Boston Store building revamp wins zoning panel approval
The $15 million redevelopment of downtown’s Boston Store building, creating a renovated headquarters for the department store chain’s corporate parent as well as offices for other businesses, has received preliminary city approval.
The revised plan, which will include a smaller Boston Store, was endorsed Tuesday by the Milwaukee Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee on a 5-0 vote.
Bon-Ton Stores Inc., which operates Boston Store and other department store chains, now leases offices totaling around 170,000 square feet at the building, 331 W. Wisconsin Ave. Bon-Ton also leases 30,000 square feet at The Blue, 310 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Once the renovations are completed next year, Bon-Ton will combine those offices and lease 134,000 square feet at the Boston Store building. Chicago-based building operator North Wells Capital also will lease around 100,000 square feet to other businesses.
The renovations will include cutting the Boston Store space by more than half, from 123,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.
The renovations will reduce the amount of space Bon-Ton rents for both its store and headquarters, which are split between Milwaukee and York, Pa.
That puts Bon-Ton in a better financial position, said Dan Casanova, of the Department of City Development.
Bon-Ton earlier agreed to keep operating its corporate offices and the Grand Avenue Boston Store, totaling around 750 jobs, for at least another 10 years. Those leases were set to expire in January.
The lease extensions are tied to the city providing $1.9 million over 10 years to help finance renovations.
Bon-Ton has around 650 employees in its corporate offices, and about 100 jobs in the department store. The city’s annual $190,000 payments to Bon-Ton would be reduced if the overall job count drops.
The committee approved other developments, including:
The conversion of the former Toys “R” Us building at 8825 N. 76th St., near the shuttered Northridge Mall, into the third northwest side facility operated by auto transmission rebuilder ETE Reman Inc.
The sale of a cityowned historic former fire station, 5151 N. 35th St., and its conversion into the new performance and rehearsal center for Quasimondo Physical Theatre.