Downtown Office Building Being Renovated, Lands Tenant

A new owner is refreshing a downtown office building.

The Druml Company is launching a renovation of the five-story building at 789 N. Water St. The company acquired the 73,250-square-foot building in September 2020 for $6.25 million.

Built in 1999, the building lost its top-floor tenant, Heartland Advisors, in 2019. The company signed a lease for space in BMO Tower, located across the street, and moved when the tower was completed in 2020.

Remaining office tenants in the building include Fiduciary Real Estate Development and the Employes’ Retirement System of the City of Milwaukee.

But they will soon have a new neighbor. Druml and broker Founders 3 announced that Wisconsin Bank & Trust will occupy 4,491 square feet of space on the fourth floor.

It is a new office location for the bank, which has 12 branches in the state. The only Milwaukee area branch, according to its website, is in Glendale.

Renovation plans include upgrades to the building’s lobby and reconfiguration of the first-floor tenant entrance. The common area corridors, tenant fitness center, shared conference center and tenant kitchen will all be updated.

“We look forward to welcoming Wisconsin Bank & Trust to a new and improved 789 N. Water later this year,” said Dan Druml, owner of The Druml Company, in a statement. “We are excited to have the opportunity to renovate a building in one of Milwaukee’s best locations and bring a modernized and enhanced office product to market.”

Kahler Slater is leading the renovation design work.

Jenna Maguire and John Davis of Founders 3 represent Druml in lease negotiations and have seen improvements in the downtown market.

“We have seen an uptick in inquiries and activity downtown over the past few weeks,” said Maguire. “We are excited to show prospective tenants the renovation of 789 N. Water.”

The entire, 16,000-square-foot fifth floor, former home of Heartland Advisors, remains available, as do other spaces on the fourth floor.

Colour Palate, a salad-focused restaurant, occupies a first-floor commercial space.