Marcus considering move
Headquarters could go to new Edison Place
Marcus Corp. might move its corporate headquarters to help propel a downtown Milwaukee mixed-use development that would also feature one of the company’s cinemas.
The Marcus headquarters would be an anchor tenant within an office building that would be part of Edison Place. That $112 million mixed-use project would be developed on 2.25 acres overlooking the Milwaukee River, north of E. Knapp St.
Marcus Corp., which operates Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels & Resorts, has for several years leased space for its corporate offices at 100 East, an office tower at 100 E. Wisconsin Ave.
The company has about 45,000 square feet of space at 100 East, with that lease to expire in 2019, said Katie Falvey, Marcus Corp. vice president of real estate.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel broke the story in June that Marcus was considering conceptual plans for Edison Place. But Marcus first publicly said on Wednesday that the company might move its headquarters to the new development.
Marcus would likely need an additional anchor office tenant to obtain enough financing for Edison Place to proceed, according to one commercial real estate industry source.
That would be something on the scale of a large law firm, the source said.
Michael Best & Friedrich announced in
December it will lease 59,000 square feet and move from 100 East to the new BMO Harris Financial Center after that office tower is completed by the end of 2019.
Marcus is “willing to be a component to get something going” at Edison Place, the source said.
The company’s comment that it will consider moving its corporate offices was part of a statement released about its impending purchase of a county-owned parcel at the development site.
Milwaukee County on Friday issued a notice of its intent to sell the 0.37-acre vacant lot, part of the Park East corridor, to Marcus. The company will use the parcel, which is north of E. Knapp St. and west of N. Water St., as green space.
The parcel will be sold for $50,000, said Melissa Baldauff, spokeswoman for County Executive Chris Abele.
Falvey called that pending sale another step forward for the possible development.
“At this time, our vision for Edison Place is still taking shape, but our goal for this site is to develop an exciting multi-use project which could include a Marcus movie theatre, residential and office space, restaurants and other amenities, and the potential for Marcus Corporation to headquarter there,” Falvey said in a statement.
The preliminary plans reported last summer for Edison Place showed a 20story development that would include commercial space on the ground floor extending to the riverfront.
That street-level space could have restaurants and a health club, topped by a six-level parking structure on the building’s northern end and an eight-screen cinema at its southern end.
There would be five floors of offices above the parking structure, topped by eight floors of residential space. The office and residential portions, along with the cinema, would have street-level lobbies.
Edison Place would be set back from N. Water St., with one block of N. Edison St., running between E. Knapp and E. Cherry streets, removed. The project also would have a RiverWalk, a terrace on top of the parking structure and underground parking.
Information released Wednesday by county officials said the development would be valued at $112 million. It would have residential space totaling 162,000 square feet, offices totaling 113,800 square feet, a cinema with 56,400 square feet, and restaurants and retail totaling 27,400 square feet.
It would take 20 months to build, with a projected start by this fall if tenants and financing can be secured.
The development site’s main portion is now a 1.2acre riverfront parking lot, which a Marcus affiliate bought in 2015 for $3.1 million.
Marcus Corp. in 2008 first proposed developing a cinema at the Edison St. site. It would have been combined with other buildings, such as offices and restaurants.
However, that project did not proceed, despite the company’s commitment, because of a lack of interest from office tenants.