brookfield office park just off W. Blue Mound Road. Conversely, he described downtown Milwaukee as “very lively, lots of energy,” and noted it could be a good location for the international company’s headquarters.

However, Brookfield won’t give up on Fiserv without a fight. Ponto says persuading Fiserv to stay is his top priority right now.

To that end, Brookfield, in cooperation with developer Irgens, has put together a proposal for Fiserv to build a millennial-friendly, 120,000-square-foot building on 10 acres near where I-94 crosses over N. Calhoun Road — part of the eastern Waukesha County suburb’s large, under-construction development known as The Corridor.

The site would give Fiserv high visibility and exclusive occupancy it might not get in a building in downtown Milwaukee, Ponto said. Also, in the longer run, Brookfield might be just the kind of community where young financial technology employees find they prefer not only to live, but to work, he said.

“I think millennials initially, when they’re going to school or in their first job, probably want to work in a downtown environment.” Ponto said. “But I think as soon as they think about getting married and settling down, that shifts to the suburban environment.”

Since 1992, Fiserv, with 800 or so local employees, has been housed in a three-story brick building at 255 Fiserv Drive — a place Yabuki said feels more “bank-esque” than like the space of a technology company. He said it couldn’t be renovated without significant disruption.

Ponto’s proposed new site in Brookfield is just to the east, and like the current location, also between W. Blue Mound Road and I-94.

“I think that the Blue Mound Road corridor as it runs through Brookfield is probably the premier commercial corridor in Wisconsin,” Ponto said. “There are all sorts of things going on, and I think it’s only going to get better.”

He cited, for example, plans for a conference center and hotel on space once controlled by Sears at Brookfield Square mall.

Ponto said Brookfield is no stranger to technology companies where young people work.

“An excellent example is Concurrency,” Ponto said. “Concurrency was founded in 1989 by a Brookfield East graduate. It has always had its headquarters here in Brookfield. They are a premier partner with Microsoft in adapting Microsoft programs to the needs of businesses. They’re in Bishops Woods (office park). They have all kinds of young high-tech people there and they’re doing really exciting things.”

He also cited Connecture, which works with healthcare technology systems, and Milwaukee Electric Tool Co., which does research, development and other work in Brookfield.

In 2016, the Brookfield Common Council approved a tax incremental financing district to provide $6 million to help pay for a Milwaukee Tool headquarters addition.

The property taxes from the new building will pay off that city debt within an estimated 15 years. Once the debt is paid off, those taxes will go to the city’s general fund, its school district and other local governments.

Also, Milwaukee Tool could earn up to $18 million in state income tax credits depending upon the number of jobs it retains and creates in both Brookfield and at its Empire Level division in Mukwonago.

“They have not had any problems attracting people to that site,” Ponto said of Milwaukee Tool. “In fact, not only are they hiring people from colleges around here ... they’re getting recent graduates from MIT and from Stanford.”

Officials from Milwaukee and Wauwatosa declined to comment on the Fiserv situation. The state’s economic development agency, Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., said it couldn’t comment specifically on Fiserv.

“We are focused on ensuring that companies already in Wisconsin remain here, regardless of which locations are being considered,” said WEDC spokesman Mark Maley. “We understand a company must make a location decision based upon its unique business needs. We work closely with companies and our regional economic development partners to understand those needs and deliver solid data to help them in the decision-making process, but we do not recommend one community over another.”

If Brookfield can’t keep Fiserv from leaving, it appears it won’t be for lack of effort.

“This is the foremost matter on my mind,” Ponto said. “It really is our number one priority.”