Old Astronautics HQ Could Become Economic Empowerment Center

Entrepreneur JoAnne Sabir is planning to redevelop the former Astronautics headquarters at 4115 N. Teutonia Ave. into “a home for community-focused, non-profit, and for-profit services that focus on elevating economic power for surrounding Black communities.”

“Black communities have often been excluded from economic advancement in major cities,” said Sabir in a press release announcing the project. “However, there is so much room for opportunity and prosperity for Black communities in Milwaukee and with partners who are committed to investing in community assets and evoking innovation, we can move Milwaukee to a space that is a model for economic empowerment and racial equity.”

Sabir was the co-developer with Juli Kaufmann on the Sherman Phoenix market, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave. Sabir is also an advisor to American Family Insurance.

Located just north of W. Capitol Dr., the three-story, 115,000-square-foot building was sold by Astronautics in February to an investment group affiliated with Bachan Singh and then sold again to an investment group registered to Amit Ray. Sabir will partner with Ray on the building’s redevelopment.

“The ultimate goal for the mixed-use development is to increase access to resources and opportunities for Black women, youth, and their families through offerings ranging from health and wellness programming, financial inclusion programming, a marketplace, affordable housing for seniors, and more,” says the press release.

An undisclosed “tech equity firm” would also provide technical training for females to become software developers and other IT jobs.

The office building was originally built in 1957 for insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin. But Astronautics had owned it since 1982.

The latest investment group acquired the Astronautics property for $1 million. It includes the office building and three parcels (4052 N. 23rd St., 4070 N. 23rd St., and 2200-2236 W. Atkinson Ave.) that contain approximately 240 parking spaces.

Astronautics, an aircraft navigation equipment company, is relocating much of its multi-site operation to Oak Creek. It acquired the former Master Lock office campus in 2019. Astronautics has several hundred employees and is engaged in the development of avionics equipment for commercial and military aerospace clients. It recently sold a Harbor District building to an affiliate of Bray Architects. Its 1.6-acre manufacturing campus at 1412-1426 W. National Ave. is listed for sale for $1.86 million.

According to city assessment records, the office building on Teutonia is assessed for $599,500. But that’s a figure calculated by the state as it’s designated as a manufacturing property. A change in use would give the city a chance to determine a new value.

Investment groups connected to Singh and Ray have bought and sold a number of properties in recent years. That includes the largely vacant four-story office building, 804 N. Milwaukee St., known as Kennedy I. A limited liability company controlled by Singh sold the mostly vacant First Financial Centre, 700 N. Water St., for $4.6 million in 2016 for redevelopment as the Drury Plaza Hotel Milwaukee Downtown.

The Teutonia Avenue facility was originally designed by Eschweiler & Eschweiler and constructed by Selzer-Ornst Construction Company, according to a Wisconsin Historical Society report. At the time of Astronautics’ 1982 acquisition, the state had been considering buying the then-vacant building for conversion into a medium-security prison. The proposal, at least initially, was backed by then-mayor Henry Maier as an alternative to putting a new prison Downtown. Nearby residents started a petition drive to oppose this. The asking price for the property then was $1.5 million according to a Milwaukee Journal report. Blue Cross Blue Shield had relocated in 1978 to two downtown office buildings, The Buckler and 501 W. Michigan St., that were just a few blocks south of another potential prison site, the Milwaukee State Office Building. Both sites were ultimately rejected.

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