Northwestern Mutual talks to buy O’Donnell Park confirmed

Written by admin   // December 19, 2012   // 0 Comments

The O’Donnell Park parking structure sits between the Milwaukee lakefront and the land where Northwestern Mutual plans to build an at least 30-story office.

by Sean Ryan, Reporter, The Business Journal

Northwestern Mutual is in discussions with Milwaukee County executive Chris Abele‘s office to possibly acquire the O’Donnell Park parking structure on Milwaukee’s lakefront, company and county officials have confirmed.

Northwestern hasn’t decided how it will provide spaces for the 1,700 new employees it plans to add downtown by the end of 2025, but taking over the O’Donnell Park parking structure is among the options the company is pursuing. We have a story about that in the Dec. 14 issue of The Business Journal.

Talks are ongoing for a potential deal, but everything is preliminary, according to Brian Taffora, Milwaukee County economic development director.

However, a sale of the building to Northwestern Mutual would answer the questions raised during the planning process for the lakefront revitalization as to what will happen to the building.

Parking has always been a question connected with any decision regarding offices in downtown Milwaukee, and Northwestern Mutual’s choice to expand there is no exception. Unlike companies such as ManpowerGroup that received a big subsidy from the city to pay for parking, Northwestern’s $48 million Milwaukee incentive will not shoulder any parking costs.

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